NADER AND IRAQ

Charles Taylor of Salon has written an open letter to Nader voters. In it, he has a suggestion about the Iraq issue:

And I know you've been chastised by those old-style Democrats like me for being blind to the consequences of your actions. But a unique chance exists right now for you to show your true colors, to prove that you are entirely aware of the consequences of your actions and are willing to face them: Volunteer for the invasion of Iraq.

The news in the past few weeks has been showing us tearful separations of reservists and their families. Many of the men and women going over to the Gulf are ambivalent about the necessity of war, but they feel obligated by a sense of duty. They've even been honest enough to admit they are frightened of possibly facing biological or chemical weapons.

Wouldn't it be great if just one of them didn't have to go, didn't have to separated from their sweethearts or families because all you Nader voters put Bush in office and helped pave the way for the invasion of Iraq? Wouldn't it be great to show America your guts by taking one of these brave soldiers' place, by declaring that you're not willing to let anybody else die for your actions?

Again, President Gore would not launch a pre-emptive, unjust war on Iraq.

Yet conflict remains within me. I am a substantially progressive liberal who voted for Gore (and against Bush). I am thoroughly upset at how the actions of Nader and his supporters helped to give us the worst president in American history. Yet I agree with most everything on the Green platform. With that in mind, I want to find a truce of some sort: If I recognize that the spectrum of political debate in America needs to incorporate the left more (which it definitely does), and that money has a corrupting influence on almost everyone in the federal government (which it certainly does), then Nader voters need to acknowledge that the consequences of the choice they made are bigger than just a "cold shower" (as Ralph put it).

Remember, if you combine Gore and Nader's votes in 2000, you get 52%, almost 53, of the electorate, a true majority. If you wished to turn progressive ideas into reality, wouldn't it be a better idea to consolidate that as much as possible?

Anyway, Taylor gets a bit heavy and melodramatic in his letter, but I think he has a bit of a point.