Ralph Nader
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Scholarly Pursuits
Forum Name: Intellectual discussions
Forum Discription: Discuss political and philosophical theories, religious beliefs and other academic subjects
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6234
Printed Date: 16-Apr-2024 at 03:37
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Topic: Ralph Nader
Posted By: poirot
Subject: Ralph Nader
Date Posted: 14-Oct-2005 at 23:50
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Ralph Nader came to the university tonight as a guest speaker on the environment and corporate greed, and I decided to attend the lecture with a couple of friends. The speech drew interest for me because, a year ago, I chose one of Nader's platforms in an exercise in public speaking class. To be honest, I was more interested in evaluating Nader's speech ability. Thus, I spent most of the speech judging his ethos, pathos, and logos, and eyeing the cute blond girl in front of me Overall, I thought the speech was mediocre and pumped with metaphors targeted towards youngsters (Interesting to note that Nader referred to the Republican Party as the "Genghis Khan Party"! Nevertheless, I have a soft spot for tireless idealists who raise a voice against corporate America. And he did sign my book and answered my question about the trading for pollution rights. I would love to hear your thoughts about Ralph Nader's role in American politics and your take on his brand of consumer activism.
------------- AAAAAAAAAA "The crisis of yesterday is the joke of tomorrow.� ~ HG Wells |
). But Nader did raise his energy in the end, when questions were raised about his relationship with the Democratic party and his run for the white house. 
Replies:
Posted By: Tobodai
Date Posted: 15-Oct-2005 at 01:17
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Im 100% for breaking the two party system but a part of my has always been mad that because of Nader...we have Bush. ------------- "the people are nothing but a great beast... I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value." -Alexander Hamilton |
Posted By: ArmenianSurvival
Date Posted: 15-Oct-2005 at 18:53
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Well, Nader's getting my vote if he runs in 2008. I dont care who the
Demopublicans or the Republocrats put on the table, its just going to
be another set of promises broken again. Im not saying Nader is an
angel, but the man doesnt even own a tv...we need someone nutty like
that to run this country. You want change? Stop voting Demopublican or
Republocrat, and you might get some change. Also, 3rd and 4th party members should be part of the presidential debate. How the hell can they possibly win an election when most people dont even know who the candidates are, let alone their views? Talk about democracy and equality....either give all the candidates airtime, or dont give it to any of them. The two-party system is a great example of how the U.S. keeps its corporate power within its interest groups, in this case under the guise of "Democracy". Most people forget that the Republicans and Democrats were originally the same party, and therefore have simliar interests. They ousted the Federalists to set up shop under a false 2-party system, when in actuality, its just one group controlling the country. This country was bought and sold a long time ago, good luck changing it by voting in the same loonies in every election. ------------- Mass Murderers Agree: Gun Control Works! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Resistance Քիչ ենք բայց Հայ ենք։ |
Posted By: poirot
Date Posted: 15-Oct-2005 at 19:03
I almost voted for Nader in 2004, but my state did not have Nader on the ballot  ------------- AAAAAAAAAA "The crisis of yesterday is the joke of tomorrow.� ~ HG Wells |
Posted By: hugoestr
Date Posted: 16-Oct-2005 at 00:45
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Nader is a legendary consumer advocate, a true believer, but a terrible politician.
Most of his positions in favor of consumers seem to be correct. Many of his political positions are correct too. However, his political skills are very poor. Before he began his crusade against the Democratic Party, most people in the left had a great deal of respect for him. Many people in 1995 told me that he could have won against Reagan back in 1980 or 84 had he run. After 2000, a lot of people in the left still respect him, but there is a big asterix next to him. Nader successfully alienated many of the people who may be his natural base. What could have Nader done instead of attacking the liberal party? Infiltrate it. Had Nader mobilized people within the Democratic Party, he would have today an increadible amount of influence. Most followers of Dean would be behind him, and from that position he would be setting the direction of the Democratic Party. It would be nice if one could vote one's political identity, but this hurts one's self interest. In the U.S. one doesn't vote for a party, but for an ideological coalition. I once imagined what would happen if the U.S. adopted proportional representation. I imagined that the two parties would break up in many smaller parties only to have to create a coalition within themselves once they were in Congress. The end result would be pretty much the same as we have now. ------------- |
Posted By: Tobodai
Date Posted: 16-Oct-2005 at 02:09
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Yes its al very virtous to applade Nader, and as I said i despise the two party system especially as they are both the same party on everythng except abortion. But think of it this way, how many Americans and Iraqis would not be dead today if nader hadnt run in 2000? Not intentionally of course, but Nader is one of the people that condemned those people to death by running. ------------- "the people are nothing but a great beast... I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value." -Alexander Hamilton |
Posted By: Emperor Barbarossa
Date Posted: 16-Oct-2005 at 08:00
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I agree with Tobodai that we need to break this two party system. Every
time there is only two horrible choices to chose from because of two
even more horrible parties. Nader doesn't seem to be that bad. I
watched him be interviewed by Tim Russert and he appeared to be quite
liberal. Though not a democrat, he is definitely not a conservative.
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