The following is an e-mail exchange between Mattro and Paul, Raptorial's co-founders. Paul is a law student, politically aligned with Nader but also an election pragmatist (supporting Gore because Bush would be worse). Mattro is a "social philosopher" (so-to-speak) and an unapologetic Nader supporter. The two recently engaged in an e-mail exchange re: the results of Election 2000. The Exchange is posted here in its unabridged form...
Howdy Paul, I thought that Gore showed his true colors towards the end of the election when he realized the 3-6% that Nader was drawing was actually going to effect the outcome of the election. Instead of stepping up to the mic and saying: "you know, maybe the US should step out of the WTO and NAFTA until these treaties can be made more labor and environmentally friendly..." OR "perhaps it IS time to analyze our overcrowded prison system and to take a look at why so many innocent people are put to death under capital punishment..." OR "we need to stop ALL logging on public lands..." OR "there is far too much corporate money in politics nowadays, we need to think of new ways to finance campaigns and reign in the influence of corporate money..." OR "the Cold War is over... we could cut the military budget by 50% without negativley effecting national security."
OR ANYTHING TO LEGITIMATELY WIN OVER NADER SUPPORTERS... Instead, he played the fear card and essentially said: "If Bush wins everything will be worse... the Supreme Court... Oil drilling... be very afraid." I will never again vote for a candidate out of fear. To me doing so is being oppressed. I personally found letting go of the two-party thing to be quite liberating.
But you're right, Bush won and Nader played a considerable role in this.
Don't despair. Obviously we disagree on what this election will mean for America, but as I said, I think Bush winning indeed has a silver lining: * Gore DID win the popular vote and no one alive today can remember the last time a candidate with the plurality didn't get the seat. We can't say what will or won't happen with that situation. Today's media is different than 1888 (the last time this happened)... also WHO can vote is different today; * Gore's votes + Nader's votes = a definite liberal-leaning majority of about 51 or 52% If Bush thinks he can skirt this slim majority and start living his Presidential wet dream, he's in for a rude awakening; * We have the best chance we've EVER had to get rid of the Electoral College or at the very least instill some kind of Preferential Voting system (aka Automatic Second Ballot); * The Republicans nominated a complete idiot and (I believe) will regret it eventually; * Every reporter in the country will now be crawling up Bush's ass with a microscope... just like they did with Clinton. Something tells me Bush has MORE skeletons than Clinton; * Trust me, Bush winning will be the best thing that ever happened to NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, etc. It will be like giving these groups steroid injections; * In two years, Democrats can take the House and Senate all the way back.
The thought of Alfred E. Neuman as President makes me sick, too. But time fuckin' flies and one of the few beauties of the American system is wanna-be-dictators will have no long term success here. We have checks and balances all over the god-damned place. Mattro --> THIS DISCUSSION CONTINUES --> |
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