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04/24/2004 Archived Entry: "Nader's Moment"

Posted by antle @ 04:58 PM EST [Link]

IS THIS NADER'S MOMENT?: I have tended to wonder what Ralph Nader's motivation to run for president in 2004 is. Opposition to George W. Bush seems to have mobilized the left in a way that Al Gore never could have. Principled liberals and leftists with misgivings about John Kerry nevertheless do not want to tip the election to President Bush, who in all probability carried at least two states he needed to put him over the top last time around on the strength of Nader's votes.

Considering this, and taking into account the fact that Nader has started late and is running without the Green Party's nomination, it was hard to see what the longtime consumer advocate could hope to accomplish. He has already experienced difficulty getting on the ballot in places like Oregon where he once had strong support. It didn't seem likely that he would be able to reproduce his 2000 performance again this year; in fact, I half-expect him to get something closer to the 700,000 votes he got in 1996.

Over at Tech Central Station, James Glassman disagrees. He argues that if the antiwar movement begins to grow, given the similarity between Bush and Kerry on the issue, this could be Nader's moment. I'm not entirely persuaded by his analysis, but I do find it interesting. Read on.