Monday, November 11, 2024

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3rd-party choices represent millions

In response to "Not again, Nader" (SN 2/23), this might sound blunt, but it's what many Americans have been thinking for decades: Al Gore and the Democratic Party have only themselves to blame for losing the 2000 election, not Ralph Nader. Stop whining about the few thousand votes Nader "took" from Gore, and start thinking about the tens of millions of Americans who didn't vote at all.

Now, stop thinking and start doing. Register yourself to vote. The Democratic Party has spent the last decade moving closer to the Republican Party in hope of grabbing a few thousand moderate voters from them while ignoring the millions of Americans who are not "Soccer Moms" or "NASCAR Dads."

There are only a few exceptions to this centrist notion, Howard Dean being one because his campaign was focused on generating new voters. He accomplished this to some degree (on campus, the hyperactive Students for Dean registered hundreds of new voters in weeks) yet failed to win the Democratic Party nomination because he was painted by other Democrats as an extreme liberal who didn't stand a chance against Bush.

So, who does? John Kerry or John Edwards? Both voted with Bush to invade Iraq, both voted with Bush to legalize the U.S.A. Patriot Act, and both have vowed to vote with Bush to ban gay marriage.

Bush or Kerry or Edwards will win, and the race to the middle will continue, but don't forget that this is a democracy where everyone deserves equal representation. So, I'm sorry if my views are not represented by Bush or Busch Light, and I'm "taking" my vote to the candidate who represents my America.

Christopher Malavolti
voter registration chair for MSU Students for Dean and international relations junior

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