Leave Ralph Nader Alone

Ralph Nader has every right to waste his time on another quixotic presidential campaign. What’s getting tiring is Democrats and liberals whining about him being a spoiler and siphoning votes away from their candidates.

For the last time: Ralph Nader did not cost Al Gore the 2000 election. Al Gore lost that election all by himself. If he had run a better campaign and been a better candidate, he would have generated enough support and excitement to win his home state of Tennessee, Florida, Ohio and other states where third party votes made a difference.

We should all be thankful for Nader’s battles for consumers earlier in his lifetime. Without him there would be no National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts and airbags. Nader can also be considered a grandfather of the entire PIRG movement, which led at least indirectly to the creation of the EPA, OSHA and scores of non-governmental organizations that have improved the voice of the average citizen in Washington. He also made the government more transparent and accountable through laws like the Freedom of Information Act.

As for Nader’s political views, they speak for themselves. His current vision of slashing the defense budget by double digits would require hundreds of thousands of layoffs and gut the military-industrial complex that has driven technology and employment in America for over 50 years. It would also show our enemies we are not serious about defending ourselves and would tremendously jeopardize our homeland security. He clearly has no chance of winning.

But please let Ralph run his campaign. Don’t call him a spoiler or blame him for other candidates’ mistakes. What’s great about America is that anyone can run for public office, and in local races independent and third party candidates have a legitimate shot of winning if they can raise enough money and have a good grassroots organization. Ralph Nader’s 2000 vote tally showed he was on to something, and it was Gore’s fault he did not anticipate Nader’s popularity at the time and take him more seriously. And as for Nader’s 2000 proclamation that it wouldn’t matter if Gore or Bush was elected because they were practically the same candidate – well, you can decide if he was right on that one as well.