Ralph Nader, the spoiler of 2000 election, is at it again!
A.H. Jaffor Ullah
The veteran consumer advocate, Ralph Nader, announced today (Sunday, Feb 24, 2008) that he intend to run for the White House on November 4, 2008. He announced this on NBC's "Meet the Press." He justified his decision to run as a third party candidate in the forthcoming presidential election by saying that many Americans are disenchanted with the two dominant parties, and that none of the presidential contenders are addressing ways to stem corporate crime and Pentagon waste and promote labor rights.
This is not the first time that Ralph Nader ran as a third party candidate. In 2000 presidential race Mr. Nader ran under the banner of Green Party while managing to steal about 2.7% of the total vote mostly from Al Gore and aiding George W. Bush to win the majority of the electorate votes. Mind you, in that election the Democratic candidate, Vice President, received the majority of popular votes but still lost the election because the Supreme Court gave the verdict not to recount the entire votes cast in the state of Florida. Mr. Al Gore lost the election in Florida by a measly 543 votes. Ralph Nader received more than 97,488 votes in the State of Florida alone. In a close election, Ralph Nader's participation as a third party candidate had cost the Democratic Party to lose the election and at the same time allowed George W. Bush to become the resident of the White House. For Mr. Nader's stealing the votes away from Al Gore, he was nicknamed Mr. Spoiler.
After the election in November 2000, Ralph Nader had not repented publicly to help usher in George W. Bush into the White House. It is ironic that Mr. Nader ran as a pro-environment candidate in 2000 and he help elect one of the most pro-business and anti-environment candidate as the president. If Mr. Nader's goal was to see that a pro-environment candidate win the race, then it should not have eluded his mind that the Democratic Party's candidate, Al Gore, had a pristine pro-environment record.
Quite a few cynics in America still think that Ralph Nader is a plant candidate by the Republican Party. The conspiracy theory merits some point because his participation costs the Democratic Party. In 2004 he again ran for the office but at that time the Green Party refused to endorse him. That however did not deter him from running. This time without the support of the environmentalists he managed to received a fraction of the votes that he received in 2000. Needless to say this time also his participation hurt Senator John Kerry. In 2004 Nader's participation was a non-event.
Nader who was born in Connecticut in an immigrant Lebanese family made a name for himself in 1960s when he vigorously went after GM and other large US corporation bringing suit against them for unsafe products. However, he is no longer that young anymore. Turning 74 this week he announced his long shot presidential bid in the TV by saying that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans were addressing problems facing Americans. Nader called Washington "corporate occupied territory" that turns the government against the interests of the people. "In that context, I have decided to run for president," he said.
Ralph Nader knows that he is also known as "spoiler." He however dismissed the idea that he could hurt Democrats when voters go to the polls in November. He angrily said, "If the Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form."
Interestingly, Mr. Nader is not paying attention to what Barack Obama is saying in his stump speeches. The Illinois senator is saying the way things are run in Washington D.C. should be changed. The corrupting influence of Washington lobbyists is a deterrent to good governance. Therefore, Obama is running his campaign on pro-people mandate. However, Mr. Nader is oblivious to Senator Obama's call for overhauling the politics at national level.
I think Ralph Nader is an egotistical person who is always clamoring for recognition. His time has past, his message is void of details about how he intends to change the politics at the capital. Yes, he will gobble up again 0.5% vote at most from Democratic Party's candidate. Will he be a factor in 2008? Not by a long shot. I hope his supporters and financiers realize the fact that his political influence is waning as years passed by. When the election will be over in November Americans will forget candidate Ralph Nader. But he will again surface in 2012. He is a stubborn fellow who fails to realize that his vapid message is not attracting the hearts and minds of any electorates in the 50 states that constitute America.
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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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