The Command Post - Op-Ed - Will Voters Shop At Ralph's?

June 22, 2004

Will Voters Shop At Ralph's?

Not Ralph's groceries...but third party candidate Ralph Nader, who apparently has concluded The People aren't clamoring for him so he's going to try a sideward snare of his former vehicle, the Green Party.

First the news report:

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader selected longtime Green Party activist Peter Camejo to be his running mate on Monday, a move sure to boost his chances of winning the Green Party's endorsement this week and its access to ballot lines in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
Camejo, an investment adviser from Folsom, Calif., had been one of two leading contenders for the Green Party's presidential nomination.

The announcement came in advance of the Green Party convention beginning Wednesday in Milwaukee. Nader, who ran as the Green Party candidate in 2000, is not seeking the party's nomination but he has pursued an endorsement from the third party.

"Camejo shares my concerns for economic and social justice as well as the urgent need to protect our environment," Nader said in a statement before introducing him at an afternoon news conference.
One Green Party leader said a Nader-Camejo ticket would have a very strong chance of winning the party's endorsement.

Etc. etc. etc. Then there's this:

Nader also has been endorsed by the national Reform Party, which gives him access to the ballot in at least seven states, including the battlegrounds of Florida and Michigan.

So he'll be on the ballot -- and there could indeed be a re-run of 2004, when the Democrats basically patronized Nader, tolerated him and didn't bother to debate his ideas or his stupid claim that the two parties are the same (tell that to Republicans who didn't like Democratic environmental policy; tell that to Democrats who are flabbergasted at Bush environmental policy; tell that to proponents and opponents of abortion who worry about who will be on the courts; tell that to proponents and opponents of stem cell research; tell that to those who believe in the new pre-emptive strike security or the more traditional collective security). And his choice for Veep? Camejo has run unsuccessfully for California Governor and is as inspiring a stump speaker as Dan Quayle. Ezra Klein of Pandagon writes:

Ralph has chosen his running mate -- Peter Camejo, the Green's perennial failure for Governor in California. Politically, the reasoning is clear. The Greens are holding their convention in a couple of days, Ralph wants their ballot access but not their constraints, so his VP choice proves his (unstated) loyalty. He'll get their endorsement and thus move up to orange on the "pain-in-the-ass advisory". The pick is kinda funny, though. Generally, VP's have achieved something, often an electoral something. Camejo has failed badly, often by spectacular margins. He was the Socialist's candidate for President in 1976 and lost that one, a streak that has continued to this day.... So congratulations Ralph, you did it. After looking high and low, you've found someone less successful electorally, and worse on the stump, than you. May voters flee from your oratorical path.

But voters won't. Even though Democrats may ask them to "strike," some of their constituency will shop at Ralph's.......

Posted By Joe Gandelman at June 22, 2004 02:12 AM | TrackBack

Comments

Camejo deserves better than Ralph f'n Nader. Camejo is actually a pretty stand-up guy, who actually cares quite a bit about California -- both from an environmental and from an economic standpoint. It's too bad he got sucked into Nader's long-running joke.

Posted by: x at June 22, 2004 11:59 AM

Wait, wait... a former Socialist is chosen by Nader as running mate to suck up to the Green Party?

I mean, I've heard of watermelons before... green on the outside, red on the inside... but I thought it was agitprop?

Posted by: TBox at June 23, 2004 05:32 AM

Not agitprop. Well, actually the Green Party (at least in Europe, and I suspect in the US as well) got its start AS agitprop, shilling for the Soviet Union by demonstrating against US nukes (but not against good peace loving socialist nukes). The KGB actually called many of the shots for them.

Watermelon is a very appropriate term.

Posted by: Bill at June 23, 2004 11:53 AM

At least lefties are wiling to stand on principal. I can only dream of a conservative candidate to challenge the republiclans.

Posted by: GPA at June 24, 2004 02:42 AM

I'd like to ask you to join me in a nationwide campaign to open the upcoming presidential debates to include independent candidate Ralph Nader.

A new organization is being launched -- LetNaderDebate.Org -- whose mission is to bring thousands of fellow Americans into an effort to demand that Nader's voice be included in the televised debates, the first of which is scheduled for September.

We have begun by circulating our OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH, calling on him to open the debates and demand Nader's inclusion. In order for the debates to be an appropriately engaged forum, Nader's voice must be included. He offers a significantly different perspective on the pressing issues of the day -- including the war in Iraq -- and his participation will surely invigorate the dialogue. You don't have to be a Nader voter to support an open and democratic debate!

To sign the open letter to President Bush go to www.LetNaderDebate.org. You can also join me by giving a gift to this effort (it is a 527 fund, not a campaign fund), and also email emailing your friends and contacts about it.

So let's go and get Nader into the debates. Let me know how it goes.

Best,
Gwen Mandell
gwenmand@aol.com

http://www.letnaderdebate.org/

Posted by: gwen at June 24, 2004 03:30 AM