Obstinate, Hopefully Irrelevant

[saavedra77]

We asked nicely.

I don't know why Nader would think that reprising his 2000 and 2004 campaigns will work out any better, this time ... except that he has an ego the size of Alaska and the obstinacy of the Flat Earth Society.

Which he does. So I guess that no one should be surprised that he's going to tilt at that windmill, anyway.

Of course, the 2000 race was freakishly close, Nader was largely irrelevant in 2004. We can hope that he'll be similarly ineffectual, in 2008--only that the Democrat nominee is the one who's clearly ahead, this time around, as the polls collated at Real Clear Politics consistently predict in an Obama-McCain race.

X-posted to ljdemocrats

Comments

[jmargethe.livejournal.com]

i don't know. i'm glad he's running. i think it's important to keep pushing the fringes. and i don't believe it's just ego; i think he's sincere about wanting to remind people that the spectrum doesn't end with obama.

so i say - kudos to him. i think he knows the race isn't at stake - i don't believe he would run this time if he thought it were! - and i respect him for it. sure, i'm voting for obama, but he's not the messiah, and a little opposition - especially the kind that calls him on the carpet where he needs to do better - is a good thing.
my two cents, anyway.

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

I hope so. I guess I'm just feeling a little shell-shocked from too many close elections. And sometimes I feel a little perplexed about what the rest of the electorate wants--I mean, the ones who voted for Bush twice.

But 2008 promises to be a very different year, and the likely Democratic candidate inspires a lot more confidence than the last few have. If that holds true, then, yeah, Nader's role could be very different than in the past.

Crossing my fingers. :)

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

I do wish he'd stop running, if only to allow the left to seem like less of a joke to the rest of the country.

The one good thing i can imagine coming out of this is that if the Republicans decide to fund him again it might bleed enough money out of their vast coffers to hurt their chances somewhere.

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

Let's just hope that the general election campaign isn't close, this time. If this proves to be a strongly Democratic year, then the effect of Nader campaign could be fairly benign.

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

Notice me very carefully phrasing things as if Obama winning the nomination were a foregone conclusion.

Mmm-hmm: My expectations for the fall campaign would be a whole lot more pessimistic all around, if we assume that HRC turns out to be the nominee. On that scenario, I'd expect a close election in which both the left and right will be unhappy with the major party candidates but McCain will have an advantage over Clinton with independents. Clinton may not be able to overcome that advantage in any case, but Nader's presence would certainly makeher situation more difficult, creating another option both for progressive and independent voters.

[dlasky.livejournal.com]

I totally respect Nader's position, but I'm still bitter about 2000; still not really talking to friends who supported him 8 years ago. I don't feel that running for president is really the most effective way for Nader to get his point across. It seems more about ego and hype than activism.

But OK, it's 2008 now. And let's imagine that HRC swallows her pride and agrees to be Obama's running mate. The ensuing landslide would make Nader an interesting side-bar rather than a dangerous diverter of votes. I can dream, yes?

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

Typing with my fingers crossed ...