Ralph, you're kidding, right ?

Ralph Nader, everyones favorite third party aficionado, in the moment we've all been waiting for, finally made his announcement this morning.

Welcome to the race Ralph. I think Ron Paul is available if you are looking for a VP.

Good luck.


Chainlink would prefer Nader be given to a government research program somewhere in place of a monkey.

Nader takes the cake.

F Ralph Nader just F the fool. Maybe he's on the Republican payroll, or arrogant, or ignorant, or maybe all three.

He is the change we have been waiting for.

Apparently not. He has always been there.

And yet you shun the guy who will go after the corporations and who can't be bought by special interests, and who remains untainted by endorsements from former Soviet puppets like Daniel Ortega. Don't be afraid to embrace real change in your candidates and principled idealism.

I have my doubts that this will do much. Although I agree with much of what the Green Party is based on, Ralphie has already shot his load. He is far too marginalized to effect anything.

... and that alternative has always been there.

He is not what the people want, should groom a successor, and I agree with the poster below - he is marginalized - like a bad reoccuring SNL skit.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, good ol' "there's no difference between Al Gore and George Bush."

How I've missed thee lo these eight years.

So just for the record, we're all okay with the two party system, right?

If we just had every American who knows for a fact that he or she will never vote outside the big two state declare, perhaps in the form of a petition, such intent, then we can dispel the illusion of viability that sustains third parties and all agree to compromise our true values together.

I'm willing to vote Democrat forever, even if little more than fear of a Republican motivates me at times. Who's with me!?

Which is just another reason to back Obama.

I think this is a pretty complex issue overall.

The two party system isn't working, clearly. But we can't afford to back a candidate that doesn't have a shot at electability. I mean, in principle Nader is doing us a service by running despite not having a chance in hell. All groups have a right to enter a candidate into a race to represent them. But practically, he's hurting Dem efforts.

And I'm sorry, but blaming '00 on Nader is bullshit. Bush stole that election and stole '04 as well. Gore won Florida according to the final count. Nader hurt Gore's count, but he's not to blame for Bush.

You could just as easily blame Gore for not running a better campaign.

Fuck that puto! Although I do have to admit that seeing him run under the Party Of Ralph Nader banner would have some comedic value. But, still, I hope Nader burns in the deepest pit of what ever hell he believes in for making possible the Supreme Court's installation of the worst President ever.

He always will be, until he is elected.

why not Ralph? McCain, HIllary and Obama all promise different things, but have very similar voting records. Its all about the appeasement until they get into office, then it is "business as usual".

But I thought you said someone needed to be a governor before being qualified to be president. So which is it?

Why are you guys talking about the Green party? He's running as an independent; I think the Green party actually rejected him in '04.

Also, if we're so "disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties", why have we been turning out for primaries in record numbers?

This announcement made me puke in my mouth a little.

Ignoring how Nader running in swing states like Florida helped Bush win in 2000 is just as much bullshit.

Nobody claims that Perot running in 1992 didn't help Clinton, but Nader keeps insisting his 2000 campaign had no influence in 2000.

Only 51% of eligible voters exercised their right to do so in 2000. The anti-Nader crowd should stop whining about his influence on that election and realize they couldn't motivate half the country to get off their asses and vote.

Why cry about a few million who liked Nader more than Gore when half the country turned their backs on the entire process? Maybe because it's easier to do that than to take responsibility for all those lost potential votes.

I'm not denying his influence, I'm only saying that his influence was enabled by the incompetence and ineffectiveness of the two major parties.

Nader is a ... I want to say he's a moron, but he's not. He's extremely well educated and knowledgable. Unfortunately he's also delusional. He goes on and on about the need for options in the current political system and I respect his point of view. I even agree with it to a certain extent. HOWEVER he pisses me off in that he makes absolutely no real attempt to create a viable third party except for every four years when the election for the President of the United States comes around. You hear virtually nothing about him for three years and then suddenly there he is again, touting himself as the real option. It's asinine. You have to build a viable party FIRST, Mr. Nader. then come to me with promises of taking on corporate interests and saving the world. Because without some kind of backing, you know what you will manage to accomplish in your Presidency...assuming you can somehow overcome the fact that you can't muster more than 5% of the voting population...NOTHING. NOT A DAMN THING. The green party doesn't even have a candidate on the ticket for most congressional seats. It's ridiculous.

It's especially ridiculuos given the American political system. The only way Nader would see any chance of accomplishing things with a third party, would be if the US had a parliamantry type system that provided porportional representation in the legislature. We don't have that. We have a winner take all electoral college (an idiotic system, yes, but it's what we have). Ralph Nader has ZERO chance of doing any good by running for president. Instead, he'd be better served to work with one of the presidential candidates, bring his supporters along in exchange for concrete policy concessions and maybe even a position in the Cabinet for Nader. But he's own ego won't allow for it. In Nader's mind, only Ralph Nader can save this country.

I respect the many good things that he has done in his life, but the last eight years, he's been behaving like an asshat.

yeah, I was watching Meet the Press when he made his announcement. I just wanted to reach through the tv and shake him by his collar.



that and his one twitching and one permanantly half lidded eye bug the hell outta me.

SHOULD be, both by precedent and reason. But it hasnt been absolute.