Reply #2: You lost me in the second paragraph.

[stevedeshazer]

"Indeed, the most recent example resulted in a monumental catastrophe, when Ralph Nader’s presidential candidacy of 2000 siphoned off enough votes from Al Gore in New Hampshire and Florida to hand the election to George W. Bush (The fact that Florida was rightfully won by Gore is irrelevant to that statement – If Nader hadn’t been on the ballot in Florida the election would probably not have been close enough for Bush to steal)."

That simply is not true.

You worked really hard on this post, and for that you deserve credit for the lessons in history, but your assertion that Ralph Nader is responsible for Al Gore's loss in 2000 is naïve.

You left out the parts about Katherine Harris, the Brooks Brothers riot, the United States Supreme Court decision, and Gore's decision to name Joe Lieberman as his VP candidate.

Sorry, I'm not buying what you are selling here. Blaming Ralph Nader for our current situation is simplistic and wrong. It goes much deeper than that.

Double plus, your solution is to start a third party. Isn't that what Nader attempted to do in the first place? And Eugene Debs?

Your post is self-contradictory.