27 Reasons Nader Should Run for President

From CounterPunch:

5. 650,000+ dead Iraqi civilians

6. 3000+ dead U.S. military

7. The Black Budget

8. Torture

And

11. Lack of access to health care which causes the deaths of 18,000 US citizens every year.

And

20. He is not a Republican.

21. He is not a Democrat.

And

24. Ralph owes no favors to any corporation.

25. Ralph cannot be bought.

Click here for the other nineteen.

So we haven't heard a peep out of Ralph Nader this campaign season until very recently: last week during an interview on Democracy Now, the veteran consumer advocate essentially said that John Edwards' hasty exit, taking with him his fiery pro-labor and anti-poverty rhetoric, from the Democratic primaries is pushing the former Green Presidential candidate toward another run. I hope he does. I plan to vote for him.

If history repeats itself, which it usually does, I think I'd better take the first shot in what is bound to be a bloody and brutal war of words.

To all Democrats who will soon be pissed off at me for not supporting their nominee:

I am not on your side. I am not a Democrat. I'm a liberal, yes, but your party does not represent me. Indeed, I don't really even think of your party as liberal anymore. I've watched for eight years now, and even more before that, while the Democrats have been seduced by corporate money, and cowed by right-wing rhetoric. I've watched while they've supported illegal and ill-advised wars. I've watched while they've allowed our civil rights to erode; I've watched while they've allowed the GOP to piss away this country's good reputation abroad. I've watched while they've allowed us to become a nation of torturers, a nation of evil. I've watched while they've allowed the rich to get richer, and the poor to get poorer. I've watched while they've allowed the middle class to shrink to a fraction of its former size. I've watched them lie, telling us all that they want to help, but can't, offering various bogus excuses.

They disgust me deeply. No more. I will not bless this sick joke of a "liberal" party with my vote. Ever. That is, not until they really are a liberal party again, which is clearly what Ralph Nader's annoying Presidential runs are about.

For anybody who has a problem with my "helping Republicans win," I have two words: fuck you. Your support for a party as clearly immoral and ineffective as the Democrats sickens me--how can you be on these people's side? They're awful, just awful.

So be as angry as you want with me. I don't care. You're part of the problem. I'm not. I cannot repeat this enough: I am not on your side. I am not one of you. I don't owe you my vote.

Fuck you.

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