All,
It's GREAT NEWS to know that once again Ralph Nader is going to seriously demand that all three candidates in the race for the Presidency take full and complete political and ideological responsiblity for both their stated and unstated positions on the issues. Unlike many others who fear and despise him I am very happy to see Nader back in the political arena again because his truly radical critiques of the present political and economic system and the politicians who serve it is very important and goes a long way toward properly calling all the candidates out and "sharpening the contradictions" in the present battle between Obama, Clinton, and McCain. After all this is what REAL DEMOCRACY is truly all about and it's at best INFANTILE for the Democratic Party and their presidential candidates to pretend as though their feet shouldn't be held to the fire. That's precisely what we ALL should be doing no matter who we support! As I said back in both 2004 and 2000 when Nader was unjustly and absurdly accused of sabotaging and thus 'spoiling" the so-called "inevitable victories" of John Kerry and Al Gore IF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATES ARE NOT TOUGH, ORGANIZED, AND PROGRESSIVE ENOUGH TO FIGHT THE REACTIONARY RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS TOE TO TOE AND PREVAIL ON THE MERITS OF THEIR POSITIONS THEN THEY DON'T DESERVE TO WIN. While it's clear that I personally support Obama for the Presidency (and will continue to do so) I still feel the exact same way about this election as I did in previous races: In this particular case it's up to Obama himself to seriously address and honestly confront the more than legitimate and necessary political criticisms and analyses that Nader has made and will continue to make of him, Clinton, and McCain.
SO WELCOME TO THE PARTY RALPH and please stay on EVERYONE'S case like you always have...We need it...
Kofi
"Dare To Struggle, Dare To Win.."
Ralph Nader Enters Presidential Race
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ralph Nader lashed out at the Democratic presidential candidates Monday after they said he could hurt their chances of taking back the White House.
Ralph Nader's decision to again run for president is drawing criticism from Democrats.
The longtime consumer advocate announced Sunday that he will launch his fourth consecutive White House bid -- fifth if his 1992 write-in campaign is included.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Nader accused Illinois Sen. Barack Obama of name-calling and challenged him to "address the issues."
"Above all, explain why you don't come down hard on the economic crimes against minorities in city ghettos: payday loans, predatory lending, rent-to-own rackets, landlord abuses, lead contamination, asbestos," Nader said.
"There's an unseemly silence by you, Barack -- a community organizer in poor areas in Chicago many years ago -- on this issue," he said.
Nader called Sen. Hillary Clinton the Democrat "most loved by big business," referencing a Fortune magazine article from last year.
The June article said Clinton had "probably the broadest CEO support among the candidates" at that point.
Many Democrats fear that Nader, who turns 74 this week, could draw votes away from whoever gets the party's nomination, potentially helping presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain win the White House in November. Obama and Clinton were quick to pounce on Nader after he made his announcement.
"He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush, and, eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about," Obama said at a town hall meeting Sunday.
Clinton also said Nader "is responsible for George W. Bush" and called his candidacy "regrettable" during a Boston, Massachusetts, fundraiser Sunday night.
"We can't assume that we're going be able to win overwhelmingly," she said. "We're going to have to fight for every state, and Ralph Nader is a problem."
Earlier, Clinton said Nader -- who says environmental policies are central to his platform -- "prevented Al Gore from being the greenest president we could have had."
Nader has long rejected accusations that he served as a spoiler in 2000, effectively helping Bush beat Gore. Nader stood by his contention that Gore won the 2000 race because he took the popular vote, saying Florida's electoral vote "was stolen from him."
Nader said Democrats should "concentrate on the thieves who steal elections" instead of "scapegoating the Greens," a reference to the Green Party, the ticket he ran on in 2000.
"The Democrats ought to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves why they have not been able to landslide the worst Republican Party and the White House and Congress over the last 20 years," he said.
Nader said he does not believe that any of the candidates, including McCain, will come through on pledges to reduce the influence of special interests in Washington.
"First of all, if they wanted to do that, they'd put front and center public funding of public campaigns," cracking down on corporate crimes and other issues. "Washington has closed its doors on citizen groups," he complained, calling the nation's capital "corporate-occupied territory."
"We have to give the system more competition, more voices, more choices, more freedom, more diversity," Nader said in a defense of his candidacy.
It's GREAT NEWS to know that once again Ralph Nader is going to seriously demand that all three candidates in the race for the Presidency take full and complete political and ideological responsiblity for both their stated and unstated positions on the issues. Unlike many others who fear and despise him I am very happy to see Nader back in the political arena again because his truly radical critiques of the present political and economic system and the politicians who serve it is very important and goes a long way toward properly calling all the candidates out and "sharpening the contradictions" in the present battle between Obama, Clinton, and McCain. After all this is what REAL DEMOCRACY is truly all about and it's at best INFANTILE for the Democratic Party and their presidential candidates to pretend as though their feet shouldn't be held to the fire. That's precisely what we ALL should be doing no matter who we support! As I said back in both 2004 and 2000 when Nader was unjustly and absurdly accused of sabotaging and thus 'spoiling" the so-called "inevitable victories" of John Kerry and Al Gore IF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATES ARE NOT TOUGH, ORGANIZED, AND PROGRESSIVE ENOUGH TO FIGHT THE REACTIONARY RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS TOE TO TOE AND PREVAIL ON THE MERITS OF THEIR POSITIONS THEN THEY DON'T DESERVE TO WIN. While it's clear that I personally support Obama for the Presidency (and will continue to do so) I still feel the exact same way about this election as I did in previous races: In this particular case it's up to Obama himself to seriously address and honestly confront the more than legitimate and necessary political criticisms and analyses that Nader has made and will continue to make of him, Clinton, and McCain.
SO WELCOME TO THE PARTY RALPH and please stay on EVERYONE'S case like you always have...We need it...
Kofi
"Dare To Struggle, Dare To Win.."
Ralph Nader Enters Presidential Race
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ralph Nader lashed out at the Democratic presidential candidates Monday after they said he could hurt their chances of taking back the White House.
Ralph Nader's decision to again run for president is drawing criticism from Democrats.
The longtime consumer advocate announced Sunday that he will launch his fourth consecutive White House bid -- fifth if his 1992 write-in campaign is included.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Nader accused Illinois Sen. Barack Obama of name-calling and challenged him to "address the issues."
"Above all, explain why you don't come down hard on the economic crimes against minorities in city ghettos: payday loans, predatory lending, rent-to-own rackets, landlord abuses, lead contamination, asbestos," Nader said.
"There's an unseemly silence by you, Barack -- a community organizer in poor areas in Chicago many years ago -- on this issue," he said.
Nader called Sen. Hillary Clinton the Democrat "most loved by big business," referencing a Fortune magazine article from last year.
The June article said Clinton had "probably the broadest CEO support among the candidates" at that point.
Many Democrats fear that Nader, who turns 74 this week, could draw votes away from whoever gets the party's nomination, potentially helping presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain win the White House in November. Obama and Clinton were quick to pounce on Nader after he made his announcement.
"He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush, and, eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about," Obama said at a town hall meeting Sunday.
Clinton also said Nader "is responsible for George W. Bush" and called his candidacy "regrettable" during a Boston, Massachusetts, fundraiser Sunday night.
"We can't assume that we're going be able to win overwhelmingly," she said. "We're going to have to fight for every state, and Ralph Nader is a problem."
Earlier, Clinton said Nader -- who says environmental policies are central to his platform -- "prevented Al Gore from being the greenest president we could have had."
Nader has long rejected accusations that he served as a spoiler in 2000, effectively helping Bush beat Gore. Nader stood by his contention that Gore won the 2000 race because he took the popular vote, saying Florida's electoral vote "was stolen from him."
Nader said Democrats should "concentrate on the thieves who steal elections" instead of "scapegoating the Greens," a reference to the Green Party, the ticket he ran on in 2000.
"The Democrats ought to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves why they have not been able to landslide the worst Republican Party and the White House and Congress over the last 20 years," he said.
Nader said he does not believe that any of the candidates, including McCain, will come through on pledges to reduce the influence of special interests in Washington.
"First of all, if they wanted to do that, they'd put front and center public funding of public campaigns," cracking down on corporate crimes and other issues. "Washington has closed its doors on citizen groups," he complained, calling the nation's capital "corporate-occupied territory."
"We have to give the system more competition, more voices, more choices, more freedom, more diversity," Nader said in a defense of his candidacy.
