Ralph Nader

[ReaveTheJust]

If I was American, Id be voting for Ralph Nader.

As a Brit I don't get to see as much U.S. politics and current affairs as those from across the pond. But I saw a couple of short interviews with Nader on British TV recently and, from what I've seen, I like him a lot!!

Personally I can't agree with the Democrat "splitting" charge. They need to take responsibility for their their own performance. If they can't gain the two percent extra so needed, I don't think it's Nader's resonsibility. The Ego charges strike me as pretty ironic (although, as I've mentioned, I can't say I know a lot about him)

Personally I've tried tactical voting and it left a bad taste in the mouth. Since Blair and New Labour became a bunch of right wing **@@++آ£آ£$$, I've followed my conscience and generally voted socialist/green. I undestand why people do it and respect them for it, but I have to vote for a candidate/party I believe in. I won't vote on because it's "better the Devil you know" or "Hobson's choice".

[Bill]

"If I was American, Id be voting for Ralph Nader. "

Please look further into his platform. He started out as a self-described outsider, taking on corporate greed and environmental waste, but in recent years, he has moved pretty far to the fringe, and has become much more the iconoclast. His platform isn't that cohesive, and particularly, his position on foreign trade is scary for all involved.

There is a good article by Paul Krugman in the New York Times (from about a year ago) that summarizes this pretty well.

[ReaveTheJust]

Bill - yep, I'll see what I can find out, but he seems an interesting character.

hmmm.
should have said "based on what I know, I think I'd vote for Nader".

[Kitsune]

Luckily the US isn't part of the EU, so you don't get to tell us who we can vote for like you did to Austria.

[L'Etranger]

Luckily the US isn't part of the EU, so you don't get to tell us who we can vote for like you did to Austria.

Oh, my God, poor, poor Austria!

You are referring to, of course, the commotion that was caused by the elections about four years ago when Joerg Haider's (so called) Freedom Party got to share the power with the Conservatives. Joerg Haider is a barely disguised ultra-rightist and xenophobic defender of the Alpine version of the "Right" faith.
Yes, many of us other Europeans were very alarmed to have to sit at the same table with a chap who smooches around with SS-Veterans at their gatherings and so on. But finally he made himself look so ridiculous that he faded back to local politics. And in the meantime we had to cope with other creeps like Berlusconi and Asnar who showed avid lapdog behaviour towards GWB, more than even Blair.
At least we in the EU just get excited, but don't plot to forcefully remove undesired governments in our bailiwick ... Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panamأ،, Chile, Ecuador, Granada and so on are further West, I think.

[Kitsune]

You need to read your European history...

Luckily the US isn't part of the EU, so you don't get to tell us who we can vote for like you did to Austria.

Oh, my God, poor, poor Austria!

You are referring to, of course, the commotion that was caused by the elections about four years ago when Joerg Haider's (so called) Freedom Party got to share the power with the Conservatives. Joerg Haider is a barely disguised ultra-rightist and xenophobic defender of the Alpine version of the "Right" faith.
Yes, many of us other Europeans were very alarmed to have to sit at the same table with a chap who smooches around with SS-Veterans at their gatherings and so on. But finally he made himself look so ridiculous that he faded back to local politics. And in the meantime we had to cope with other creeps like Berlusconi and Asnar who showed avid lapdog behaviour towards GWB, more than even Blair.
At least we in the EU just get excited, but don't plot to forcefully remove undesired governments in our bailiwick ... Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panamأ،, Chile, Ecuador, Granada and so on are further West, I think.

[L'Etranger]

You need to read your European history...

Ah!

[PsychicWarVeteran]

Kitsune telling LEtranger to read up on European history... that has to be the funniest thing I've seen all year! :lol:

[Jerico]

:lol:

[L'Etranger]

:lol:

But, ...ummm, I have to admit that my book shelves have certain gaps. I have read very little of David Ir.ving (only one older book from when he still held a seat among the serious scholars) and not one of Fred "Lunatic" Leuch.ter who desperately tried to prove that the gas chambers in the termination camps couldn't have worked.
I'm not very deep into Romanian and Bulgarian 15th to 18th century, either, but I'll check with my bookshop in time, promissed!

A votre service,
L'Etranger

:!: PS I inserted dots in the names of those mentioned above to avoid Google finding their names in conjunction with Michael Moorcock. Too much honour .... and Berry explained in a lengthy post how these things work.

[Kitsune]

Then you should know that much of the conflict in the middle east right now goes back to the days when France and England were vieing for control ofthe area.

[L'Etranger]

Then you should know that much of the conflict in the middle east right now goes back to the days when France and England were vieing for control of the area.

Yes, I know. And?

[Kitsune]

Europe has a long history of removing governments.

Then you should know that much of the conflict in the middle east right now goes back to the days when France and England were vieing for control of the area.

Yes, I know. And?

[Doc]

:lol:

But, ...ummm, I have to admit that my book shelves have certain gaps. I have read very little of David Ir.ving (only one older book from when he still held a seat among the serious scholars) and not one of Fred "Lunatic" Leuch.ter who desperately tried to prove that the gas chambers in the termination camps couldn't have worked.
I'm not very deep into Romanian and Bulgarian 15th to 18th century, either, but I'll check with my bookshop in time, promissed!

A votre service,
L'Etranger

:!: PS I inserted dots in the names of those mentioned above to avoid Google finding their names in conjunction with Michael Moorcock. Too much honour .... and Berry explained in a lengthy post how these things work.

LE, you may have gaps in your bookshelf, but your perspective on Europe has clarified things for me more than once. And (perhaps more importantly) the locations you identify under your icon always crack me up.

[Kitsune]

I think I've been a bit guilty of a logical fallacy. I've been discussing the European Union and Europe as if they were the same thing. The problem is that the EU hasn't been around very long, so it's hard to draw fair comparison..