Is Nader Clearing Way for Easier Access to Ballots in 2008?

[AtomicKitten]

The Buck Stops Where?

Ralph Nader wants Ken Blackwell to pay him $1. And he's gone to court to get it.

Nader, the nation's foremost consumer activist, says Secretary of State Blackwell sank his quixotic quest for the White House in 2004 by booting him off the presidential ballot in Ohio. Nader's nominating petitions fell short of 5,000 valid signatures that year.

Blackwell, a Republican, at first placed Nader on the ballot, but removed him after Democrats challenged the petitions; they didn't want Nader spoiling Sen. John Kerry's chances in a race that looked headed toward a photo finish.

To this day, it remains an article of faith among many Dems that Nader cost Al Gore the 2000 election because he drew votes away from their ticket in Florida. They feared a repeat in Ohio when President George Bush tangled with Kerry.

Now Nader, whose electoral ambitions for 2008 are unknown, has dredged up the episode by filing suit in U.S. District Court for the southern District of Ohio. Nader contends the state's system of forcing non-resident third party candidates like himself to recruit nominating petition circulators is unconstitutional. He said Ohio's law illegally requires the circulators to be residents and registered voters.

If Nader wins his lawsuit, he'll have removed a legal obstacle that makes it difficult for third-party candidates to get on the ballot.

But does Nader really claim that Blackwell cost him the White House? Not quite. He is after "economic, personal and nominal damages" -- which are set at $1.

Nader said Blackwell is liable -- not the taxpayers -- and is using his demand for financial damages as a strategy to keep his case from being immediately dismissed as moot.

--Bill Sloat

http://rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fweblogs%2Fopeners%2Findex.ssf%3F%2Fmtlogs%2Fcleve_openers%2Farchives%2F2006_10.html%23190673

[bowens43]

1. Fuck Nader.

[MADem]

2. And the horse his self-aggrandizing ass rode in on NT

[elocs]

5. Perfectly said. What more is to be said about that worthless POS.

[rep the dems]

3. I really don't know how anyone can still support Nader, or claim

that he gives a damn about the real issues in the U.S.

[kimmerspixelated]

4. On the other hand,

I prefer Nadar over the evil Blackwell who certainly doesn't have any redeeming qualities. Blatant thievery!

[elocs]

7. At least we can recognize Blackwell as being a snake.

Nader would have us believe that all of his motives are good and pure and altruistic and that he lives a life of poverty while treating the people who work for him like gold. What a crock! Ralphie baby is looking out for #1 and he is a legend in his own mind.

[The Magistrate]

6. He Will Lose The Case, Ma'am

There is nothing remotely un-Constitutional about requiring people circulating election petitions to be residents and registered voters in the state the petitions are circulated in.

[AtomicKitten]

8. I hope you are an attorney because Nader is.

I would think an attorney wouldn't file a lawsuit that doesn't hold water.

Regardless, I hope you are right.

[The Magistrate]

9. Attorneys Do That All The Time, Ma'am

Judges throw most of them out early, and the rest are lost. This one might not be thrown out in preliminaries, because the lower-court judge it comes before my well want to let a higher panel rule definitively against the frivolous claim, to shut down further attempts at wasting court time more effectively.