One central reason for voting Nader, is to force (continue to) Gore
to a more populist position. It in fact appears to be leading to
his winning-- thus turning the 'vote for bush' argument upside down.\
wcm>
> COASTAL POST
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> October, 2000
>
>
>
>
> Vote for Nader
>
> The November vote for president may mark a turning point in American
> politics . There is a big difference between Gore and Bush, but it is
> like the difference between cancer and polio. One can be more quickly
> fatal than the other, though both are diseases. But there is a chance to
> move towards good health, and it ought not to be missed. Voters
> concerned about the state of the earth, our nation and our democracy
> should vote for Nader.
>
> The lesser evil choice has been drummed into our heads by both sides of
> the ruling party . Each works to convince us that we must vote against,
> if not for, in order to keep the greater evil out of office. At what
> point should a thoughtful voter say: enough? At this point.
>
> Bush has the intellectual depth of a wafer, while Gore has that of a
> marshmallow. Americans will probably go for that cream-filled middle,
> but no matter which major candidate wins in November, most people will
> lose. That corporate employee will continue the global policies of
> scorched earth profiteering that leaves millions with money, more
> millions with empty stomachs, and billions with empty wallets.
>
> Some argue the importance of liberal votes for Gore to head off a right
> wing assault. They are living in the Reagan-Gingrich past, when the
> right was stronger, before Clinton stole its politics. And they are
> primarily concerned with single issues, rather than the all encompassing
> one: the state of our democracy and our world.
>
> Only Nader is confronting that issue, critically, intelligently, and
> with a track record of voluntary citizen representation that puts his
> corporate financed opponents to shame.
>
> While the two heirs of Washington wealth and power battle over who has
> more compassion for the status quo, they differ only in how much oil
> stock they own . Of course Gore and the Democrats are better than Bush
> and the Republicans on many issues. But they are the same on the issues
> that count most.
>
> They disagree on how to treat the disease, but they believe it
> ultimately represents good health. That disease is a system dominated by
> corporate capital, and a politics so beholden to wealth that both
> candidates receive the same amount of money from many financial
> interests. Even the segregated debates are controlled by a private
> corporation, founded by the establishment parties.
>
> The corporadoes may argue about handguns , but they agree on major
> weapons ; they debate gun control for individuals, not corporations .
> They both want more military power and more weapons profits, only
> differing on how much .
>
> The corporate candidates may dispute the use of government in the
> marketplace, but only on how small and insignificant it should be. The
> new Democrats have adopted the economic policies of the old Republicans,
> calling for no interference with the magic of the market. And it was
> they who proudly announced the end of the era of big government, while
> rejoicing in the era of global capitalism and its destructive policies
> , allowed freedom from any government controls.
>
> If there is anything to please secular voters, it is probably that the
> Republicans presently seem less obsessed with god than the Democrats.
>
> Panderings to piety and empty religious rhetoric have become a trademark
> of the Democrat’s duo . One says that before making any important
> decisions he asks “what would Jesus do”. Apparently, Jesus told Hot
> Lips that it was okay to bomb Kosovo, murder children in Iraq, and do
> other godly things in pursuit of the globalized economy.
>
> His partner was mentioning god so often that some of his fellow
> religionists grew uncomfortable and asked him to ease up on the
> invisible man stuff. These “new” democrats have not only put religion
> back into politics; they have all placed god at the head of the
> country.
>
> Both corporate tickets worship a blasphemous holy father of corporate
> capital, who commands “thou shalt kill”, if it supports profit-full,
> ethics-empty political economics. These are religious men who seem to
> have had moral vasectomies . They may dispute an American woman’s
> right to an abortion, but their no-choice, pro-death policies are the
> same when it comes to savaging Iraqi women and children.
>
> Nader has not made an issue of his religion or his relationship to a
> deity, but he has performed as one who respects and serves humanity.
> And not just one segment of it. He has not identified us as separate
> groups, but as what we are regardless of race, creed, sex or belief:
> citizens and consumers. He has fought for all of us on the highways and
> in the shopping malls, places where we are always together, even though
> isolated. He continues fighting to bring us into the most important
> place in a democracy: the government.
>
> Nader heads the Green party ticket, along with Winona LaDuke, and a 5%
> vote for him will not only gain them a financial foothold . It may also
> bring Democratic progressives back to their senses. Reduced to a
> desperate mob of Clinton worshipers by fear of the right wing, they have
> temporarily sacrificed their ideals, and come close to losing their
> brains . Had they dumped Clinton instead of slavishly defending him,
> Gore would now be running as the incumbent president. They will be
> further disgraced if they continue pursuing single issue, short term
> politics, while allowing capital to pursue its long term destruction
> of democracy, and the earth itself.
>
> A vote for Nader, and support for good Democrats in congress, could
> bring the party to its senses. It might also bring people back to
> voting, not only as an ideal, but as a way to affect change. To help
> our nation, our democracy and even the Democratic Party, Vote for
> Nader and LaDuke in November.
>
>
> Copyright (c) 2000 by Frank Scott. All rights reserved.
>
> This text may be used and shared in accordance with the
> fair-use provisions of U.S. copyright law, and it may be
> archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that
> the author is notified and no fee is charged for access.
> Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on
> other terms, in any medium, requires the consent of the author
> .
>
>
>
>
>
> frank scott
> http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/~frank
> email: [log in to unmask]
> 225 laurel place, san rafael ca. 94901
> (415)457 2415 fax(415)457 4791
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