Nov. 3 Letters to the Editor

Posted on Nov. 03, 2008, at 12:00 a.m.

Daniel Bowman’s editorial, “Nader: Mucking up Elections and Bumming out Dems since 1996,” displays a great deal of resentment for the Independent presidential candidate, yet little knowledge of Ralph Nader’s policies and platforms or the important role third-party candidates play in our politics.

Ralph Nader and Green candidate Cynthia McKinney represent the only genuine anti-war candidates on the ballot. Sen. Barack Obama’s Iraq “withdrawal” plan is ambiguous at best, relying heavily on Blackwater and other private mercenary firms, and he wants U.S. forces re-deployed to Afghanistan, essentially trading one war for another.

Nader’s opposition to military aggression in the Middle East is absolute. He also calls for cutting the bloated, wasteful military-spending budget, while Obama wants to increase it.

Additionally, Nader would clamp down on Wall Street’s corporate crime spree; he advocates for universal healthcare and plans to invest in wind, solar and other forms of alternative energy, not nuclear, or “clean” coal.

Nader is not a secret “Republican agent,” and those who blame him for Al Gore’s infamous 2000 loss incorrectly assume Nader-supporters would have automatically shifted their votes to democrat, had Nader not been on the ballot.

Finally, I wish to counter the notion that a vote for Nader is a “wasted” vote. The truth is the last two decades have found the Democratic Party moving significantly to the right. When the democratic Congress has spent the last two years continuing to fund the Iraq War, voting to legalize Bush’s warrantless spying program and refusing to impeach the most impeachable president in modern history, how can one claim they are better than the Republicans?

Ralph Nader serves as an alternative to the two-party, corporate duopoly which offers only endless war for empire, bailouts for the wealthy elites and constant erosions of our civil liberties. Call him a stubborn “spoiler” if you must, but his voice deserves to be heard.

- Adam Marletta

Graduate Student

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.