Posted on: Wednesday, July 21, 2004

VOLCANIC ASH
Nader's campaign is based on dishonesty

By David Shapiro

Ralph Nader is right that his campaign for president points up the dishonesty in modern American politics, but not in the way he thinks.

Nader, in a recent Hawai'i visit, flattered himself as the heroic warrior fighting a depraved system, with little difference between Democrats and Republicans he claims are both in the pockets of the same crooked special interests.

At the same time, Nader says he is directing 90 percent of his criticism against President Bush and insists his candidacy will help bring about the president's defeat in November.

This is one point of dishonesty. Nader's campaign is more of an artful self-delusion that serves only to keep an aging warhorse with an overstuffed ego in the spotlight for a little while longer.

Yes, Nader is right that there's way too much special-interest influence in American politics, but he greatly overstates his case.

Can he and his followers truly believe there's absolutely no difference between the two parties?

Can they credibly argue that election of Al Gore over Bush in 2000 or John Kerry in 2004 wouldn't significantly recast federal policy on issues dear to them — Iraq, the environment, civil liberties, national healthcare, equitable taxation?

If Nader believes he didn't contribute to Gore's loss to Bush in 2000 by siphoning off Democratic votes in close states — and that he won't pose the same threat to Kerry this year where he manages to get on the ballot — then he has been smoking too many of his old press clippings.

Even the Green Party, which has never been accused of political acuity, acknowledged this by refusing to endorse Nader this year after he had been their standard-bearer in the past two elections.

You'd think that other Nader backers from 2000 would also have learned their lesson, but Nader campaigns heavily on college campuses such as the University of Hawai'i and draws much of his support from rebellious young voters.

He's got a whole new crop of these this year who were too busy popping their pimples four years ago to remember much of what happened to Al Gore.

But Nader's delusions aren't the only points of dishonesty in this election: The two major parties deserve reproach for the underhanded ways they have reacted to his candidacy.

Instead of fighting for Nader's supporters — especially young voters — with their own ideas, Democrats have resorted to legal maneuvering to keep him off the ballot in swing states.

Megalomania or not, Nader has every right to run for president. No legitimate interests are served when we undercut fair competition for political office and narrow voter options.

Republicans have been no better, supporting and financing drives to get Nader on as many state ballots as possible.

In Michigan, where Nader collected only 5,400 of the 30,000 signatures needed to gain a spot on the ballot, Republicans gathered 43,000 signatures on his behalf.

The GOP's assistance to a candidate who is anathema to everything they believe in amounts to a dirty trick in which they abandon their own principles to trip up the Democrats. What principles does Nader display by accepting their help?

It's time for the two major parties to get back to tending to their own business and leave Nader to do what he will.

The ultimate dishonesty here is that it makes elections all about winning and nothing about competing ideas, honor and fair play.

When we elect a president by dishonorable means, how can we expect to get government that honors America?

David Shapiro, a veteran Hawai'i journalist, can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.