Nader: Unsafe in any state

By Todd Gitlin

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Nov 1, 2000 | Read the story

Todd Gitlin makes one of the better arguments for voting for Gore that I have read but, for me, nothing anyone says can change my mind. It all comes down to trust. Ralph Nader is not perfect but he is an American hero. He is the only one speaking the whole truth. I can no longer expect the Democratic Party to do that. If Ralph Nader believes that what he is doing will benefit the country, then so do I. I TRUST HIM.

-- Carol McCurry

Todd Gitlin makes his own best counterargument when he says that many of the things lost to Reagan have never been regained. Why is this? Because the Democrats, for whom I have always voted, have done nothing. Did they pass any campaign reform legislation while they had the chance? Did they lift a finger to slow the astonishing rise of corporate power? How about something as simple as enforcing EPA automobile mileage increases? We've had eight years to try to regain something, anything. Instead, our "choices" are men who helped vote both Scalia and Thomas onto the Supreme Court. They have also brought us NAFTA, "free" world trade and the V-chip. With pragmatists like these at the helm, who needs Republicans?

I don't want Bush as president, but the fact that he is even in contention screams out that we need to start something new, regardless of the pain that may be involved. The people joining the Green movement are not necessarily looking for a "left-wing alternative," but ANY alternative to corporate power. Does one have to be left wing to object to the obscene amount of power multinationals possess? To want fair elections? To advocate the building of schools instead of prisons? I don't think so.

As Gandhi said, "First they ignore you/Then they laugh at you/Then they fight you/Then you win."

I think we're doing pretty well. We're already to the third stage.

-- Larry Strub

Next Page: I would love to read the headline, "Bush wins, Nader blamed"

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