Uneasy Rhetoric

24 February 2004: Mark Schmitt makes some very good points about Ralph Nader.

I said it in 2000 and no one listened, so I’ll say it again. I don’t care if he lives on a meager salary, drives a beat up car, or looks vaguely homeless walking around Washington, D.C.; this does not make Nader saintly or even righteous. The man is an egomaniac plain and simple. He needs his ego fed. He needs his publicity fix. He needs, craves, desires, pines for, attention.

By running as a mainstream candidate, Howard Dean accomplished what Nader can never accomplish: shifting the political debate (and the Democratic Party) to the left. Maybe not as far left as Nader and his ilk would like, but a leftward shift nevertheless. Howard Dean, thank you. Ralph Nader, when you go, please go quietly, as there are people trying to work on real campaigns here and you’re disturbing them with your pointless buzzing.