Letter to Time Magazine, 11/16/00

by their fruits shall ye know them

Steve Lopez's article, "No Apologies," and Barbara Ehrenreich's article, "Don't Blame Me," explain the position of Ralph Nader and his supporters. No matter how eloquently that position is explained, to me it still looks like the baldest bag of sophistries ever unleashed in an American presidential election, which is saying a lot.

Ms. Ehrenreich complains of people who accused Naderites of "optical malingering-that we couldn't see the difference between the major candidates" when those same candidates "did their utmost to resemble one another." Of course they did. Both parties courted the middle-of-the-road voters. Unfortunately, that's the way to win. That doesn't mean there's no difference between the two candidates. Frankly, I don't know anyone who muttered "Gush Bore." I surely didn't. The prospect of a Bush presidency makes my blood run cold.

I don't like seeing the future of the country in the hands of the wishy washies any better than Ehrenreich does. But Nader's strategy could not possibly change the situation. I understand the thinking: left-progressive voters are captive so nobody bothers to court them. It's just assumed the Democrats will have their votes so they are ignored. Along comes Ralph Nader to steal those previously captive votes. Suddenly, the Democrats must court these voters too. But forcing the party to move to the Left only assures it's defeat. The middle-of-the-roaders will still decide the election and if the Democrats are too liberal for them, they'll put a Republican into office.

What angers critics of Nader and his supporters is their claim to taking such a high moral ground. They are "voting their conscience" while the rest of us are just amoral pragmatists, I suppose. But what kind of moral "purity" can allow for disregard of the consequences of their actions? Perhaps these people are well-heeled and privileged enough not to worry about what Bush will do to the underprivileged. How nice for them. How unfortunate for those of us who are forced to live in the real world. I hope these Green Party voters are happy when Bush destroys what's left of the ozone layer and abolishes every check against polluters.

Bottom line is what kind of man Nader's candidacy puts in the White House. Never mind the line, "Gore lost the election himself." Most of those who voted for Nader would have voted for Gore if Nader hadn't run. That's reality, something every moral purist should take a look at once in a while.

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