Nader spurned
GREEN PARTY members nominated longtime party activist David Cobb for president over the weekend, wisely spurning the bid of Ralph Nader for the party's endorsement.
The move was seen by some disappointed Nader supporters and Green Party faithful as a victory of politics over substance, helping Democrat John Kerry by diminishing the competition from Nader, while undercutting the party-building clout that the Greens would get from Nader's well-publicized candidacy.
But those who voted for Cobb, an energetic California lawyer, are justified in believing that their choice will prove to be better on both grounds.
Politically, Nader of course has a national reputation going back decades, while Cobb is virtually unknown. But Nader's well-earned image as a consumer advocate has now been overtaken by the determined self-aggrandizement that characterized his second presidential campaign in 2000, and now his third.
There is no doubting that Al Gore would be president today if Nader had not been on the ballot in Florida, or possibly other states, in 2000. And Nader's decision to campaign to the end in battleground states showed his contempt for the actual results. Given that Nader seems willing to play the same unpopular spoiler role again, it is likely that he would hobble the Green Party's organizing efforts more than he would help them.
Substantively, voters who care about the environment already have the clearest choice in years. George Bush has turned out to be even more rigidly conservative and pro-business than many had anticipated, while Kerry has been a leader, particularly in protecting open spaces. From an environmental policy perspective, if the Green Party were to help reelect Bush by supporting Nader, it would deserve every bit of the opprobrium it would get.
Nader is a political vagrant. Having been denied the endorsement, he will now try to find another ballot line so that he can run against the Green Party. The Greens, and the rest of the nation, would be better off if Nader concentrated on writing books, instead of contesting ballots. 