Maine Owl

Supporting Obama, sympathetic with Nader

I can't disagree with much of what Ralph Nader says. I agree with him about "political bigotry" from liberals ridiculing his campaign rather than tending to facets of their own that cause left-liberal votes to peel off. I think Atrios, Josh Marshall, and many others just fall into pit of blind nonsense where Nader is concerned.

Take this truculent column by Reed Hundt, carried somewhere in the vast TPM site. Hundt says Nader "doesn't deserve attention." What a stupid position if what you're concerned about is Nader peeling votes off the Democrat. Hundt writes Nader "has no credibility on issues." To who?

In my metal ears, Nader speaks consistently, directly, and positively to issues of peace, human rights, corporate power, consumer protection, etc., etc., etc. What does Hundt think about all this? That we should let the corporation agenda of overlord authoritarianism just own the Democrat? And we should vote for the Democrat simply because she is not the Republican. Hundt's is a debased, hopeless, conscienceless, top-down, non-participatory politics. Why should a Nader (or Kucinich, or Gravel, for that matter) not continue to challenge the front runners all the way? I'll stand for Obama, but I'll never stop challenging him. We'll find out if Obama is serious about participation, or if he is just a tool. Nader being there on the ballot and in the game will do nothing but help.

Let's take a look at some of what Nader is saying. I think this exchange from his announcement on Russert's program (Feb. 24) particularly is pithy:

RALPH NADER: Well, first of all, compare my Web site, votenader.org, and all the issues that Mr. Obama and Senator Clinton and Mr. McCain are not addressing that are supported by a majority of the American people. A majority of the American people support these issues. They want foreign and military policy not to just be an aggressive military situation.

But Senator Obama is a person of substance. He's also the first liberal evangelist in a long time. He's run a brilliant tactical campaign. But his better instincts and his knowledge have been censored by himself. And I give you the example, the Palestinian-Israeli issue, which is a real off the table issue for the candidates. So don't touch that, even though it's central to our security and to, to the situation in the Middle East. He was pro-Palestinian when he was in Illinois before he ran for the state Senate, during he ran--during the state Senate. Now he's, he's supporting the Israeli destruction of the tiny section called Gaza with a million and a half people. He doesn't have any sympathy for a civilian death ratio of about 300-to-1; 300 Palestinians to one Israeli. He's not taking a leadership position in supporting the Israeli peace movement, which represents former Cabinet ministers, people in the Knesset, former generals, former security officials, in addition to mayors and leading intellectuals. One would think he would at least say, "Let's have a hearing for the Israeli peace movement in the Congress," so we don't just have a monotone support of the Israeli government's attitude toward the Palestinians and their illegal occupation of Palestine.

TIM RUSSERT: But would you prefer, as an American citizen, to have Barack Obama or John McCain as president?

NADER: What I prefer as an American citizen?

RUSSERT: Yes.

NADER: You're asking me? I'm running for president, for heaven's sake.

RUSSERT: But as a citizen.

NADER: I would prefer that the American people organize, that whoever is in president--is president, they give that person backbone.

Yes, Obama is flawed, in some ways deeply. But he’s different in that he energizes people to action and, unlike Nader, just might win. That’s opposite of the Republican pattern, which is to crush people. I have to go with that this time around. It's dangerous for the overlord authority, even a possible Obama government itself. That is good for America, at least for now. It could and probably will all fall flat, but there is some potential, isn’t there?

Meanwhile, most of my energy goes into anti-war organizing. I’ll take any opening for that Obamania can offer.

I want to add here that I'm not too keen on what I'll call a "Naderite" orthodoxy either, that suggests a people are conscienceless if they do NOT leave the Democrats and vote for Nader or other minor candidate. On that end of the spectrum is THIS piece by Michael Colby from Vermont. Now let me say that I do agree with a bunch of what Colby says. However, I find his frame of the "intolerant mob" of scary "faux-liberal" puppet masters the same distance off the mark, but at 180 degrees, from the way Marshall and Hundt are off the mark. I love Colby's writing, but I think this piece is pretty unhelpful as an organizing call, for Nader or anyone else.

But, even though I’m not voting for him, I am 100% behind Nader running and giving his best shot to score anti-war votes and educate the public on the debased politics of Israel, corporate power, environmental destruction, impeachment and on and on. I will not accept that my conscience is faulty, that I’m some sort of “fundamentalist” –consumed by liberal orthodoxy that I don’t even believe myself–if I don’t vote Nader this time (like I have twice in the past).

Comments to the Colby piece decry liberal-Democratic sites like Daily Kos for being "high school." I’m just as concerned as any decent peace person would be about empty, audacious rhetoric and the cultish personality worship you do see at places like Daily Kos. But at least those are people who care enough to engage and write something. We NEED THAT, even if the entirety of it looks ignorant and debased. I don’t think it is in the long run.

Cripes, I would LOVE it if some of the very excellent people of conscience who populate a pretty strong anti-war consensus here in Maine could be moved to engage more in some sort of online community. Or even just write more for local papers. Hell, I’ve been posting stuff at my blogs, deepblade.net (inactive) and Maine Owl for five years, and my media site, peacecast.us. There is precious little traffic, and about zero engagement by peace people. I’d give anything for 0.01% of Kos’s or Atrios’s traffic.