So, Ralph Nader announced he is running for President. I guess the exploratory committee came back and said "Ralph, we've done some research. And there is a really chance that you can screw up this election! I know! Just what you wanted to hear. Shall I set up the press conference now!"
A lot of disenchanted people have already joined the band wagon. I have this to say to anyone on the fence.
Do not vote for Ralph Nader.
If you are sick and tired of how big business treats its employees and influences politics, find out the culprits and boycott their products. Write to your Congressman or woman and say you won't support them if they take money from these people.
But don't vote for Ralph Nader.
If you want a more responsible environmental policy, again, write your Congressperson. Do all you can, personally, to recycle and to buy recycled goods. Become active in assuring your local community does the same thing.
But don't vote for Ralph Nader.
Because while Nader says all the right things about the subjects that many politicians say nothing, or little about, in reality, there is little he can do about it.
The President is head of the executive branch. The executive branch can only enforce laws, not make them. That burden falls on the legislative branch, or the Congress. So all these sweeping changes that Nader wants to make relies on the cooperation with the Congress.
Now, the congress is full of all these fat-cat politicos on both sides of the aisle who are in the hands of lobbyists working for companies that exemplify what Nader is railing against. Do you think they'd be willing to sponsor a bill, say, adopting a carbon pollution tax? An increase in pnealties for corporate crime? Not likely.
I don't know if Nader is idiotically idealistic or selfishly self-serving, but this campaign is doomed for failure. There is no chance he can win. And if in the outside chance he does win, he will have a hard time fulfilling on his campaign promises. The only thing he really can accomplish is ensure that enough votes are leeched away from the Democrats that the Republicans have a better chance of winning.
Oh, he will deny this. He will say that if the Democrats can't beat the Republicans with him in the race, they can't beat them at all. He will make the point that Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000 and was screwed by the electoral college--nothing to do with him. But the fact is, he did cost Gore the election. He did syphon votes away from the Democrats. And he gave us a President that was almost the exact opposite of the ideals he stands for.
Nader is a learned man. He should realize this. He should be pragmatic enough to know that change can not come all at once, and any real, lasting change comes through compromise. Compromise is not in Nader's vocabulary
So, therefore, if you want a better country. Do not vote for Nader. I may be a political bigot. But I am not infringing on Nader's right to run. He has every right to be on the ballot. But you have every right not to vote for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment