Nader may not hurt Democrats
Most conservatives and liberals alike (myself included) have a
knee-jerk conclusion that Ralph Nader’s entry into the
presidential race will hurt the Democratic Party’s chances at
defeating President Bush.
To be fair and balanced, we should consider the other side of
the argument that will no doubt be minimized in the coming
weeks.
Running as an independent, Nader may end up getting less than 1
or 2 percent of the vote. However, it is certain that he will
garner way more than 1 or 2 percent of media airtime in relation to
the other candidates. He has already sensationalized the media
world with his announcement for candidacy. Therefore, much like
Howard Dean, he will have the media power to inject issues into the
national agenda.
And the agenda he sets may end up hurting Bush. With his
emphasis on the environment and corporate responsibility issues,
attention could be diverted from traditionally strong conservative
issues such as national security. Nader has already mentioned he
will focus on attacking Bush, rather than lumping both Democrats
and Republicans together as he did in his 2000 campaign. This will
cause Bush to get a double dose of medicine from the Left. His
other issues may cause John Kerry to appear more centrist, causing
him to gain the much-coveted and substantial vote of the
moderates.
We should entertain the possibility that these advantages in
media coverage will outweigh the costs in the polls.
Philip Lu Third-year, sociology