Steve Benen:
By his own admission, Nader doesn't expect to win, he doesn't expect to change the Democratic Party's agenda, he doesn't expect to appear in the debates, and he doesn't even expect to make the ballot in every state. So, what exactly is the point here?
Asked about this a few months ago, Nader said, "What third parties can do is bring young people in, set standards on how to run a presidential election and keep the progressive agenda in front of the people. And maybe tweak a candidate here and there in the major parties."
Is it me, or is this wildly unpersuasive? Major parties can and do bring young people into the process; in fact, Barack Obama seems to be pretty good at it. For that matter, Nader's multiple efforts have never affected election standards, and his campaigns have generally done a poor job of promoting progressive ideas, instead focusing on his personal disdain for the two major parties.
Yes, I suppose Nader could certainly "tweak a candidate here and there in the major parties," but isn't that a pretty shallow reason to launch four consecutive presidential bids?
Also John Edwards already -- effectively -- pushed the two remaining Democratic contenders to the left on a number of issues, notably health care and trade.
I'm not sure if I agree with Benen in his conclusion that people aren't hungering for a "third" party, but, really, what does that mean?
IMHO, that means folks want a party that more closely represents their own personal political beliefs; but there's never enough consensus within a third of the electorate on what that party would be. The Greens have demonstrated there's not enough interest in their ideas; ditto with Libertarians. And Mayor Bloomberg and the Unity Party -- by advocating the same platform of the Democratic nominees -- is showing that there's not enough "centrist" ground to mount a serious campaign.
Frankly, without a parliamentary system of government, it looks like we're stuck with a two-party system.
So, here we go again. IMHO, Nader'll be lucky to match his 0.38% from last election . |
