Does Nader on the ballot really matter?

[genius]

Poll question: Does Nader on the ballot really matter?

There may be some idiots who will vote for him but these same people may choose not to vote if the Dems make a big deal about keeping him off the ballot. Most of the people I know who voted for him four years ago are voting for Kerry. I only know one person I think is crazy enough to vote for Nader again.

Does anyone here know any 2000 Nader voters who are dumb enough to do it again? It wasn't just Florida in 2000. Nader cost us New Hampshire and West Virginia.

[LisaL]

1. Just ignore him, he is not doing so well.

[DemNoir]

2. You forgot the DU favorite

"Kerry blows as a candidate and will loose anyway so it doesnt matter!"

[LTR]

3. I think the Nader effect is overrated

The people who want Bush out know how to do it, and electing Nader is not the way. Nader will have the ultra-faithful, people who would not vote otherwise, and maybe a few protest votes from both sides.

I understand why some voted for him in 2000. They took the election for granted. I doubt it will happen again this year.

[Awsi Dooger]

4. Hell yes it matters

Three candidates with considerable name recognition on the ballot instead of two. A half dozen or more states with potential for Nader's total to exceed the margin of victory. We bitch about Florida and New Hampshire, somehow forgetting how close Nader came to tipping Wisconsin, Oregon, New Mexico, and Minnesota in 2000.

It's almost irrelevant what Nader's voters from 2000 will do. The simple fact his name will be available automatically will magnetize tens of thousands of last-second deciders nationwide. It's almost Russian Roulette where those votes are distributed and whether it costs us the election again.