Democrats against Nader
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| Fri, 06-25-2004 - 8:41am |
Talk about HARSH!
http://www.hillnews.com/news/062404/nader.aspx
Arizona Democrats filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to disqualify independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader from the ballot.
The Democrats claim that more than 15,000 of the 21,000 signatures turned in by the Nader campaign two weeks ago are invalid. The state requires at least 14,694 valid signatures.
In 2000, George Bush won Arizona by six percentage points, with Nader receiving 3 percent of the vote.
Volunteers at the state Democratic Party headquarters pored over the signatures looking for duplicates and unregistered voters, as well as signatures gathered by nonresidents or convicted felons.
The lawsuit, which by law must be decided by July 2, also challenges Nader’s use of a placeholder vice-presidential candidate on the petitions.
Kevin Zeese, a spokesman for the Nader campaign, said Democrats were using
technicalities to challenge Nader because they are insecure about Democrat John Kerry’s ability to attract voters.
“I think it’s time for the Democratic Party to change their name to the Anti-Democratic Party,†Zeese said.
The Arizona lawsuit puts an additional burden on the Nader campaign, which has struggled to raise money. The campaign raised less than $200,000 in May while spending more than $95,000 in Texas.
Michael Rochmes
http://www.hillnews.com/news/062304/cbc.aspx
BRIEFLY
‘Get your a** out’
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) had a harsh and simple message yesterday for independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader: “Get your a** out.â€
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) made that comment to the man many Democrats blamed for putting Bush in the White House, according to several sources in the closed-door meeting.
“Many of us told him that,†said Rep. Major Owens (D-N.Y.). But Nader appeared unwilling to heed the CBC’s advice, causing many black lawmakers to express their frustration.
“The guy’s got a Messiah complex,†said Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.). “He���s all over the park on why he wants to run. He gives you all kinds of reasons, none of which match the rationale of his candidacy.â€
Nader arrived at the meeting 30 minutes late, and it was interrupted by a series of roll-call votes. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the CBC, said he hoped the meeting had “an impact on his conscience.†“Now we pray that he’ll synchronize his conscience with his conduct.â€
Hans Nichols
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
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Hey Truemobile!
Welcome to the board!
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They are afraid of his measely few percentage points
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
I don't support Nader, but I do respect the idea that someone has to stand up to the two party system if it's ever going to change. He will make only tiny inroads, but it's a start if he does not allow himself to be intimidated. Perhaps if third party candidates can gradually become viable, we will eventually have better candidates to choose from than the two rather lackluster ones we see today.
Edited 6/25/2004 5:57 pm ET ET by liveanew
I agree, any individual poll or set of polls at any given time, especially when they are very close, can be meaningless. However the difference in outcome for Kerry with or without Nader in the race has been pretty consistent and rather significant, so I can see where it makes the Dems nervous.
The Dems are only playing defense against the dirty tricks of the Repubs:
SALEM, Ore. - Two conservative groups have been phoning people around Oregon this week, urging them to attend Ralph Nader’s convention Saturday in hopes of putting Nader’s name on Oregon’s presidential ballot.
The groups make no bones about their goal — to draw votes away from Democrat John Kerry and help President Bush win this battleground state in November.
“We disagree with Ralph Nader’s politics, but we’d love to see him make the ballot,” said Russ Walker of Citizens for a Sound Economy, a group best known for its opposition to tax increases.
The Oregon Family Council also has been working the phones to boost attendance at Nader’s event — with the idea that it could help Bush this fall.
“We aren’t bashful about doing it,” said Mike White, the group’s director. “We are a conservative, pro-family organization, and Bush is our guy on virtually every issue.”
Even if it comes from an unusual source, Nader can probably use the help, given that this will be his second attempt to win a spot on Oregon’s ballot.
In April, Nader held an evening rally in Portland that was intended to attract 1,000 people needed to sign petitions to put him on the ballot. Only 741 showed up.
Nader placed some of the blame on supporters tuning in the NCAA basketball championship game, which occurred the same night, rather than attend the rally.
The 70-year-old consumer activist plans to travel to Portland for the second convention, which will be held at a local high school.
The move by the Republican-leaning groups to boost attendance at Nader’s mini-convention is legal.
State law says that for Nader to qualify for the ballot as independent candidate, he need only draw 1,000 registered votes — regardless of their party affiliation — together in one place to sign petitions for him.
The head of Nader’s Oregon campaign, Greg Kafoury, said he’s had no contact with the two conservative groups that have been calling people this week. But he said he’s not bothered by their actions, either.
If Nader qualifies for Oregon’s ballot, polls suggest that he could be a factor in whether Kerry or Bush wins the seven electoral votes of this swing state in November.
If Bush can do something to seize on his momentum to build on the slim leads in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, Kerry is in for a very long, and disappointing election night, but that is only IF Bush can capitalize on the current momentum (that remains to be seen).
It is still early.
Yes, the Republicans would certainly like to see Nader on the ballot, but I don't see any hateful, angry rhetoric in what you posted. The Republicans' motives in this are no big secret, so I'm not sure what you mean by dirty tricks.
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Fair Play in Politics???
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
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