Nader likely to be on state ballot (Florida)

Posted on Thu, May. 13, 2004

Nader likely to be on state ballot

The national Reform Party endorsed independent candidate Ralph Nader, giving him easy access to the Florida ballot in November.

BY LESLEY CLARK

lclark@herald.com


Ralph Nader, despised by Florida Democrats as a spoiler in the 2000 presidential election, is all but certain to appear on the Florida ballot in November, posing a potential setback to John Kerry's campaign.

The consumer crusader was endorsed Wednesday by the national Reform Party, giving him easy ballot access in at least eight states, including the key battlegrounds of Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan, if he wants it.

''You can welcome Ralph back,'' Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese said. ``He'll be on the ballot in Florida.''
(snip)

He noted that Nader, if endorsed, could also gain access to the Florida ballot with the Populist Party, which will hold a convention in July, or the Green Party, which is meeting at the end of June.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8656880.htm
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Jeb being as dedicated to the democratic process as he is couldn't let this one pass. "Count every vote!"

--bkl

Having Bush in power just gives him a bigger soapbox to stand on. It's in Ralph's best interest to do what he can to hand Bush another term.

The Reform Party? Wasn't that Ross Perot's old party?

Ross and Ralph go together like shit and pigs.

But it is a free country, if Ralph runs and Bush loses, then the Greens will go the way of the Reform Party.

So run Ralph, run to obscurity.

I thought Perot was independent and Pat Buchanan was a Reformer.

EOM

It's good to see Someone working to help Bush in Florida.

God Bless Ralph Nader!

The jerk.

to modify a Chuck D quote.

He has the right to be on any ballot and people have the right to vote for him. If we get enough turnout for Kerry to win then who cares?

In fact he may draw more votes from Bush by people that are disgusted but refuse to vote Democrat.

That's an interesting point. There's bound to be plenty of folks out there who refuse to vote for Kerry, but may have supported Bush in the past. I think you're on to something.

the felons purge lists.

Maybe the Repugs can sneak in a few more RW Supreme Court justices before November.

JEB ain't takin' nooooooooo chances this time!!!!!!

That raises a few questions:

This virtually gurantees him access in almost all of the "swing" states, right?

IF he gets 5% of the vote, aside from killing Kerry, does that get federal funding for BOTH "third" parties?

Does it impact his ability to get into the debates?

I guess it blocks the possibility of a Buchanan getting in to damage Bush? (any word on that AL judge running as a "Constitution Party"?

INSERT ANTI-NADER RANT HERE

:evilfrown:

They said they'll have to look at it on a state by state basis. They say they'd rather be listed as Ind's rather than Reform Party for symbolic reasons.

So it looks like Nader might not be looking to be the spoiler this hear.

He might be using this year's run to make points about ballot access (in other words, he's looking not to get on the ballot).

Also, remember what the reform party did in 2000 -- they were clearly an arm of the Republican Party. They had an internal struggle to get pat on the ticket, and then he conveniently got sick during the final weeks so that he did no campaigning. That was a gift to Bush.

it's possible that Nader did not seek this nomination, but the Republican interlopers gave it to him in an effort to spoil Kerry, but Nader might not bight.

Watch this space.

When I first saw the thread, the only thing that came to mind was' why do I live in such a fucked up state?

Nader on the ballot in Florida didn't necessarily screw Gore - it was those effing ballots that, with all due respect to any Floridians reading this, were apparently too confusing for the brain-dead voters of Palm Beach to understand.....how many errant votes were cast for Buchanan down there in retirement land? Even he acknowledged that there was a problem with the numbers he got, considering the population and that he never once campaigned there...

....but we have nothing to worry about now, because they have electronic ballots, right?

"Those who vote decide NOTHING. Those who count the votes decide EVERYTHING." - Joseph Stalin

Is that what you call us? I can't tell you how much that p**ses me off. This brain dead Palm Beacher personally had to vote on the damn cards you evidently think we had to be brain dead to mess up. I guess you had to experience it to appreciate it, but I certainly don't appreciate being called brain dead. If you have two or three hours free time someday I can explain those cards to you. I still keep my sample ballot for posterity and so I don't forget how elections are thrown.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I still think that this is all a ploy in order for him to play kingmaker. It just defies all logic that he would be willing to elect * twice in order to "make a point" -- i.e. stroke his gigantic ego.

If it's not, this is the area where Dean will be most helpful to Kerry as his and Nader's constituencies have a great deal of overlap. But until it gets to be September and Nader's still in it, I'm just not buying it. Again, it's probably just wishful thinking, but you have to hope.