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Ralph Nader for President?
By Brandon Whitney
Brandon is the creator of Homelandcolors.blogspot.com a blog that focuses on issues that affect the African American community. He is also a frequent guest on News and Notes’ Blogger Roundtable. Brandon has political experience as an outreach director for the Democratic party and is passionate about being a positive force in his community.
African American issues. He is also a frequent guest on News and Notes’ Blogger Roundtable.
Ralph Nader is not serious about establishing a third political party in the United States. Running for president can be a great symbolic action. Many people have used the presidential election as a tool for spreading awareness about particular issues. Sometimes this type of symbolism can be important. In fact, during the debates, it is sometimes the people on the fringe who force the more electable candidates to address issues that they might otherwise avoid. Ralph Nader is not one of those candidates. His symbolic impact is minimal and has become more so since the 2000 elections.
We probably do need a third party in our country. It would give people a real choice between the two that dominate our politics. However, a true third party will not be born during a presidential election. Rather, it will be the result of grassroots movements that spreads from state to state. It is almost impossible for a third party candidate to win the presidency, but third party governors, members of congress, as well as other state and city officials have been elected as independents. These are less glorious victories, but they have the potential to build the type of momentum to build a vibrant third party alternative for the American people.
If Nader were serious about generating a third party alternative in the United States to break up the duopoly of the Democratic and Republican parties, he would do more than run every four years for the office of president. He would aggressively work to elect school board members, mayors, governors, secretaries of state, and many other officials that do not have the same prestige of the presidency.
As we examine Ralph Nader and his efforts, it is important that we see what his mistakes are. The desire for a third party is not a bad one, but his insistence on symbolic action rather than on obtaining concrete results speaks to the flaw that many progressives have. We have lost so much that we have begun to believe that hopeless battles are the only ones worth fighting. We must change our worldview and rather than martyr ourselves in fights that cannot be won, we must change our tactics and pull victory from defeat.
