Say No to Nader!
By Chris Maisano • Feb 26th, 2008 • Category: U.S. Politics and IssuesHere we go again.
I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 and even in 2004 (please don’t crucify me, the votes were cast in
Nader represents nobody but himself at this point in his career trajectory. He is not attached to any third party, and is not the main spokesperson for any kind of existing social and political movement. All of the social forces that brought some substance to his 2000 campaign, namely students and youth, for better or worse are clearly in Barack Obama’s camp. They will not be going anywhere else, even if Obama makes no attempt to stake out a more progressive position before the November election, assuming he is the nominee (a possibility that looks more likely every day). Nader simply does not appear to have any substantive reservoir of electoral support to draw from, rendering his effort little more than a vanity candidacy. In this context, support for the Nader campaign represents a withdrawal from actual politics and an empty moral gesture. Where the hell were you the past four years, Ralph?
Further, I can’t discern one iota of strategic thinking motivating Nader’s latest decision to run for president, unless his “strategy” is to do whatever he can to make sure the Democratic nominee loses the election, as if this would somehow help the party and our country move in a more progressive direction. If anything, as an article in yesterday’s New York Times indicates, this run seems primarily motivated by Nader’s personal vendetta against the Democratic party, which worked to keep him off the ballot in many states in 2004. I was not happy with the party’s treatment of Nader during that election either, but he might as well have just gotten on Meet the Press and said “nanny-nanny-poo-poo” to explain to the Democrats and to the country why he’s running again. It’s much more accurate than his rather offensive comparison of himself to African-Americans under Jim Crow (a statement symptomatic of his general tone-deafness on issues of race and identity, I might add).
Michael Harrington, founder of Democratic Socialists of America (our parent organization), counseled us to aspire to build the “left wing of the possible.” This new Nader candidacy represents the exact opposite. There is no possibility of a Nader victory, and its only possible outcome besides total irrelevance is facilitating the continued occupation of the White House by the right wing. Young activists on the democratic left should offer critical support to the Obama candidacy and build relationships with young Obama supporters while pointing out the shortcomings of the candidate and the political tendency he represents broadly. As YDS activists have said hundreds of times, while electoral politics is incredibly important, it’s building the movement in our campuses and communities that matters most. Nader’s quadrennial crusade gets the equation exactly backwards and threatens to divide whatever progressive energies already exist. That’s a resource we can’t afford to squander.
Print This Post
Chris Maisano is a member of the YDS New York City chapter. He studied at Rutgers and Drexel University and currently works as a librarian at a large public library branch in Brooklyn.
Email this author | All posts by Chris Maisano
I agree that there’s no point in supporting Nader. I don’t think there’s any point in giving “critical support” (i.e. a formal endorsement) to Obama either. We don’t have to. Nothing is forcing us to do so. It’s pointless, anyway. DSA/YDS is not a major political force. Our endorsement will not make a difference in whether the Democrat or the Republican wins in November.What we should do is say that we understand why trade unionists, feminists, environmentalists, etc. will vote for the Democrat in November, and we don’t blame them for doing so, but it must be understood that the Democrat is a representative of the capitalist class backed by corporations and finance capital, and as such s/he will not deliver substantial reform and is bound to turn on the very constituencies that voted him/her into office. Therefore, those constituencies have to be prepared to act as a left opposition to the Democratic administration from the get-go.And that’s ALL we have to say. No endorsement is necessary.
Jason: by critical support, I meant essentially what you say in your comment, not some sort of official endorsement. I don’t think it’s necessary or useful to issue some sort of formal endorsement, not least because Obama has shown that he’s not really very good on certain rather important issues. Totally in agreement with your other points.
I tend to think that an election statement would be very helpful for YDS…maybe not right now but at least before the general election. Statements tend to be useful for internal composition by clarifying our analysis and contributing to our collective brainpower. Statements also are useful as recruiting tools and for telling our sister parties, and other lefty organizations in the US, where we stand. I tend to be in agreement with Jason that an endorsement is not necessary but I also think that it would be really useful for us to have that conversation collectively, as an organization.
I find it oh so hilarious that Cynthia McKinney’s Green Party supporters are now denouncing Nader as a spoiler. Doesn’t Nader realize that he might split the Green vote throw the election to Obama? Get out of the way, Ralph - McKinneymania is sweeping the nation!
I agree that it is pointless for YDS or DSA to endorse the Democratic nominee.
“It must be understood that the Democrat is a representative of the capitalist class backed by corporations and finance capital, and as such s/he will not deliver substantial reform and is bound to turn on the very constituencies that voted him/her into office.” I could not have put it better myself, but at the very least a Democratic victory will help put the nail in the coffin of the Reagan revolution and enable the left to rebuild and present alternatives for a more just future.
Excellent piece. I still think voting for McKinney, Brian Moore (SP), or Nader could be fine in a safe state. My respect for Nader IS at an all time low, though. What I truly fail to understand about him is why he will not dedicate himself to truly building a third party, rather than just some sort of tiny and irrelevant cult of personality.As Lucas said on the Facebook group, the fact that the GOP was largely funding Nader’s petition drives should tell you something.
I just want to remind folks YDS can’t legally endorse anyone because of our non-profit status. The DSA Political Action Committee does the formal endorsements. It will be interesting to see what folks are thinking at the summer conference and how we want to approach the election after that. Alot of our grassroots will be involved, especially in swing states. In terms of a statement, I assume the new CC will have something ready, but let’s cross the bridge when we come it. In the fall is when student interest and participation in the election will be at it’s highest.I would never vote for Nader because of the reasons Ben stated.
Voting for the Democrats in safe blue states doesn’t make any sense for me though. Most people don’t realize how corporate controlled our society and our parties are. We need to challenge the Democrats and exert pressure out of and around the Democratic party electorally and in the streets in order to push the party left and towards progressive social issues. We can’t think of getting democracy in the economic sphere before we get it in the political sphere, and we need to build alternative media to counter corporate media. Capital controls the political, economic and social spheres of our society. I don’t see how Obama would help anyone more than marginally; would we even get a seat at the table in the Obama White House compared to the seats that are getting reserved for corporate and special interests?
The point is, we won’t get seats at the table in an Obama white house, nor a Clinton one, but a McCain white house would probably make our protest illegal, while with a Democrat, social movements have at least some impact. YDS is all about exerting pressure on the Dems to push policy that will further social justice, and if necessary taking them out if they don’t. Holding them accountable is a lot easier if they think they need your vote.