Re: RAT At least do no harm

[The Independent Eye <bards@independenteye.org>]

>Nader would be worse than Jimmy
>Carter...

That's possible.  On the other hand, Reagan got quite a bit done without
having the foggiest idea where he was.  Difference was that Carter
surrounded himself with people like himself who didn't know anything north
of Atlanta.  Reagan, at least, had brains enough to know he was stupid, and
compensated.  Would Nader know enough to know how much he didn't know, and
get people around him who did?  Maybe.  Over the years, he's managed to
make one helluva impact in terms of concrete changes, without the
advantages of the White House apparatus.

In any case, a vote for Nader is not a vote for the next president.  It's
pressure on both parties to move in the direction of the Greens.  It's a
vote toward a progressive alternative that, indeed, may take years to
manifest.  When Henry Wallace led his abortive third-party campaign in
1948, he was clobbered.  Yet he made a strong enough showing that virtually
all his proposals became law within the next four years.

My own belief is that if the polls start showing Nader as a serious force,
he'll generate enough media attention that he'll draw votes not only from
Gore but from Bush as well, and votes from people who wouldn't be caught
dead voting for either - Bush is working hard to claim the center, and
that's full of people who would respond to Nader's policies, if the message
can get out.

That's just my thinking at the moment, for what it's worth.

Peace & joy-
Conrad




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