Nader Fails to Make California Ballot

[acmavm]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/080804X.shtml

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/election/story/10285541p-11205762c.html

By Kevin Yamamura
The Sacramento Bee

Saturday 07 August 2004

<snip>

Famed third-party candidate Ralph Nader has failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the California ballot as an independent after ditching his Green Party label of four years ago.

Nader had submitted slightly more than half of the 153,805 signatures required two hours before Friday's deadline, according to the secretary of state's office.

"We were not there, the last I heard," confirmed Peter Camejo, Nader's running mate and a two-time gubernatorial candidate who lives in Folsom.

The news could spell doom in the nation's biggest voting state for Nader, whom Democrats blamed for costing Democrat Al Gore the 2000 presidential election.

-MORE-

[Dookus]

1. heheh

good. I got into an argument with a Nader signature-gatherer a few weeks ago. I refused to sign his petition and he got very upset.

[gmoney]

3. I'd find a way...

to throw up on the clipboard and spoil every signature if I saw a Nader sig whore.

But then again, I guess I hate freedom.

[Webster Green]

5. Me too!

I told him I agree with damn near everything Nader says, and I think he certainly has the right to run (that was his first question to me), and I voted for him in 2000, but, sorry, there's no way I'm gonna help him get on the ballot this time.

No brainer!

[drumwolf]

11. Good for you.

Nader has every right to run in this election, but you and I are under no obligation to support him.

And even though getting Nader on the ballot in a staunchly pro-Kerry state like California wouldn't have hurt us, I would never have signed a petition for Nader, purely out of principle and disgust for the man.

[NMDemDist2]

2. good, now if we could only get him tossed from Fla life would be

GOOD

:smoke:

[Ramsey]

4. And Pennsylvania

Let's hope to hell they get him off the Pennsylvania ballot!

[indepat]

6. Ahhhhhhhh! Ain't that a shame

[Cha]

7. "Spell doom for the nation's biggest voting state"?

nader isn't going to take the electorate away from Kerry in Calif.

I just wish he wouldn't get on the ballots in the swing states with his maniacle bid.

[UrbScotty]

8. WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D

[blondeatlast]

9. Boo. Hoo.

Wait--I mean:

YIP-THE-HECK-EEEE!!!

[drumwolf]

10. It wouldn't have mattered whether Nader made the California ballot or not.

Hopefully, Nader's failure to make the ballot in California is a sign of things to come for the rest of his campaign. But in and of itself, it doesn't directly help us.

California is a pretty solidly Democratic state, and we would have been able to afford to have Nader on the ballot there. It also doesn't matter whether or not Nader makes the ballot in states like New York (solidly Dem) or Texas (solidly GOP).

It's the swing states, especially Ohio or Florida, that we need to be worried about.