> The Democrats want to see him become a figure of fun and derision. The
> liberal bloggers will undoubtedly make every effort to throw mud at
> Nader. But Nader's reputation is more solid among average Americans.
As I said, we shall see. I think the average American sees him as a lawyer who did some valuable work on automobile safety problems, etc. (and who won fame by his rather eccentric sartorial habits), but who for some strange reason thought he could become a presidential candidate when he grew up.
And having mud thrown at you is the name of the game in politics. "If you can't stand the heat," etc..
> They are now, but just wait until the DLC tells them to swing to "the
> center." Although that may not happen as fully now that Nader is
> running.
Whence comes this idea that the DLC is the puppet master of the DP -- everything in the DP happens because of what the DLC says? From what I can tell, a lot of Democrats are not too happy with the DLC, because they sold the DP on Clinton of the extravagant sexuality and Gore the bore.
> If you want to pursue a goal of politics that is less disastrous to
> workers, then you should invest your time and resources into direct
> action, not lesser-of-two-evil electoral politics. My first experience
> with politics was the Mondale-Ferrao campaign of 1984. It's been
> nothing but lesser-of-two-evil politics for the left since then.
I certainly agree that direct action is even more important in some ways than electoral politics (once we attend to the little matter of retiring the Shrub). Also important, for example, is strengthening the labor movement, for which repealing the horrible labor laws now in force is all but a necessity. But that takes us back to electoral politics -- electing Congresspeople who would pass new labor legislation and a President who would sign it.
> Sorry, but politics isn't that simple. Odds are that Nader will do
> better than 2000 and the Democrats will defeat Bush. The polls simply
> underestimate the amount of anti-Bush hostility that is out there. And
> as I've pointed out, Nader will draw support from people who aren't
> part of the ABB crowd.
We shall see, we shall see. Mummrah the Wise says: all that is hidden in the mists of the future shall be revealed when the future becomes the present. (And even then, chances are we won't understand what has happened. :-) )
> And then in fours years we can have an Anybody But Kerry movement!
*Anybody*? You don't mean ... gasp! shudder! .... even Sen. Clinton?
:-)
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ After the Buddha died, people still kept pointing to his shadow in a cave for centuries—an enormous, dreadful shadow. God is dead: but the way people are, there may be, for millennia, caves in which his shadow is still pointed to. — And we — we must still overcome his shadow! —Friedrich Nietzsche