NADER CONSIDERS RUN

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Take it away, Commander:


"NO!!!"

Speaking to reporters at a morning breakfast, Mr. Nader said his decision would depend, in some measure, on the fortunes of two of the nine current Democratic contenders whose politics would appear to resemble most closely his own — Dennis Kucinich, a House member from Ohio, and Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont.

Mr. Nader said growing support for Mr. Kucinich, one of the most liberal members of Congress, would give him "less reason to go into the election," adding: "Not, no. Just less."

As for Dr. Dean, Mr. Nader says he likes what the former governor says in speeches but fears that he will ultimately move toward the center to broaden his appeal. (italics mine)

Oh, god forbid Howard Dean actually tries to win a general election.

The reality is, primary elections often favor candidates who have strong appeal in the party base, while general elections hinge upon support of "moderate", "undecided" voters. The perogative should be getting Bush out of the office he didn't win. And we need the swing voters to get that.

On that note, Ralph Nader is exactly right: Provided that he is nominated, Gov. Howard Dean will do his darnedest to appeal to the center in the general election! What will he say to those middle-class, middle-American voters? He'll tell them, plainly and truthfully, that George W. Bush and his administration simply aren't looking out for them. He's the one who isn't doing a darn thing to keep 400k+ of you from being forced into unemployment each week. He's the one who is gutting your social security so his donors can walk away with luxury-yacht tax cuts. And he's the one saying "bring 'em on!", inviting militants to kill your sons and daughters. I'm sure, of course, that Dean will phrase all this stuff a lot more eloquently than I have.

Well, Ralph? Would you rather the Democratic Party took a pass on swing voters this time around?