Unsafe for any party, in any election

Here he goes again.

Ralph Nader, the self-described consumer advocate and “party crasher”… Here he goes again.

Ralph Nader, the self-described consumer advocate and “party crasher” from the 2000 election, announced yesterday that he will run for president again in 2004.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has said that Nader’s involvement won’t matter much, and that Nader has no base of support. While his statements are very brave, it’s hard to believe that he’s really not concerned.

Many Democrats blame the loss in the last presidential election on Nader, who received a little less than 3 percent of the vote. Among that 3 percent, however, were more than enough votes to swing the states of New Hampshire and Florida to Al Gore, provided Gore had received all of Nader’s votes.

Nader claims that he’s trying to break up the two-party duopoly, and has said that there is little difference between Democrats and Republicans, who are beholden to the same special interests. He also embraces a platform of left-wing issues, such as higher taxes, drug decriminalization, high tariffs on imported goods and a more isolationist foreign policy.

Still, for the Green Party, Nader’s not the way to go.

Nader has no chance of winning. In fact, he has an infinitesimally small chance of even getting 5 percent of the vote, which would grant him millions in federal matching funds to run again in 2008. He does have a chance of getting President George W. Bush re-elected and thus dooming Green Party members to another four years of an administration that is diametrically opposed to all of their views.

But the Greens don’t have to nominate him.

The Green Party should take this opportunity to prove that they are a relevant, respectable third party and refuse to endorse Nader. Anyone who believes that there is no difference between Bush and Democratic frontrunner John Kerry is delusional, and Kerry has views much closer to those of the Greens, and actually might win. By endorsing Kerry, the Greens could prove that they have some sense of the political landscape and that they possess the quality most admired in politicians of yore: the ability to compromise.

And the Dems can help themselves out, too. Howard Dean, who enlivened many young people with his more liberal platform, has yet to endorse a candidate for president. Many of his supporters may look to Nader as a similar candidate. Dean, though, is no radical leftist, and is a member of the Democratic Party. He ran and came close, but he lost, and now it’s time to remember which party he belongs to. He should endorse Kerry if he truly cares about ousting Bush. His endorsement would add to Kerry’s growing momentum and remind his followers whose platform most closely resembles his.

As it stands, Nader’s running is a blessing to those who disagree with him the most, and a curse to his party. It is a move based on “personal vanity,” to use the words of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. If the Green Party wants to remain a relevant factor in the political process and a serious threat to two-party dominance, they will make a compromise now and recognize Nader’s threat to their party for exactly what it is.