No, Don't Vote for Nader Anywhere

Four years ago there was a fairly large coordinated effort to match up Gore supporters in "safely Democratic" states or "safely Republican" states with Nader supporters in "battleground" states, so they could agree to vote for the other guy's candidate, giving Gore the support he'd need to win the electoral college, but also giving Nader some popular vote to help promote the Greens or alternative parties in general. I was a strong supporter of it.

There's a similar program going on this year, but I think it's a bad idea, considering the circumstances. There's a very good chance that Bush is going to win the electoral college again. If he does, he's going to take it as "mandate" for everything he's been wanting to do, and he'll be able to. He's also pining for the validation of winning without the taint of having to go to the Supreme Court to decide it. Because he knows he lost the popular vote.

In the event that he does take the electors, the only thing that'll hold him back and give the opposition an excuse for saying "no" to him, is if people can point to the fact that he lost the popular vote again. It dragged him back for several months in 2001 (before 9/11 gave him a blank check of "loyalty"), and it could do the same in 2005 and beyond. But not if Nader does well. If Nader gets 3% of the vote, Bush could get 49% and Kerry only 48%, and it'd still come across that Bush "won" this time. But if those 3% swing to Kerry, he'd have 51% and rob Bush of his popular legitimacy. (And maybe give more momentum to the electoral college reform.)

I strongly believe that America needs additional parties. But what it needs in 2004 is a coalition opposition, one that puts aside its differences and unites to form a new government. Because one thing Democrats, indy progressives, Greens, and even Libertarians should agree upon is that Bush has to go. I know that I'd hold my nose and vote for Badnarik (the Libertarian) if he was the best chance to accomplish that. To some extent that's what I'm doing voting for Kerry. He wasn't my first choice, after all. I hope that Nader's supporters, and even devout Greens and Libertarians would do the same, rallying behind Kerry. Not because he's the lesser of two evils, but because he's the center of a coalition.

So, Californians, and Utahites, and New Yorkers, and Dakotans... your vote really could matter this year, even if it doesn't change who gets the electoral votes from your state.

Please vote Kerry, and just maybe... save us all.