NP; looks like the Dem Primary is kinda like Iceland Sparring.....

[David Morris]

Practical realities be damned!  Protest your way to hell, and take us
all with you?  You'll deign to  vote for the only hope this country
has to be saved from the Republicans only because the Democrat is
black or a woman?   I'm sorry but I take this attitude (and Nader's
the finest example of it) as selfish and childish.

Holding your breath till you turn blue has never been an effective
strategy, especially when the other side would like you to stop
breathing forever.

David Morris

On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 6:43 AM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
> The point of the Nader candidacy was to give people an outlet for protest against the centrist policies and candidates that are hand-picked at the top of the party (there was no groundswell from the people to have Obama address the 2004 convention, for example.  He was selected by the powers-that-be, grooming him as a future candidate.)  Since I began voting in New York for president in the late 70s, I've consistently used the electoral college system as a shield for my protest vote (Except I voted for Mondale).  I didn't vote for Clinton in either election.  Unfortunately, protest voters are not seen as expressing their distaste for centrism -- they're merely vilified by all. So I'm not sure what mechanisms you think are available for Democrats to make demands on the party leadership.  This year I'll be voting for the centrist candidate in the general election because the significance of having a black or female candidate overrides their centrist politics.