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Nice Try, Terry
Consumer activist Ralph Nader accused Terry McAuliffe Thursday of orchestrating an effort to remove him from the presidential ballot in 2004 when McAuliffe was chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Nader said that McAuliffe offered him an unspecified amount of money to campaign in 31 states if Nader would agree to pull his campaign in 19 battleground states.
I sort of hope this is true. I've never been a big McAuliffe fan before, but this would certainly raise my opinion of him.
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader? Is he still alive? I thought he died in abject obscurity after selling out to his own ego.
McAuliffe has benefited very well from corporate power
Mr. Nader had an article published in today's Counterpunch about how corporations have increased their power over the past hundred years. Mr. McAuliffe has benefited very well from that increased corporate power, while most Democrats have not.
Wait, hold the phone --
tagged as:- solution
Wait, hold the phone -- Ralph Nader wrote an article claiming that corporations have increased their power over the past hundred years? Thank the heavens for delivering to us this bold teller of the truth. Perhaps with the earnest application of our entreaties we can convince this living saint to run for the presidency in 2012. If only America were worthy of Ralph Nader.
instead of lobbying
Yes, instead of lobbying for a coal company, an oil company, a defense contractor, a former Soviet Republic, a hedge fund, a bank or a health insurance company, Nader, unlike McAuliffe, wrote an article informing Americans about why their living standards are deteriorating.
Did McAuiliffe pay Nader to
Did McAuiliffe pay Nader to make this claim? I do not see how this is supposed to hurt McAuiliffe.
There is an interesting
There is an interesting symbiotic relationship between Ralph Nader and Mother Jones. It was Ralph Nader and his Unsafe At Any Speed that blew the whistle on the automotive industry but it was Mother Jones that discovered the internal Ford Motor Company documents that unveiled the ‘cost benefit ratio’ of not recalling the exploding gas tanks of the Pinto. For that I shall always be grateful to both Nader and Mother Jones. It is nice to see that both are still alive and kicking.
It will also be interesting to see how the people over at “Economic Fascism” who responded negatively to my comment about it not being too hard to imagine Rahm Emanuel using political affiliation to decide which Chrysler dealerships to close respond to Nader's accusation. McAuliffe and Emanuel are from the same ilk. They both play hardball, dirty politics. Both profited enormously- becoming multi millionaire in sweet heart political payoffs- McAuliffe turned $100,000 in 18 million in a year and a half.
You won’t find two dirtier toads in the swamp.
Oh, you're the one
who dreamed up this preposterous fantasy? Thanks for the good laugh, then. It's one of the more absurdist bits of tinfoil hattery I've seen in quite a while.
This doesn't help
This doesn't help anyone -- I'm speaking here as a VA Democrat. It's fine for people outside of the Commonwealth to think this is amusing, but it's our governor's house that hangs in the balance. The last time Republicans were in the Governor's mansion, the state nearly went bankrupt. (Sound familiar? I'm looking at you, Californians!!!)
I despise the fact that McAuliffe might be our Democratic nominee. I'm doing everything I can to keep that from happening. But should it come to pass, here's the script:
Republicans win the Governor of Va in November. National media makes a major case about it -- what does this mean for Republicans? (Gasp!) Is this a referendum on Obama? (Shudder!) Is this a foreshadowing of the mid-term elections? (quiver!)
When all it was likely to mean is that Dems made a foolish decision (Again, sound familiar?) and threw their core principles away.
No, I'm not frustrated.
Does it really mean anything? ...
I thought VA had a history of electing a governor that was of the opposite party of the President.
What would Ralph Nader do as
tagged as:- solution
What would Ralph Nader do as President (WWRNDAP)?
How could he solve the Iraq and Afghan wars? Put seat belts on camels?
Would he stare down Kim Jong-il of North Korea with one eye blinking faster than the other?
Would he have the nerve to call Barak Obama an "Uncle Tom of corporations" again like he did on Fox News after Obama won the election?
This withered old prune needs to go away and disappear. He is like Brett Favre. We appreciate the past heroics of both of those men, but now they are old men past their prime making public fools of themselves.
Ralph has never been wrong, on anything - just ask him.
Don't forget, Ralph Nader opposed the introduction of catalytic converters, and the introduction of unleaded gas. Now we all make mistakes, the difference is to this day Ralph Nader still can't say those simple words: "I was wrong"
Persuasion or bribery
I have no problem with Terry McAuliffe talking with Nader and trying to reason with him (even if that's an uphill task). But offering him a "pay to not play" deal with, apparently, DNC funds seems on the far side of the line to me. I want Nader to go away, but offering money to an opposing candidate to change decisions seems a lot like what lots of folks (from Raymond Burris to muni bond dealers) are getting in trouble for. I think it's a story that will play horribly in the fall if McAulliffe gets the nomination.
Beginning with Jimmy
Beginning with Jimmy Carter's election in 1976, Virginia in the following year has elected a governor from the opposite party as the sitting president. That covers the last 8 elections for governor.
yes, quite the esteemable gesture
"I've never been a big McAuliffe fan before, but this would certainly raise my opinion of him."
Yes. Because nothing says "clean election" like attempting to buy off opponents.
And I will be the first to
And I will be the first to be surprised if Dems hang on the VA governor's house this year. But VA is a very different place politically -- and from my Democratic perspecitve, it's moving in a very positive direction. We're going to lose some elections, yes, but bringing in McAuliffe not only means losing the Governorship, but also slowing that momentum. It brings back all of the things Virginians do not like about the party, while not offering us much of anything in return.
With the candidate I'm supporting, Creigh Deeds, we have a fighting chance in November. And even with a loss, we continue to build on what we've already worked so hard to create. McAuliffe turns a lot of people away, and it's stories like this one (and with Terry, there are SO MANY STORIES) we go into the November election on the defensive. Not fun.
Yeah, it stunk paying that car tax, but...
...at least there wasn't that giant $4B hole in the budget before the phase-out started. Look over there! Speeder-fees!
I'm with you, Eagle, as a VA Dem. I haven't decided between the other two yet, and I need to get on the stick about that, but I will definitely NOT be voting for McAuliffe. IMO he's the last thing VA, and the VA Dem party, needs. Of course, having a term restriction that was at least halfway sensible would improve matters as well, but that's another blog post!