Capitol Grounds
Thankful for Nader
RECEIVED Thu., May 27, 2004
Louis,
Enough! I'm fed up with your relentless diatribes against Ralph Nader ["Page Two," May 21], blaming him for Al Gore's defeat in 2000 and fearful of his impact on this year's election. These outrageous attacks have got to stop.
You've lost perspective, friend. Take a step back and look at yourself, supposedly a reasonable, progressive, and articulate member of our community. You're trashing one of the most dedicated and effective public servants this country has ever had. Get a grip. You ought to be thankful we have the likes of Nader, a true patriot with some honesty and integrity, working to expose and fix an obviously corrupt, broken system. You ought to welcome his contribution to the public dialogue, cheering him on. Instead you do us all a disservice with your obsessive, hysterical ranting.
Perhaps you're intentionally scapegoating Nader to help ensure a Kerry victory in November. But, honestly – why don't you focus your bitterness and disappointment on more appropriate and deserving subjects? You and so many others who insist on assigning blame for the 2000 debacle want to point fingers? How about the millions of Democrats that voted for Bush, 250,000 of them in Florida? Gore couldn't even carry his own home state, or Clinton's. If he had done either, Florida would be irrelevant. How about the Dems try advancing an inclusive agenda that addresses some of the issues that drove Greens away in the first place instead of vilifying anyone not in lockstep with the "Anybody but Bush" mantra?
Just admit that the failure of the Democrats lies with the Democratic Party and nowhere else, especially not with Ralph Nader. At the very least, I think you owe him an apology.
Enough! I'm fed up with your relentless diatribes against Ralph Nader ["Page Two," May 21], blaming him for Al Gore's defeat in 2000 and fearful of his impact on this year's election. These outrageous attacks have got to stop.
You've lost perspective, friend. Take a step back and look at yourself, supposedly a reasonable, progressive, and articulate member of our community. You're trashing one of the most dedicated and effective public servants this country has ever had. Get a grip. You ought to be thankful we have the likes of Nader, a true patriot with some honesty and integrity, working to expose and fix an obviously corrupt, broken system. You ought to welcome his contribution to the public dialogue, cheering him on. Instead you do us all a disservice with your obsessive, hysterical ranting.
Perhaps you're intentionally scapegoating Nader to help ensure a Kerry victory in November. But, honestly – why don't you focus your bitterness and disappointment on more appropriate and deserving subjects? You and so many others who insist on assigning blame for the 2000 debacle want to point fingers? How about the millions of Democrats that voted for Bush, 250,000 of them in Florida? Gore couldn't even carry his own home state, or Clinton's. If he had done either, Florida would be irrelevant. How about the Dems try advancing an inclusive agenda that addresses some of the issues that drove Greens away in the first place instead of vilifying anyone not in lockstep with the "Anybody but Bush" mantra?
Just admit that the failure of the Democrats lies with the Democratic Party and nowhere else, especially not with Ralph Nader. At the very least, I think you owe him an apology.
Mark Zuefeldt
[Louis Black Responds: Who has lost perspective? Do you accept responsibility for what Nader's candidacy wrought? The Naderites mostly seem to ignore that even though Gore ran a "lackluster" campaign, he won the popular vote. Talking about blaming others so you are not forced to confront your own culpability? Maybe, just maybe, my "obsessive, hysterical ranting" is a consequence of the very real damage done to working people, the poor, underserved communities, education, the environment, and health by Nader's 2000 candidacy, which neither he nor you accept responsibility for and seem quite eager to do again. By the way: How is Nader a "public servant"? Isn't he actually a representative of "special interests" even though many of us might agree with his causes?]
