Republicans file lawsuit to get Nader on Michigan ballot ~AP - 8/25/2004

[mzmolly]

The Associated Press
8/25/2004, 5:31 p.m. ET

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Republicans filed a lawsuit Wednesday asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse the state elections board and place presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the November ballot.

The Board of State Canvassers deadlocked Monday on whether to accept nearly 50,000 signatures — 45,000 gathered by Republicans — that would qualify Nader for a spot on the ballot as an independent. Two Republicans voted to certify the signatures and two Democrats objected.

The lawsuit was filed by Nick DeLeeuw, a Michigan Republican Party field director, and three others who signed the petition.

The Court of Appeals is expected to rule quickly because election officials need to know who will be on the ballot by Sept. 3.

More here:

http://www.mlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-18/1093469972183140.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

[Zynx]

1. Could it be a little more obvious?

[CarolynEC]

6. That was my first thought, too...

I mean, there's not even the slightest effort to dress this up a bit, is there?

Jeez.

Um... your comment, Mr. Nader? Care to tell us a bit more about what a principled man you are? About how your're the only candidate with ideals to stand by? :grr:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. Apparatchik..no?

[Democat]

3. Ralph Nader is a part of the Republican party

Fuck Nader!

[faithnotgreed]

4. wonder if they have looked at the internals of, say, the economist polls?

from what i am seeing there, nader draws more or = numbers away from bush as he does from kerry. not that ralph is drawing big #s but it shows that he tends to take away more from bush.

and with the republicans working sooo hard for ralph it clearly only gives those republicans a closer look at how much better they like ralph than the huy they are stuck with!

maybe other polls say different but the one that just came out is consistent with their previous #s on this issue.

poor ralph. poor bush.

[kwolf68]

5. I can't believe this

45K of the 50K signatures were obtained by Republicans.

And Nader insists on continue this dog-and-pony show.

In my view, this is just another way to “fix” the election. This isn’t Democracy. If those 45K people who had signed really philosophically believed that Nader’s voice needed to be heard and he should be on the ballot I’d have no problems.

But these are people who are planting Nader in the race with the idea of having candidate X elected.

I believe the present move by the Nader/Bush coalition is anti-democratic. It may be legal, but it is contemptible within the spirit of our democracy.

[Warpy]

7. Somebody needs to tell those pricks

that they can have only one candidate on the ballot. If their candidate is so weak that they feel they need two candidates to hedge their bets, perhaps they need to consider changing their damned candidate at their convention!!

<plink, plink>