Repeating the Nightmare

I got an email today from a friend who wrote she was becoming "disillusioned" with Barack Obama because he has shifted to more moderate positions on some of the issues. She is thinking of voting for Ralph Nader. Here is my response to her.

Dear Friend,

Sorry to hear that. Obama has to win the election. He has to appeal to a majority to do that. The majority isn't as liberal as you are.

If you want to vote for Nader go ahead. Some Progressive people in 2000 thought Al Gore was too conservative for them. So instead they voted for a guy with zero chance. They voted for Nader.

If they had voted for Gore he would be president today. But no, he wasn't perfect enough for them, even though he wound up winning the Nobel Peace Prize. If Gore had been elected there would have been no Iraq War. The USA would be leading the world on climate change and alternative energy. There would be no Patriot Act, secret prisons, torture of suspects, throwing away of the Fourth Amendment. We would probably be on our way to health care for all.

But no. Instead of voting for Gore, they took their votes away from him and voted for Nader. By not voting Democratic they made sure George W. Bush would win. I hope they're happy with themselves. They helped bring about a needless war, tens of thousands of deaths, the diminution of Constitutional rights, another 4 trillion dollars in national debt, two more right wing authoritarians on the Supreme Court, the formation of an American mercenary army, eight more years of inaction on the climate crisis as sea levels rise and species die......the list goes on and on and on.

So, you vote for whomever you want. I know what I'll be doing. I'll be enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama and casting my ballot for him. The alternative to Obama is not Ralph Nader, it's John McCain. If enough people do what you're thinking of doing that's what we will get. Are you up for a new war in Iran? Maybe one with Russia? Vote against Barack Obama and that's what you'll be supporting.

Steve