Nader polarizes liberal constituency

As Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader '55 implored voters yesterday to "vote entirely their conscience," those of the progressive persuasion were at odds over which left-leaning candidate — Nader or Vice President Al Gore — would better further their cause.

Nader has acknowledged he has little or no chance of winning the presidency, but has stayed in the race to achieve his goal of garnering 5 percent of the popular vote in today's election. A 5-percent showing would qualify the Green Party for federal campaign money in the 2004 elections — which would greatly increase its visibility nationwide.

But in the extremely close race between Gore and Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush, supporters of the vice president's campaign are deeply worried that Nader's potential 3- to 5-percent support will tip the election to Bush, doing the most damage in the so-called "battleground states" such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington, which are crucial to a Gore victory.

Nader's role as a spoiler in this election has caused Democrats to mobilize major supporters to discredit Nader and his campaign. Feminist Gloria Steinem, Rev. Jesse Jackson and progressive Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) have been among those who have attempted to convince voters that a vote for Nader is, effectively, a vote for Bush.

In addition, groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League have run television ads on the West Coast and in other battleground states to minimize the "Nader factor."

'True to cause'

But Nader is staying true to his cause.

"When the voter votes for a candidate, the voter votes for a candidate, period," he said yesterday. "I think it's very arrogant for Al Gore and his surrogates to run around the country disrespecting voters who want to vote for a viable third party."

One phenomenon that has arisen from the conflict between the Gore and Nader camps is what has been labeled "vote trading." Websites such as NaderTrader.com have sprung up, where Gore voters in so-called "safe Gore" states can trade their vote for a Nader vote from a battleground state, thereby helping to assure that Gore wins the crucial battleground states while Nader achieves his 5-percent national showing.

While NaderTrader.com was shut down by California election authorities because they said it violated state election law, other sites still exist for Nader and Gore voters to make a match.

The Nader campaign, however, called the vote trading "ultimately a diversionary tactic."

"It's imaginative," said Nader deputy press secretary Laura Jones, but she asserted that the Nader campaign believes "voting is not a game."

"Our goal is to get 5 percent to build a progressive party rooted in a grassroots movement," Jones said. "We're committed to the campaign and the Green Party and hope this campaign will translate itself into a real movement."

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

In a campus debate last night in Whig Hall over whether progressives should support Nader or Gore, Campus Greens member David Tannenbaum '01 discounted the notion of vote trading in "safe Gore" states — such as New Jersey — and blamed the Democratic Party for alienating its progressive base.

"There is no place for progressives in the Democratic Party," Tannenbaum said, "and it just shows you how far the Democrats have moved to the right."

"My question to them is," he asked, "when are they going to move to the left?"

University sociology professor Paul Starr is perhaps among those who most vehemently disapprove of Nader's candidacy. Starr's first job after college was working for Nader, and the former "Nader's Raider" said he knows Nader "pretty well."

"What Ralph Nader is doing today is in betrayal of everything we have done up to today [for the progressive cause]," Starr said in last night's debate.

Like Tannenbaum, Starr discounted the idea of trading for strong Nader support in "safe Gore" states, but for a different reason. He said it would be "very unfortunate if the Green Party got 5 percent and qualified for federal matching funds."

Starr charged that the Green Party "taking their sliver of support year after year" would "perpetuate the Republican Party" and divide America's political left.

"There isn't the slightest chance that the Green Party will get a Congressional majority or ever win the presidency," Starr said, "Progressives just have to accept that this is not a social Democratic country."

Nader supporter and history graduate student Nick Guyatt said "in some respects" he feels vote trading is a good idea. Guyatt said he is worried, however, that Gore will simply declare more states as battleground states and erode Nader's support to the point where he is unable to achieve his 5 percent goal.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)