Nation-Building

Ralph Nader is back ! Ralph Nader goes on NBC’s Meet the Press tomorrow morning, stoking speculation that the consumer advocate is gearing up for another presidential bid. [...] An email to supporters from Nader’s presidential exploratory committee ticked off a list of issues that have been “pulled off the table by the corporatized political machines in this momentous election year,” including defense budget cuts, opposition to nuclear power, and a single-payer national health insurance system. well, single-payer would be great, but opposition to nuclear power? defense budget cuts? It's like he's stuck in 1962. He's the candidate for Counterpunch, and exhibit A of why I think the Progressive movement is fundamentally conservative (and stands apart from the liberal mainstream). As I argued previously, in one sense Nader's run will benefit the Democratic nominee , because it will permit them to distance themselves from the ultraleft fringe and make a more compelling case...

I actually think this would be a good idea : Ralph Nader has formed a presidential exploratory committee, and said in an interview Wednesday that he will launch another presidential bid if he's convinced he can raise enough money to appear on the vast majority of state ballots this fall. Nader, who ran as an independent candidate in each of the past three presidential elections, told ABCNews.com that he will run in 2008 if he is convinced over the next month that he would be able to raise $10 million over the course of the campaign — and attract enough lawyers willing to work free of charge to get his name on state ballots. Nader makes a good point that the truly "progressive" candidates - Kucinich, and to a lesser extent, Edwards - have dropped out. Nader making a run would basically be an outlet for the far left. By bleeding off some of that fringe, Nader would actually free the Democratic nominee to tack back from the far left and settle more comfortably in left-of-cen...