Visit the Official Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo 2004

Campaign Website: http://www.votenader.org/

2004 Presidential Election Wrap Up

Dissident Voice
Monday, November 29, 2004
Blame Kerry’s Loss on the ABB Crowd:
An Interview with Kevin Zeese
by Joshua Frank

Kevin Zeese served as Press Secretary for the Ralph Nader Presidential Campaign in 2004. He recently spoke with Joshua Frank.

[...]

Read the interview, here.

This is my 2004 Presidential election wrap up blog post to the Unofficial Vote4Nader Blog.

As such, this blog can finally be considered history: i.e., this is my final post to this particular blog, since -- as it concerns the scope and subject of this blog -- it is time to move on, at least it is for me anyway.

That said, once I am settled in my winter quarters where I will be staying for five solid months (read about it on my personal blog, here), it is quite possible I may eventually set up a political blog of a more general nature with which to better continue as well as follow up on the work of this blog.

Thank you for reading.

[At Michigan State University (MSU)]: Students debate candidate views in a last effort to inform voters

The State News
Wednesday, October 27, 2004

By RONEISHA MULLEN

The State News

Students representing the views of Sen. John Kerry, President Bush and Ralph Nader battled in favor of their respective candidate for the final time Tuesday night.

Fewer than 40 people showed up for a debate held by Spartan Vote, a student organization that works to provide students with neutral information about candidates for office.

Despite the disappointing turnout, Spartan Vote Vice President Adam Zemke said politics are still important and the debate was the last opportunity for representatives to get their opinions heard.

New to the debate was the representative from MSU for Nader. Communication senior Ryan Dinkgrave, president of MSU for Nader, said they were not invited to the last debate.

[...]

Audience members wondered if Nader being on the ballot will take away from Kerry's votes, because he agreed with many of the same issues as Kerry.

MSU for Nader member Shane Singh assured them that it will not.

"Democrats haven't absorbed issues Nader and the Green Party support, so he should be on the ballot," the political science doctoral student said. "He's not putting Democrats at a disadvantage, he's supporting issues Democrats have not brought to the light."

Dinkgrave also said he wasn't there to help voters decide who to vote for.

"I'm not trying to convince people to vote for Nader," Dinkgrave said. "I just want people to be educated when they vote."

Read the article in full, here.

Preserving Campus Political Speech

Preserving Campus Political Speech

By Columbia Students for Nader

Thanks largely to the support of readers like yourself, Columbia Students for Nader is pleased to report that the Columbia Political Union (CPU) today reversed its decision to exclude a representative of Students for Nader at its upcoming campus debate among the presidential campaigns. The organization announced its decision after fulminating about how Students for Nader publicized the CPU’s original decision and encouraged protest e-mails.

There is a lesson for us to learn from this incident—namely, not to remain complacent in the face of monopolization of thought by the machines that control the country and the terms of its mainstream political debate. Challenges do not always end in victory, but to capitulate without trying is unacceptable.

To read about the original decision click here.

Ten Ways to Beat George W. Bush

A Gift from Nader/Camejo to Kerry/Edwards on a Silver Platter

The Independent Presidential Campaign of Ralph Nader and Peter Miguel Camejo has a gift for Senator John Kerry—Ten Ways to Beat Bush, Served Up On Silver Platters. The Kerry/Edwards campaign is failing to distinguish itself enough from Bush/Cheney. They are not putting forward explicit solutions that meet the daily needs of the American people, not putting forward an effective foreign policy alternative to the pre-emptive Bush war doctrine, and not crisply challenging Bush on his failed record.

Read the official Nader/Camejo 2004 campaign press release in full, here.

Hello Out There

Well....figured that is was about time I created my maiden entry for this blog. For those of you wondering whom the heck I am, you can check out another of my blogs here.
As many of you may know, Mr. Nader recently ended one heckuva roller coaster ride out here in Oregon. After months of collecting signatures, getting harassed, and fighting court cases, Ralphy Boy (as I like to call him) recently got booted from Oregon's presidential ballot. For me this was a great disappointment. Not because I am huge supporter of Nader's (although I did vote for him in the last election), but because I am a HUGE CRITIC of our current "two party" system. It is my personal opinion that our political system has been hijacked by the two major parties. It seems to me that the Republicans and Democrats are more concerned with protecting their own little political fiefdoms than they are with actually governing this country. This is why strong "third party" candidates, such as Mr. Nader, find it so difficult to gain ballot access and why the major parties (the Demos this time, but with Perot it was the Repubs) fight so hard to keep them off of the ballot. The biggest threat to the currently entrenched powers is for the voters to actually have a choice when voting...well more of a choice than corrupt major party candidate vs. corrupt other major party candidate.
Well, hopefully this first little entry gives you an idea of who I am, and what my thoughts are on the current state of affairs of our political system. I encourage you to check out the link above and read some of my comments on the other blog that I write. I hope to be a frequent and prolific addition to the Vote4Nader (unofficial of course ;-) blog.
Blog On.

The Fat Lady Has Just Sang:
Well...shortly after writing this entry I was checking the internet for my 3:30 (west coast time) sweep of the news when I saw this article....unfortunately it looks like Ralph's long and bitter battle to get on the Oregon ballot is official over.
Here is the text of the blog entry that I wrote for my OregonLive.com blog.

Well....guess I was wrong. I had previously stated that I didn't think that the United States Supreme Court would hear the petition brought by supporters of Ralph Nader prior to the election. However, according to this article, the Supreme Court refused to block the printing of Oregon's election ballots (they are being printed without Mr. Nader's name making an appearance). This was the last stop for Nader's Oregon campaign. The only silver lining in this dark cloud for Nader supporters is that Justice Stephen Breyer supported the stay. Unfortunately the other justices did not. So, unless that crooning rotund figure is Justice Scalia belting out his own version of the John Lennon classic "Imagine" the fat lady has sung on the Nader campaign here in Oregon.
Imagine all the people....with no one to vote for.

This just in, from New Mexico

Albuquerque Journal
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Judge in Nader Case Leaving Bench To Mediate for Firm

By Scott Sandlin
Journal Staff Writer

District Judge Wendy York on Monday withdrew from the courtroom fray over whether independent Ralph Nader could appear on the New Mexico election ballot.

As of Dec. 31, she's out of courtrooms altogether.

Privately, she told her closest colleagues two months ago that she was leaving to become a mediator at the Albuquerque law firm Sheehan, Sheehan & Stelzner. And last week, before being assigned the contentious Nader lawsuit, she told other judges and administrative staff that she planned to leave at the end of the year.

York said she would be "of counsel" to the firm, meaning she will perform mediation rather than being a litigator.

Read the entire article, here.