ralph nadar
 

what are your thoughts?

since i live in democratic state i'm prob going to vote for nadar b/c he needs the votes to get federal campaign funding... besides- i like the guy and i believe in him and his platforms....

I think the "choice" between Republican and Democrat is basically a non-choice. We need strong 3rd or even 4th parties out there to keep these parties honest. GWB, Clinton and even Bush I were abismal in my opinion due to their tendencies to coopt the other party's agenda.

I'm essentially libertarian in my ideals. Bush seems like the lesser of two evils. However, it is a crappy thing that I have to settle for someone like that. I think Bush's stance on civil liberties, this new FCC decency thing, his stance on gay marriage, etc. are not favorable. However, I'm with him on his fiscal and foriegn policy. I don't really like Kerry on his fiscal and foriegn policy and no one really knows what his social policy is as he has been all over the spectrum with his statements there.

I'll probably end up voting Bush. However, if the libertarian party or any libertarian leaning third party ever put forth a candidate that I thought might get enough of a vote to get that party federal $, I'd vote for 'em in a heartbeat.

A vote for Nader isn't a wasted vote. It's a message to the now slightly left-of-center Democrat party to get back onto their traditional platform.

i'm glad you said this- b/c i got into an argument with some guy at a pub a few weeks ago (a brit) who said that voting for nadar was wasting my vote- and i freaked out at him- but it made me question my choice anyway... hmm i hope it would make them realize.... but who knows....

I think America in general has gotten waaay too caught up in a brand name mentality. For example, we go to Home Depot and see two tractors. Even though we have done the research to know that Brand X and John Deer tractors are made by the same people and include the same parts and service, we'll often spend hundreds of extra dollars because we "trust" the John Deer name more.

Our kids spend hundreds of dollars (of their parents' money) on name-brand shoes and clothes just to be accepted in school. It's just our culture and how we're brought up. The Green Party is actually doing a fairly decent job of developing their "brand" of politics. I worry that they're going to become like Perot's "reform" party and be too centered on one individual.

Not to be picky... but if we're going to talk about him, can we at least spell his name correctly? It's N-A-D-E-R, not Nadar. :)

lol sorry my bad ;) NADER i thought it looked funny

I'm bumping this, because I really agree with Nader's political philosophy and his stance on issues.

I'm interested in hearing others opinions on Nader and/or 3rd parties.

Nader's campaign site

I live in Ohio and am undecided on who I'm voting for in the presidential election, but I do know who I'm voting for in my Senate and House elections.

The only wasted vote is the one that isn't used.

Well said moe

Agreed.

I've seen stats that say anywhere between 25% and 33% of Americans are registered independent and/or third party.

It's been very difficult in the past to get a third party on a ballot here in Ohio. But it seems like a significant number of Americans are leaning that way. And I think that if third party/independent parties were more equally represented, even more people would vote that way. I know several people who are registered either Democrat or Republican only so they can vote in the primary, not necessarily because they agree with the majority of that party.