[Marxism] Nader tilting toward Edwards in Dem primary races?

[Fred Feldman]

NADER THROWS SUPPORT TO EDWARDS...Politico reports that consumer crusader
and former presidential contender Ralph Nader has expressed "strong support"
for John Edwards. 

Nader has been edging toward this "endorsement" in the last couple of weeks.
In an appearance on "Hardball," in mid-December, he said Edwards "now has
the most progressive message across a broad spectrum of corporate power
damaging the interests of workers, consumers, taxpayers, of any candidate I
have--leading candidate I have seen in years." He went on to explain that
"the key phrase is when he [Edwards] says he doesn't want to replace a
corporate Republican with a corporate Democrat." Nader told Politico, "it's
the only time I've heard a Democrat talk that way in a long time." For Ralph
Nader--and take my word for it, please--that is rare praise for a leading
Democratic politician. 

In throwing his support to Edwards, Nader was scathing in his criticism of
Hillary Clinton--calling her a "corporate Democrat ...[ who ] ... has not
led the way against the avalanche of military contracting, corporate crime,
fraud and abuse." 

Edwards' passionate populism, which has been dismissed in too many
mainstream articles in the past weeks as "angry" or "over the top," is
speaking to the reality of the concentration of power and wealth in a few
hands--a concentration that is working against the vast majority of
Americans. Why is what Edwards is saying "over the top" when 72% of the
American people told "Business Week" in 2000--- that corporations have too
much control over their lives and jobs. 

Will Nader's support encourage progressive Iowans to give him a win in
Thursday's caucuses? Hard to know. This is an extraordinarily fluid, tight,
ideologically fascinating race in which progressive champion Dennis Kucinich
has just urged his supporters to go for Barack Obama in a second round. And
there's no question that Nader remains controversial among many progressives
who believe that he took enough liberal votes from Gore in 2000 to give Bush
the presidency. 

Whatever happens to Edwards in Iowa, his full-throated populist message is
unlikely to disappear from this race. Clinton and Obama are already sounding
populist appeals in their speeches. It's up to progressives to keep the heat
on so that taking on corporate power, taking back govenment, empowering
workers and disempowering the lobbyists remains a cornerstone of small-d
politics in 2008 and beyond. 

As Nader says, "Edwards is at least highlighting day after day that the
issue is who controls our country: big business or the people?" 


Posted by Katrina vanden Heuvel at 01/01/2008 @ 10:13pm | Email This Post