Gang Green

The Democrats can cure their Ralph Nader problem by attacking him -- immediately and ferociously.

by Michael Tomasky
The American Prospect
07-23-03

http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2003/07/tomasky-m-07-23.html

"Here they come again. As if the last two and a half years have been some sort of game show with no real consequences for America and the world, the Greens signaled at their national committee meeting this weekend that they have every intention of running a presidential candidate in 2004."

(snip)

"So here's a thought for an enterprising Democratic candidate: Attack Nader right now, and with lupine ferocity. Say he's a madman for thinking of running again. Blast him especially hard on foreign policy, saying that if it were up to the Greens, America would give no aid to Israel and it would cease to exist, and if it were up to the Greens, America would not have even defended itself against a barbarous attack by going into Afghanistan. Have at him, and hard, from the right. Then nail him from the left on certain social issues, on abortion rights and other things that he's often pooh-poohed and dismissed as irrelevant. Cause an uproar. Be dramatic. Don't balance it with praise about what he's done for consumers. To the contrary, talk about how much he's damaging consumers today by not caring who's in charge of the Food and Drug Administration or the Federal Communications Commission."

(snip)

"Who should do it? That's up to them. It wouldn't have much impact coming from Joe Lieberman, because he's not hunting for any votes over there in anything close to Nader territory. It has to be someone with at least one leg in the liberal soil -- John Kerry, Dick Gephardt or Howard Dean. Yes, Dean. If Dean does this, he doesn't lose his base -- his base is pissed-off Democrats who hate Nader for 2000, so if anything, he augments his standing among them. And, of course, he sends a reassuring signal to the centrist wing of the party that fears his success; it would give them something about him to admire. He can't lose.

"Nader is obviously out to kill the Democrats. The collateral damage, to regular citizens whose lives are directly affected by which party is in power, is not his concern. He has long since quit caring about that. It's time a Democrat killed back."

- more . . .

http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2003/07/tomasky-m-07-23.html

and it makes just as much sense now

Greens would be turned off by such sleazy tactics.

but i thought the real problem facing the dems. was the repooks. :shrug:

i'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the dems attack the republicans right now, and with lupine ferocity. i know it hasn't been tried in 20 years, but who knows, it just might solve the dems problems with the repooks and nader.

.....and it is still :boring:

when you should be trying to slow your parties move to the right just enough to appease him.