quarterly-report.com Political Commentary by James R. Audet

November 1, 2000
48th anniversary of US detonation of the world's first hydrogen bomb.

Well, Vice-President Gore has gotten desperate.  He senses that he may lose the election, so he has tacitly endorsed a despicable concept.

Vote trading.

There is a web site called nadertrader.com.  The site suggests that folks predisposed to vote for Ralph Nader in a state where Gore is losing by a narrow margin, such as Washington or Oregon, trade their vote with a Gore supporter in a state where Bush is a leader in the polls, such as Texas.   The Gore strategy is to win the popular vote in Washington and Oregon, thus the concomitant Electoral College electors.

Should this tactic come as surprise?  No, it should not.  Gore, a 24 year veteran of vote trading on Capitol Hill, is merely using a Potomac technique that is so widely used in the halls of Congress.  You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours.

At the first presidential debate -- a holistic service brought to us by the effete snobs of the Northeast -- Ralph Nader was barred from entering the building in spite of the fact he had a ticket.  ^1/  Do the Democratic and Republican parties practice what they preach?  No way.  Are these the parties of inclusion?    Do not kid yourself.  If the CEO of a pharmaceutical company had showed up without a ticket, would the security guards in Boston have turned him away?  Not likely.  Why the double standard?  Is it because the drug companies donate substantial sums to both parties?  You bet it is.

The media claim that this will be the closest election in forty years.  So what.  Do not let their hysteria influence how you vote, because their interests are pecuniary not nationalistic.  They are priming the pump for their election coverage.   Remember, they live or die on the results of November Sweeps, the critical, television viewer measuring period.

Send Gore a clear message about his outrageous campaign tactic.  Tell him to go fish.  Vote your conscience.  Your ballot is not wasted if you vote for Ralph Nader.  Those that say you are fool, that you are merely giving your ballot to George W. Bush Jr., are the same dupes that would have acceded to Hitler’s rise to power.

At a minimum, a vote for Ralph Nader is a vote for an honest man.

Footnotes

1/  The Debate Commission was created in 1987 and is run by two former chairmen of the Republican and Democratic national committees.  The Board is entirely made up of Republicans and Democrats.

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