Ralph Nader appreciation thread.

[Jim Lane]

20. Agreed. I wonder if, at some level, Nader himself agrees.

He's never repudiated the stupid things he said in 2000, notably the implication that there was no significant difference between the parties.

One possibility is that he still believes that. Another possibility -- maybe I'm being too charitable toward him, but hear me out -- is that he's come to recognize that, although Democrats are far from perfectly good, Republicans are pretty close to being perfectly bad.

A less radical suggestion is that he still believes in that false equivalence but has at least come to realize that running as a third-party or independent candidate accomplishes absolutely nothing. Many of us are of the opinion that it's worse than useless, with 2000 being the prime example of how it can be absolutely horrific, but even if you reject that view -- with the perspective of several years, did Nader's runs achieve anything in terms of what the government of the United States actually does?

Please note that last qualifier. "Giving voice to progressive ideals" or the like doesn't count as an answer. Did he change any actual policies by the route of electoral campaigns outside the major parties?