Hey Ralphie boy...



Hey, Nader's running again. Time for more whining about how voters like me cost Gore the presidency. Whatever. Actually it's interesting how the most vitriolic Nader hate this time around is not coming from the Democrats. Or the Greens, who should feel particularly betrayed.



The perspective of the now-jaded 2000 Nader supporter is wrapped up pretty well here, but I have some additional thoughts.



I didn't vote for Gore in 2000 because Gore didn't earn it. He could have earned it. He could have picked a runningmate who wasn't an elephant in donkey's clothing. He could have renounced his wife's PMRC foolishness from the 80s. He could have done something other than rolling over and accepting the misrepresentations the wingnuts got past about him.



And now in 2004 it's Nader who hasn't earned it. Sure, in the long, long run he's probably done more for the public good than any other single candidate in '04--and that includes all the many times he got it wrong. But politics has a certain amount of "what have you done for me lately," and that's where Ralph has fallen off. Bush II has provided so many ripe opportunities for Nader to position himself as the Loyal Opposition: Enron, Patriot Act, Plame, Halliburton, now this stupid marriage amendment...Jesus Haploid Christ! Proverbial grist for the proverbial mill. And what's the biggest scandal Nader's attacked since November 2000?



This.



I'm not terribly thrilled about Kerry being the Democratic frontrunner, but he doesn't have Al's Tipperstink. And based on the way he tore into people ostensibly on the same team, I at least have hope he'll give as good as he gets after the conventions.