Has the democratic party drifted to the right over the past 40 years?

[lapucelle]

60. Yes, indeed, we do have Ralph Nadar to "thank" for The Bush presidency, the Iraq War,

the Roberts / Citizen's United Court, and the current state of our environment.

[T]he debate has raised questions about how the support that each candidate has voiced for the environment might translate into practice. Mr. Gore, for example, is being backed by most major environmental groups, but in other quarters, his past statement that environmental protection should become ''the central organizing principle for civilization'' is being portrayed by his opponents as evidence of either betrayal or bad judgment.

''This administration tries to take credit for our economy, but they seem to have forgotten what makes it turn,'' Mr. Bush said over the summer, in outlining what he has portrayed as a more practical view. ''Even today, in our new, high-tech economy, America runs on oil and gas and coal gained from the earth and water held behind our dams.''

Mr. Gore still clearly sees the environment as a winning issue, and his campaign has tried to focus attention on Mr. Bush's environmental record in Texas, which Gore aides say should raise deep doubts about the governor's commitment to protection. ''When it comes to the environment, I've never given up, I've never turned back, and I never will,'' Mr. Gore said at recent rallies.

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''Al Gore is suffering from election-year delusion if he thinks his record on the environment is anything to be proud of,'' Mr. Nader said recently. ''He should be held accountable by voters for eight years of principles betrayed and promises broken.''

Even though the Clinton administration has disappointed them on some issues, such as its failure to tighten automobile fuel-economy, most leading environmentalists have rallied to Mr. Gore. He, more than anyone else, they argue, deserves credit for the administration's environmental achievements. Furthermore, as president, they reason, he would finally have the freedom to put his own agenda in place.

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/03/us/2000-campaign-environment-favorite-issue-gore-finds-himself-2-front-defense.html

No wonder Ralph Nadar received the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental activism.