I backed Nader in '00, but not '04.
Tom Tomorrow pretty much sums it up:
Nader’s critique of corporate power and its corrosive effect on American democracy is spot-on. But if the point of these third-party runs is to inject that critique into mainstream discourse — well, we’re way past the point of diminishing returns, and actually deep into some sort of anti-matter universe, in which information is literally sucked out of people’s brains at the first mention of his name. In the way that Dan Rather’s report on George Bush going AWOL turned into a discussion about Dan Rather, the only debate another Nader candidacy is going to inspire is a debate about Nader himself, and I just don’t see the point.
I stand by my 2000 vote. The two-party zero-sum game reeks to high heaven. Gore did NOT make his case; he spent his campaign acting like Bush Lite, rarely mentioning the environment and, for Christ's sake, picking Lieberman as his running-mate.
I think the only way to get out of the goddamn lesser-evil hole is a viable third-party candidate. I was hoping to see the Green Party build some momentum from Nader's candidacy, but of course the spoiler label (which I feel is undeserved, for reasons which I've already
explained) scuttled any possibility of that happening and has set back the cause by...well, assuming we get a two-term Democrat in November, I'd say sixteen years. (If we get Clinton, that may knock it down to twelve; I see a lot of dissatisfied Democrats four years from now if she's President.)
Anyway. The problem for me is, it just seems like there's better use for his time. Nader could do a lot as a lawyer, as a Congressman, as the general public advocate his always been. His grassroots activism has power, and has a purpose -- for God's sake, we've got poisonous toys coming in from China; he should be all over TV talking about that. Public safety is HIS ISSUE.
Yeah, corporate power IS an issue that is BADLY overlooked, by BOTH parties. But another Presidential campaign isn't going to get people to listen to him. Lord knows I wish people WOULD listen to him, but it's not going to happen like this.