The Nader Effect?
Whether or not one sees it as making a significant difference, this piece on a Republican push to get Ralph Nader on the ballot as a possible vote-drain from the Democratic side is interesting. His effect in Florida in 2000 is still open to debate, mainly because there's nothing to say that the Nader-energized voters would've even bothered to vote if he'd not given them something to vote for -- not to mention that Gore/Lieberman ran a terrrible campaign. (I voted for them, but with considerable reluctance in another "lesser of two evils" ballot.) Whether or not the vote-dilution tactic will be effective is certainly up for debate, but that at least some of the support is intended solely to promote Nader as a spoiler is clear from items such as this:
That both Nader's and the Democratic sides are each making feints at legal action, though, has to be tickling the Bushies, as sowing bad feelings among more Liberal-minded voters about voting cannot possibly help the Democratic side.
Whether or not one sees it as making a significant difference, this piece on a Republican push to get Ralph Nader on the ballot as a possible vote-drain from the Democratic side is interesting. His effect in Florida in 2000 is still open to debate, mainly because there's nothing to say that the Nader-energized voters would've even bothered to vote if he'd not given them something to vote for -- not to mention that Gore/Lieberman ran a terrrible campaign. (I voted for them, but with considerable reluctance in another "lesser of two evils" ballot.) Whether or not the vote-dilution tactic will be effective is certainly up for debate, but that at least some of the support is intended solely to promote Nader as a spoiler is clear from items such as this:
"We saw it as an obvious opportunity to split the liberal base in a swing state," Matt Kibbe, CSE's president and CEO told ABC News. (From the second page of the article.)
That both Nader's and the Democratic sides are each making feints at legal action, though, has to be tickling the Bushies, as sowing bad feelings among more Liberal-minded voters about voting cannot possibly help the Democratic side.
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