Strange how the top articles on Nader post-election give him such a bad rep. The majority of people who care to vote (which is about 45% of the country) think so lowly of him, especially after his challenging commentary towards Obama… Will Obama be an “uncle tom” or “uncle sam”?

Nader has been blamed for allowing another Bush term, is regarded as a “loser” for running 3 times for presidency, and should “get out of the way” when Obama is trying to pave the way for change. I have found many comments in response to these articles, and the most encompassing response I’ve found was posted by “Kim”:

“…In the state that decisively made Bush president over Gore (Florida), a poll of Nader voters was done to determine who they would have voted for had they not voted for Nader. 25% said they would have voted for Gore, 38% would have voted for Bush, and the rest would not have voted at all.

It is so easy to blame Nader for all of the failings of George W. Bush. How about blaming the millions of idiots who voted for him? How about blaming Gore for not being the candidate that people wanted? How about blaming the man himself for being the worst leader a “democratic” nation has ever seen? It was during the election between Gore and Bush that I first heard the phrase “voting for the lesser of two evils”, and “voting for the candidate you dislike the least”. In retrospect, we all wish that the election had gone a different way, but at the time, not many people liked either.

And all that Ralph Nader has done his entire career is work for a change that America needs. Look up vehicle safety standards and Ralph Nader… We wouldn’t have crash tests or air bags or safety belts were it not for him. All he wants is to make Americans completely independent from foreign oil while being environmentally savvy through the use of alternative fuels, give people a minimum wage that they can actually live on, ensure that ALL people have quality healthcare, and stop illegal wars that never should have been waged to begin with.

So go ahead and blame Ralph Nader for the problems that America faces now, after 8 years of failed policy, because it is easier to blame him than it is to blame the people truly at fault… The American people.”

I wanted to share this quote with you because I feel it important to at least combat some of the bad myths out there. Thank you “Kim” for posting, and I hope people out there will go look for themselves at what is going on.. and TESTIFY!

As for the “uncle tom” or “uncle sam” statement, I agree with Nader. Obama being the biggest receiver of corporate campaign money in US history, while appealing to the country by the color of his skin, he can be defined as an “uncle tom”. Obama, also a big supporter of increasing the military budget and Israel’s military occupation, can be regarded as an “uncle sam”.

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