Sic semper Naderus. (A response to the recent pro-Nader posts)
In response to the predictable attempts to rehabilitate Nader for the next election cycle (like this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4110265 ), I humbly submit the following rebuttal. It is packed with insights, insults, and links to facts (a thing often overlooked when this topic is "discussed"
that buttress my case.
That case? Nader deliberately helped Bush to take the White House. Twice. And he said so himself. Deny it all you might, the facts support my thesis: http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/yes-ralph-nader-is-still-an-ahole/
The facts do not support my liberal use of proctological insults. But they do seem to fit.
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[font size=18 color=blue] ... it WON'T happen again.[/font]
The answer seems simple to me.
-Laelth
We got a dem in as Prexy, and then re-elected him. That ain't losing. 
The sad part is you guys keep missing the point. The election was stolen by Kamela Harris, Jeb Bush, the guys in Sacks Fifth Ave suits and five older folks at the Supreme Court.
I guess an older man is an easier target.
Oh and lastly, define naderism. I cover politics and it's not a term used outside a very specific blogging site. This includes poli sci and history departments who are familiar with the five guys at the SCOTUS, as well as the suits and both the Governor and the SOS.
But to say (as some do) that Nader was correct in acting as he did, or that he did not do what he did...that is what I am addressing in this post. 
Katherine:
Kamala:
"Gore=Bush" bullshit ladled out by Nader. 
Nader is fuckin' huckster who took Republican money to sabotage Democrats.
what was the worst campaign since Tsongas, no, I take that back, the Paul Tsongas campaign had entertainment value.
If you want to place the blame, look below. These are the people that accelerated the nation down this disastrous course in 2000.
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Because that is what he did. You can ascribe motivations to it all you want, but no one has yet disputed the actions themselves. And that is telling. Even you don't try to argue the facts presented. So you know that he took Bush money and campaign assistance, and verbally supported a Bush victory. Truth. And you DO seem to support it.
As to your "justification" of his actions ("one party with two right wings" , that is not exculpatory. Nader wanted things to get so bad for the marginalized and dispossessed that a new political party (including himself at its head) could take over. Frankly, that is despicable and inhumane, to deliberately increase the sufferings of an Other in order to accomplish one's political agenda.
And if you support that kind of abusive approach to politics...well, you aren't much different from Bush the lesser, because that is exactly what he did. With Nader's assistance and expressed support.
But to clarify, I also don't support the 'No Label' movement that was used to peel off Democrats, with false claims that 'both parties are the same.' That's the Libertarian party mantra to make themselves higher than the two major parties. It is not serious thinking, it's self serving, deliberating misleading, dishonest and intellectual laziness.
I'm talking about the meanings. There was a quote from years ago, but I didn't file the exact wording. It read, in my own words.
'Do not seek to imitate the answers your fathers found when seeking the truth (god, reality, etc.) and accept it as the last word on the subject. Seek instead, what they sought.'
That intent disposes of dogmas and parroting. Ideology is great for gathering a group. But individuals in that group need to remember that the group is not the end or the solution. It's just the beginning.
FDR had many failures but kept trying. He said, 'It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.' This is what I see in Obama, that same method, applied to our time and circumstances. Many of the people that supported FDR and the New Deal would be anathema to the Democratic Party of today, partcularly those who believe in equality for all.
Another one from FDR, 'The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.'
This is the core of Obamacare. The complaints come from those who have much, and the praise from those who have had too little for too long.
For persistent naysayers, so quick to criticize, FDR said, 'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.' Obama is an idealist, not an ideologue.
Skepticism taken to the extreme is a dead end road, as well as some of the conspiracy language. 'It's all hopeless, all pre-ordained, unless something comes to save us.' To which I say nothing is that way and no one is coming to save you.
That is how I see the phrase, 'We are the ones we have been waiting for.' The source of it is the Hopi Elders and it means much more than what I say.
Cynicism always supports the status quo no matter what label it wears. Those advantaged by the status quo will tear down every attempt to change it, and call themselves wise or principled, like Nader was, unwilling to 'settle for less than the best.' Those in dire straits aren't afforded such a luxury, and are called names for not having lofty goals. But survival is good enough to have the chance to make a better future.
Yet another quote, since I love FDR so well, think of this process, 'Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.' Instead of sitting back and living in the past that we scarely know, a future we can only guess, and ignoring those around us.
Feel free to steal at leisure. To attempt to own a thought or words, is to deny that many of our thoughts are shared and should be as freely returned to others as they gave them to us, JHMO.
The world beyond DU would be better for it.
I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
Look, if you do not blame Nader for the SCOTUS ruling that handed Bush the election in 2000 (nevermind the thousands of Dems that voted for Bush) you are helping the Evil Doers! Donchaknow! 
Nader caused global warming, all global economic crashes and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan! 
