If Ralph Nader could, in theory, count on support from anyone in Congress, it should be Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Bernie is an independent because he doesn’t think the Dems are liberal enough. In Vermont, he created a third party called the “Progressives,” which routinely splits the left vote and allows an otherwise liberal state to have a Republican governor and GOP plurality in the State House.
With this in mind, I was a little surprised by the comments, and the tone of the comments, Bernie Sanders offered about this year’s presidential election on Vermont Public Television last week (no link available).
Not only am I going to vote for John Kerry, I am going to run around this country and do everything I can to dissuade people from voting for Ralph Nader. The likelihood is, this election will come down to a relatively few votes. Some of the polls already indicate Nader at 5, 6, 7 percent — it’s the margin of difference allowing Bush to be ahead of Kerry.
I consider four more years of Bush a potential horror show for this country, where actions will be taken that literally will be irreversible in terms of the courts, in terms of the movement or the privatization of Social Security, Medicare, the Veterans’ Administration, and public education.
So I am going to do everything that I can, while I have differences with John Kerry, to make sure that he is elected.
Keep in mind, Sanders has never even accepted the idea of “spoiler” candidates. For years, he’s maintained that liberal third parties — whether it’s Progressives in Vermont or Greens nationwide — are offering voters valuable choices. It’s unfair and unreasonable, he’s argued, to expect these third parties to stand down just to help Democrats.
And now, Sanders is rejecting this approach to help Kerry beat Bush. Interesting.
Will Sanders’ anti-Nader efforts succeed? Maybe. He may be a lone congressman from a small state, but Sanders has developed a national reputation and following among liberals. While Dem complaints about Nader are easy for the far left to dismiss, Sanders’ concerns, in light of his record, are more likely to have some effect.