After it became clear how close this year’s presidential election was, and that Ralph Nader’s 3 percent was actually having an effect on the outcome, many supporters of Gore began frothing at the mouth.CNN reported that they couldn’t repeat some of the things said when they inquired about the Nader effect.The bottom line is that Nader was a spoiler. How odd this is considering there is a greater difference between Gore’s platform and Nader’s than between Gore’s and Bush’s stances on the issues.Gore and Bush had nearly identical stances on powerful issues such as military intervention and spending, campaign reform, the death penalty and the drug war. Not to mention numerous other issues where the margin of difference between the two big parties have narrowed due to both parties moving towards the center.Neither Nader nor his supporters should be attacked for exercising their democratic right to support an alternative and vote for the candidate they liked best. On the other hand, during his exit speech, Ralph Nader exhibited not only disappointment over failing to get 5 percent of the vote, but also a tone of bitterness as he claimed that Gore took votes from him.Nader has no place claiming that Gore took votes from him.Many progressive voters who were aware and knowledgeable of both candidates, might have favored Nader, but it is just as legitimate a personal decision to vote for Gore out of fear of Bush as it is to vote for Nader realizing he had no chance of winning.If Nader wants to accuse anyone of taking votes from him, he should be pointing at the debate commission and the mainstream media.Nader has been largely ignored by the media except when being painted as a spoiler for Al Gore. Reporters at CNN admitted exactly that the day of the election and added that the media likely hurt Nader’s campaign. They half joked about how they had probably given him more coverage as a spoiler the day of the election than in all the time before that.While speculating the causes of Gore losing votes to Nader, CNN commentators ignored Gore’s platform and instead talked about his campaigning strategy. In over four hours of patient boob tube vigilance, I only witnessed Nader himself mention Gore’s position on specific issues as the leading factor. Last week Gov. Jesse Ventura stated that candidates earn every vote they get, and I have to agree with him. If Gore does lose this election, he has only his campaign to blame. Nader wouldn’t have gotten more votes than Buchanan if his ideas and positions didn’t inspire millions of Americans. The ideas that Americans have a moral imperative to vote only for the least despised major party candidate, or that they should always vote their conscience no matter how poor their candidate’s chances are, are both insulting.Who individuals choose to vote for is a personal decision. Critics should stick to explaining their own opinions on candidates and issues and try only to persuade and inform voters with sound arguments and data. They should not direct people how to vote.
Martha Knox is a senior fine arts major with a minor in anthropology. She is the president of Students For Freethought and can be reached at [email protected].