Gore is to blame for his loss in 2000. If he’d attacked Bush & chose a better running mate, he’d be in the White House, instead of Smirky the chimp.

I somewhat disagree with that whole “a vote for anyone other than Kerry is a vote for Bush” idea. That isn’t always the case, and that mentality undermines the freedom of choice for American voters. While Ralph Nader might have cost the Democrats a state or two in the 2000 election and contributed to bringing about the horror story of the past four years, it is outright immoral for the Democrats to want to suppress him.

Americans are entitled to have a choice between more than two parties which both swing to the right on many issues, and by his presidential bid Ralph Nader will accomplish a great deal of good. Is that good overshadowed by the votes he’ll take away from Kerry? Maybe, but that does not diminish Nader’s own position, nor does it make it wrong for him to run in this election.

The Democrats ran a very flawed campaign in 2000, and they still won the popular vote (and probably, if things had been fair, the state of Florida)! The Democrats need to grill *themselves* for not beating the moronic Bush / Chaney ticket by a strong margin, and for letting him steal Florida, instead of using Nader as an excuse.

I think a lot of people underestimate the flexibility of Nader supporters such as myself. (He is the candidate with whom I agree the most on the issues, much more so than with Kerry. Well, except his bid against raising the speed limit, I’m one of them nuts who likes to drive in triple digits mind you, but overall he’s right on in terms of public policy.) We get your point. We vote strategically, and all we want in this election is to keep our issues on the agenda and try to get the 5% we need.

I’m in New Jersey, a state that’s traditionally taken by Democrats with a very large margin, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on the polls before the election. If there is any chance the state might go to Bush, I’ll vote Kerry. If there is no chance at all, I’ll vote Nader.

I would have been very happy for Ralph if he had gotten the Green Party nomination, but I respect their choice. I also would be very happy if the Nader camp and the Kerry camp could coexist in a bit more harmony, like if Nader would drop out in the closest states in exchange for Democrats adapting some of his pet causes. But Ralph won’t compromise his ideals with this sort of deal, and that is his right and I can respect him for it.

Perhaps I’m just angry at the Democratic Party, America’s only hope in *this* election, for lacking on a number of issues, and my mind wonders to a fantasy of a 3+ way election some time in the future. I’m not sure if my “Nader phase” will last all the way to November or not, but I most definitely will do everything in my power to keep Bush from getting anywhere close to taking New Jersey.

~~Alex~~