The Nader Connection

Ralph Nader met with John Kerry last Summer. The only that really reverberated out to the public from that meeting was Nader’s request/advice that Kerry stay clear of picking Tom Vilisak as running mate, and choose John Edwards.

Today, Ralph Nader is spear-heading Kerry’s under-the-radar, low-key Election Irregularity Search.

The question arises: What did John Kerry and Ralph Nader talk about?

My sixth grade teacher (perhaps the only middle school teacher I had that I more or less respect), a man who probably did as much as anyone to influence my outlook on civic government, the day after Election Day, gave an characteristically cynical speech to the class about how elections are run. “All nations cheat in their elections.” He then went through a list of shenanigans one associates with Banan Republics, and the workings of past American “Machine Politics” systems — thank you Tammany Hall, Thank you Mr. Daley, and thank you everyone who has suppressed the Black Vote through our nation’s illustrous history. I can’t say exactly how he brought the lecture back to one heralding the civic commitment to voting — “But no matter how rigged the system is, voting is a privilege and right that we should all cherish… and we’re better than Haiti.”

Perhaps there’s a flair of the Bushian attack on Kerry there: “What’s your message: Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Keep Fighting?” Perhaps not. I don’t know.

Leave a Reply