I know there are many "very left leaning" people here and some that

[Bandit]

voted for Nader in 2000. Are there any here now that would again cast their vote for him. Just curious as to if there are any and if so why would they do so again knowing now what was unknown then.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

1. I voted for Nader and will not vote for him in 2004

I'm from Mass and tend to give the Green party my votes in local elections, since all my representatives are Democrats. I was 100% sure that Al Gore would easily take my state and its electoral votes. I felt I had the luxury of voting for Nader. Al did win the election, just not the presidency.

[tom_paine]

4. You put the "Rational" in "rationalRose", my dear

:toast: :toast:

Impeccably said.

[hippiechick]

9. Kudos

:toast: RationalRose !!!

I tend to lean Green for sort of the opposite reason - Indiana is firmly GOP so voting my conscience locally will not make a difference.

I didn't think voting for Nader was a 'luxury', but more a necessity because (I felt that) Clinton and the Dems had done far too much right-morphing since 1995, and I felt - still do - sold out by the mainstream Democratic Party.

But Rose is correct - Gore WON the election, Nader or no.


:hippie:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

12. Nader will not have the impact-he has proven himself an egomaniac

I can't stomach the man anymore.

Many folks who vote third party do so regardless of the Democrat running. I vote for the best candidate-Dem or Green. Because of what happened in 2000, a lot of the crossover Democratic vote for Nader in 2000 will vote for the Dem nominee this time.

[central scrutinizer]

22. agree

I also voted Nader in 1996 and 2000 for the same reasons - the DLC was morphing the party I knew and loved into Republican Lite. They dropped the anti-Taft/Hartley plank, supported welform repeal, Nafta, GATT, etc. But I will not vote Nader this time - I will vote Kucinich in the primary to send my message.

[G_j]

26. not this time

in NC Gore didn't have a chance anyway.
It may be the case again but this time I want my vote against Bush counted. BFEE out of our WH!

[mistertrickster]

2. Something tells me that Nader is not going to pull anywhere near

the two percent he got last time.

Just a guess, but people seem to recognize that the stakes are a little higher. Also, they've had an object lesson of what happens when a guy on one huge ego trip plays spoiler.

They won't get fooled again . . .

[proud patriot]

3. I voted for Nader in 96 but not in 2000

:hi: I will not vote him in 2004 either

on edit: I should ad My dad voted for him in 2000
but will not in 2004 .

[pmbryant]

7. 1996 was the only year the Nader candidacy made sense

Unfortunately, he didn't do any campaigning that year, saving it all for 2000 instead for some reason.

:wtf:

Peter

[proud patriot]

10. LOL

Thanks Peter *chuckle*

[Walt Starr]

5. I voted for Gore in 2000, but would vote for Nader this year if the stakes

were not so high.

I make no promises about 2008 other than I will probably NOT vote for an incumbent Democrat.

[displacedtexan]

6. I fear that a Nader run will allow BushCo to cheat again.

The vote could be 'just close enough' to mask the inevitable cheating we all know the BFEE is capable of.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

11. That weasel Ed Gillespie

and the rest of the Repugs are already harping on how "close" the election is going to be. Of course! If it's a Democratic landslide, their thieving dirty tricks will be much harder to conceal.

[eridani]

8. Nader in 1996 and 2000

but not in 2004. Would have voted for Gore in 2000 had the race in WA state been closer.

[XNASA]

13. I lived in Texas during the last election.

So I voted for Nader. It wouldn't have made any difference if I had voted for Gore.

This year, I'll be voting a straight Dem ticket.

[lostnfound]

19. Ditto on the Texas part. But why straight Dem this time?

Is there a chance that a Nader vote in Texas could really hurt the Dem?

[ninkasi]

20. Same thing as my son and his girlfriend.

They both voted for Nader in 2000, and will both definitely vote Dem this time. We're in Texas, too. What I wouldn't give to have Texas go Democratic this time...damn that would be good.

[HowdyDUit]

14. Whomever supports Gay Marriage gets my vote

If Kerry allows gay marriage then he gets my vote first.

If Kerry wimps out and Nader supports it then I vote Nader. My lifestyle is not for sale.

[tedoll78]

16. Question..

does it matter to you that the President has no role in approving or vetoing constitutional amendments?

And what if Kerry opposes gay marriage but appoints Supreme Court nominees who will legalize it? Nominees who would serve not a mere 4 years, but perhaps 20 years apiece..?

I'd love to marry my partner of 7 years. Sadly, the Supreme Court seems to be our best hope.

[HowdyDUit]

18. Whatever it takes

My vote will go to whomever allows me to marry my same-sex partner. Period.

[tedoll78]

23. In that case..

a vote for Kerry might be your best bet. Think about it.

Ginsburg, Souter, Breyer, & Stevens are all likely to vote in favor of equal marriage policy.

If Rehnquist and/or O'Connor were to step-down and Kerry were to appoint a Breyer-style liberal as their replacements (if DOMA-Clinton can do it, certainly Kerry will), then we'd have a liberal majority of 5 (or even 6) on the high court.

Considering that this pending California lawsuit could make its way all the way up to the US Supreme Court in a few years, a Kerry appointee could be the one to swing the entire case in equality's favor.

[HowdyDUit]

24. If Kerry supports Gay Marriage then he better spell it out now

I am done with lying candidates. Honesty gets my vote and any candidate that waffles on this human RIGHT is toast in my book.

[Cat Atomic]

15. I voted for Nader in 2000. I definitely won't in '04.

I generally vote Green. I'm making an exception in November, without a doubt. But I'm not pledging my vote to the Democratic party in perpetuity. When they run moderates, I'll vote Green.

[ulysses]

17. if I had 2000 to do over again, you mean?

Yes, I would.

[lojasmo]

21. Didn't but now tempting

Obviously one of these Johns is going to be nominated. I am so pissed off at the DLC/DNC now I don't know what to do. I'll vote against them in the primaries by caucusing for Dean or Kucinich. I'll probably fold and vote for whomever is the candidate in November, but if Nader runs.....

[many a good man]

25. Got to this time in case they try to steal it again

I voted Nader the last two times because I'm in a state that Dems took easily both times. The Green party platform is mucher closer to my true beliefs. Because of the electoral college, I feel safe here sending a message by my vote.

However, things are different this time around. BBV has shown it can steal elections that are within 7%. Also, since part of the moral argument last time was that Gore won the popular vote by half a million, I think we need to bump it up to a couple of million this time so they won't try to steal it again. If they do, I'm marching on the White House!!!

[AgadorSparticus]

27. ABSOLUTELY NOT! Nader is a lunatic for wanting to run again.

What does he want? Another 4 years of Bush? If he decides to run, I will lose all respect for him and the green party.