Fri Jul 9, 6:26 PM ET :mad:
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean argued, flattered, cajoled — all to no avail. In a lively radio debate Friday, the former Democratic presidential candidate tried to get Ralph Nader to abandon his long-shot White House bid. Nader, the man Democrats blame for George W. Bush's election in 2000, declined and vowed to continue his independent campaign.

"Ralph, I think you're being disingenuous about your candidacy this year, and let me tell you why," Dean began at start of the debate. "Forty-six percent of all your signatures to get you on the Arizona ballot turned out to be Republican supporters. You accepted the support of a right-wing fanatic Republican group that's anti-gay in order to help you get on the ballot in Oregon."

"This is not going to help the progressive cause in America," said Dean, who has been urging his supporters to stay within the party and vote for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Nader quickly dismissed the criticism, telling the studio audience that Dean was engaging "in a desperate attempt to smear our campaign."

The former Vermont governor then tried flattery.

"You have an extraordinary career in standing up for the American people. You have saved lives with your extraordinary work with automobile safety," Dean told the consumer advocate. "I wish you were on our team, Ralph, because we really need you."

Nader again was unmoved and promised not to surrender for the sake of his supporters.

There were some lighter moments during the hour-long debate, which was sponsored by National Public Radio's "Justice Talking" program.

Nader drew laughter when he called Dean "an insurgent who is now adopting a role of being a detergent of the dirty linen of the Democratic Party." Even Dean chuckled over that remark.

The crowd also roared when Dean was asked if would accept a Cabinet position in a Kerry administration. Dean said he hadn't "made any deals like that, but if Ralph comes on board maybe we can both get Cabinet positions."

Since Nader announced his campaign in February, Democrats have beseeched him not to run. Many Democrats blame him for taking votes from Al Gore in such razor-thin states as Florida and helping ensure Bush's victory in the 2000 election.

Nader has yet to make it on any state ballot independently. He has been endorsed by the national Reform Party, which has ballot lines in seven states, including the battlegrounds of Florida and Michigan. He was rebuffed by the Green Party when it declined to endorse him last month.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...l_pr/nader_dean

Posted on Sat, Jul. 10, 2004
Dean: Vote for Nader is a vote for Bush
By Maria Recio
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader, an independent candidate for president, and Howard Dean, a former Democratic hopeful, sparred in a 90-minute debate Friday as Dean relentlessly repeated that a vote for Nader is a vote for President Bush.

Dean's appearance in the debate, sponsored by National Public Radio, was part of an unofficial stop-Nader movement that's now gearing up in state after state as Democrats try to keep Nader off the ballot.

Nader, who wanted exposure for his causes, accused Democrats of a "smear" effort in Arizona, where an orchestrated Democratic challenge forced the Nader campaign to abandon getting on the ballot.

But with Nader's strength ranging from 3 percent to 6 percent nationally in what pollsters predict will be a close election, Democrats aren't taking any chances.

Nader has yet to make it on any state ballot independently. The viability of his candidacy will rise or fall in the next 60 days as deadlines approach in more than 40 states that require voter signatures to qualify for a place on the November ballot.

In the debate, Dean reinforced Democrats' growing belief that Nader could cost Democratic nominee John Kerry the election the way many contend Nader cost Vice President Al Gore a victory in 2000. In that contest, Nader was the Green Party nominee; he's not this year.

"I am desperate to send George Bush back to Crawford, Texas," Dean told the audience at the National Press Club. He said he considered the political situation a "national emergency" and stressed that he rejected the idea of a third-party bid for himself after losing the Democratic nomination because he thought it would help elect Bush.

"We're going to get on enough ballots," Nader told an audience member worried about throwing away her vote. Richard Winger, the editor of the Ballot Access News newsletter, predicted Nader still could be on as many as 45 state ballots.

Although the Green Party declined to endorse Nader in June, he has the support of the Reform Party with ballot lines in seven states. Nader has said he will qualify on his own.

Winger, a veteran third-party watcher, said the growing effort by Democrats to stop Nader, and by Republicans to help him, was unprecedented.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtl...ion/9123082.htm

This is reprehensible! He's as bad as Bush. Has he no scruples? No understanding of what's at stake here? And do the ends justify the means in his mind? Throw the bum out! :mad:

Every vote for Nader condemns an American soldier to death

http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2004/07/...s-american.html

Well, I'm not defending Nader or people who vote for him, but this blog is a little over the top, don't you think? Nader received tens of thousands of votes in 2000. We're not going to see that many war dead in Iraq. I mean, even in Vietnam, which lasted for ten years (of American combat) and had heavy casualties, we topped out at something like 59,000, as I recall. So this is a bit of an extreme overreaction, IMO, to say that each vote for Nader condemns a soldier to death. But it does make a point, and people who are considering voting for Nader would do well to listen.

I'm afraid, however, that Kerry's plan regarding Iraq will also contribute to a mounting death toll in Iraq. His plan is not too different from Bush's at this point, although it was Kerry who came up with it first (Bush is a copycat, and he also can't be successful in getting the multi-national support that Kerry would be able to get).

Does anyone know what Al Gore advocates regarding Iraq at this point? I know Kucinich was the only declared candidate saying we should just get out. What does Gore say about this?