Democrats like to think that. His candidacy in the 2000 election is often blamed by Democrats for pulling votes away from Al Gore, especially in Florida, where the margin was razor-thin.
Nader (and I agree with him) argues that the Democrats failed to appeal to progressive voters, and the election was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court ruling on the Florida recount, not just his presence in the race.
And just so you all can really, really pile on the hate. I voted for Nader in that election! No regrets! Still have my campaign pin from that period. So yeah, LFG! :)
I’m not a Democrat, but as a more progressive/leftist person, I wholeheartedly disagree. And that’s ok, we can disagree. :)
Personally, I’m more inclined to agree with the idea that most third party candidates are just opportunistic grifters that have no real intention of making meaningful changes through legislation and care more about their own personal goals; they only use legitimate criticism of Democrats to popularize their own brand. This was recently put into excellent terms by AOC; paraphrasing, it’s not authentic political leadership, it’s predatory grifting of reasonably-pissed off citizens that don’t know any better (no offense) and legit think a third party is the best way to enact meaningful policies that will help the working class
Last, I would never hate third-party voters. I’m interested in building coalitions and increasing unity among like-minded voters. United we stand… That said, third-party voters might disappoint me, but I don’t dislike them personally. Now, the grifters that lead them, I don’t really hate either, tbf, but I do see them as bad people that dedicate themselves to taking advantage of others - especially those that find significant personal virtue in being at conflict with others and in disagreement with others while doing nothing to try and understand those they disagree with
Democrats like to think that. His candidacy in the 2000 election is often blamed by Democrats for pulling votes away from Al Gore, especially in Florida, where the margin was razor-thin.
Nader (and I agree with him) argues that the Democrats failed to appeal to progressive voters, and the election was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court ruling on the Florida recount, not just his presence in the race.
And just so you all can really, really pile on the hate. I voted for Nader in that election! No regrets! Still have my campaign pin from that period. So yeah, LFG! :)
I’m not a Democrat, but as a more progressive/leftist person, I wholeheartedly disagree. And that’s ok, we can disagree. :)
Personally, I’m more inclined to agree with the idea that most third party candidates are just opportunistic grifters that have no real intention of making meaningful changes through legislation and care more about their own personal goals; they only use legitimate criticism of Democrats to popularize their own brand. This was recently put into excellent terms by AOC; paraphrasing, it’s not authentic political leadership, it’s predatory grifting of reasonably-pissed off citizens that don’t know any better (no offense) and legit think a third party is the best way to enact meaningful policies that will help the working class
Last, I would never hate third-party voters. I’m interested in building coalitions and increasing unity among like-minded voters. United we stand… That said, third-party voters might disappoint me, but I don’t dislike them personally. Now, the grifters that lead them, I don’t really hate either, tbf, but I do see them as bad people that dedicate themselves to taking advantage of others - especially those that find significant personal virtue in being at conflict with others and in disagreement with others while doing nothing to try and understand those they disagree with
Fair points. I don’t necessarly subscribe to your point of view, but I can respect a well thought out post. Thank you for that!