General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ralph Nader's Open Letter to former President George W. Bush: "The Country You Destroyed" [View all]Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)when they opposed his environmental activism post election. I did not see it as valid then and I'm not all that impressed with it now.
I take the man as a whole and don't reduce Nader to 2000 anymore than I reduce Al Gore to 2000, when he ran with Joe, never mentioned Bill, supported DOMA and lost his own State before conceding faster than you can say SCOTUS. Al lost to GW Bush, a thing that should motivate this Party to take care of electoral business that is still left undone while we natter about an 80 year old activist who has had a diverse life that frequently served the public interest. Every year Florida elections are long lines and legal battles. Still. That is not the fault of Ralph Nader, but it is the fault of the Democratic Party of today and of the intervening years.
And you are incorrect that Nader only criticizes Democrats, here is a great piece by him on Paul Ryan from the last election cycle. :
Paul Ryans Vicious Budget
by RALPH NADER
The cruel impoverishment of the debate among the presidential and congressional candidates took a gigantic leap into the pits with Mitt Romneys selection of 42-year-old Rep. Paul Ryan from the deindustrialized town of Janesville, Wisconsin. Ryan is invariably described by reporters as an intellectual leader of the conservative movement and by fellow Republicans as a person who tells the hard truths to the American people.
The truth is that what has distinguished this fast-talking, glib, Ayn Rand-smitten, congenial young man is that he has a plan for the federal budget. On Capitol Hill that fact alone makes one a stand-out in the field of political narcissists whose mental tank harbors gaseous one-liners and kneejerk slogans.
The Ryan budget plan is a Koch brothers dream and the American peoples nightmare. It leads with a lie namely to control deficit spending by continuing it for at least 30 more years before his concoction of big tax cuts for the rich, further increases in the already bloated defense budget, and savage cuts in public services for the people, somehow balance the budget around mid-century
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/17/paul-ryans-vicious-budget/