Nader: The Biggest Ego On the Left?
Feb. 23rd, 2004 04:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
libertangoAccording to the New York Times, there were 375 people signed up at Meetup.com (as of 2/15) interested in networking to help Ralph Nader get elected. This compared to 188,000 registered supporters for Howard Dean, 45,000 for John Kerry, 23,000 for Dennis Kucinich, and 9,000 for John Edwards.
But, hey, he did beat out Al Sharpton, who had 233.
Woo.
So, here it is, 2/23, more than a week later. Nader has announced his "candidacy" -- not as someone from the Green Party, but as an independent. Surely, all those vital, highly motivated Nader supporters would come out of the woodwork now, right?
Well, according to Meetup, their numbers have swollen to... 453.
But, Ralph's not worried. Quoted in the Times, he says, ""A third party can push the agenda and increase voting turnout," said Mr. Nader, who did not sound discouraged by his low numbers on meetup.com. "I really don't deal with the Web. There isn't enough time in the day to go into virtual reality."
His first statement is true. A third party can do those things.
However, Mr. Nader is not a "third party". He's an individual. An individual not even the Green Party wants. An individual whose web site, http://www.votenader.org/ is a strictly top-down, we-speak, you-listen affair. No blog for Ralph. No forums. No nothing.
Apparently, also per the Times, the exploratory web site had a feedback section regarding whether Nader should run or not.
They turned it off after the overwhlemingly negative response.
Nader to the people: Fuck you.
So, here's a man claiming he's doing this for others, who can't be bothered to actually listen to what those others are telling him.
Now, just to make something clear. I heard an interview on NPR with Nader, wherein he made the remarkable claim that just by saying how grotesquely egomaniaical, stupid, and arrogant he's being in making this run, that's somehow an assault on his rights. He claimed he has a First Amendment right to run.
First of all, no one is saying Nader is ineligible to run. No one is saying he can't. We're just saying it's sublimely stupid for Nader to do so. But more importantly, Mr. Nader, trying to squelch my right to criticize you for for doing this stupid thing is, you guessed it, inherently anti-democratic, unconstitutional, and probably causes acne.
But, what else would one expect from a Halliburton investor?
But, hey, he did beat out Al Sharpton, who had 233.
Woo.
So, here it is, 2/23, more than a week later. Nader has announced his "candidacy" -- not as someone from the Green Party, but as an independent. Surely, all those vital, highly motivated Nader supporters would come out of the woodwork now, right?
Well, according to Meetup, their numbers have swollen to... 453.
But, Ralph's not worried. Quoted in the Times, he says, ""A third party can push the agenda and increase voting turnout," said Mr. Nader, who did not sound discouraged by his low numbers on meetup.com. "I really don't deal with the Web. There isn't enough time in the day to go into virtual reality."
His first statement is true. A third party can do those things.
However, Mr. Nader is not a "third party". He's an individual. An individual not even the Green Party wants. An individual whose web site, http://www.votenader.org/ is a strictly top-down, we-speak, you-listen affair. No blog for Ralph. No forums. No nothing.
Apparently, also per the Times, the exploratory web site had a feedback section regarding whether Nader should run or not.
They turned it off after the overwhlemingly negative response.
Nader to the people: Fuck you.
So, here's a man claiming he's doing this for others, who can't be bothered to actually listen to what those others are telling him.
Now, just to make something clear. I heard an interview on NPR with Nader, wherein he made the remarkable claim that just by saying how grotesquely egomaniaical, stupid, and arrogant he's being in making this run, that's somehow an assault on his rights. He claimed he has a First Amendment right to run.
First of all, no one is saying Nader is ineligible to run. No one is saying he can't. We're just saying it's sublimely stupid for Nader to do so. But more importantly, Mr. Nader, trying to squelch my right to criticize you for for doing this stupid thing is, you guessed it, inherently anti-democratic, unconstitutional, and probably causes acne.
But, what else would one expect from a Halliburton investor?
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-23 04:44 pm (UTC)Or any other kind.
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Date: 2004-02-23 05:03 pm (UTC)sellsgives away his book for $75 donations to his campaign. Uh huh.no subject
Date: 2004-02-23 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-23 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-23 08:55 pm (UTC)http://www.baloney.com/bush2004.asp
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Date: 2004-02-23 09:52 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-23 10:46 pm (UTC)Over the same period of time (from the 2/15 Times article to today), about 1000 people have registered support for Dean even though he's dropped out!
You know things are bad when you're being outpaced 6:1 by someone who isn't even running.