Ralph Nader, Spoiler?

I have too many ideas; I can't get to them all, and sometimes I can't make them come out right. I want to say something about how the American love of Free Speech (a love which I share) often contrasts with other American passions. But I'm not sure how to say it.

So instead I'll point you to this brilliant article in the Village Voice about Ralph Nader. It goes through why Mr. Nader might have had it in for the Democratic Party.

"The most pernicious myth spread by his campaign was the Tweedledee and Tweedledum line - a claim columnist Marianne Means branded "insane" and his opposite number Pat Buchanan never got near. Perhaps Nader concealed from himself that his nostalgic view of a Democratic Party that had shifted away from its progressive traditions was at odds with the hodgepodge he actually grew up with - an amalgam of machine hacks and Ivy League liberals, rip-roaring Southern racists and farmer-labor populists. But he certainly recognized the huge difference between a timid moderate Democrat like Al Gore and fierce right-wingers like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. These were Republicans of a sort never in power before Reagan. Like most politicians, however, Nader couldn't reveal what he really thought. He needed an explanation for campaigning in the swing states. So he exaggerated, distorted, misled, and dissembled. He lied."

Actually this is a good example of the intersection between freedom of speech and honesty.

Should Nader be allowed to run in 2004? Absolutely.

Should Nader be allowed to forward the idea that there is little to no difference between Senator Kerry and President Bush? Absolutely.

Should Nader run in 2004? No, he shouldn't. It will damage the causes he's believed in, and make the world a more dangerous place.

Should Nader forward the idea that there is little to no difference between senator Kerry and President Bush? No. The idea is a lie; there are vast differences between the two men. One thing everybody, right and left, can agree on is that this is an important election; do we really need Ralph Nader out there confusing the issues? I don't think we do.

But I recognize completely Nader's right to spread his misinformation should he chose to; ultimately the only person who can stop Ralph Nader is Ralph Nader.