From a letter to the editor in USA Today, written by Oliver Hall, Special Counsel to the LNC, on October 6:
Professor Rick Hasen displays a partisan bias when he calls Ralph Nader a “spoiler” who “helped elect George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000” in his commentary, “Kids, be careful who you vote for.” In fact, Nader’s Green Party candidacy likely increased Gore’s vote total, by mobilizing disaffected progressives who ultimately voted for Gore despite their preference for Nader. This would explain why Nader polled as high as 5% during the election, but received only 3% of the vote. Nader also helped Gore among independents, by running to his left and enabling Gore to run more effectively as a centrist, winning more of this crucial voting bloc. By ignoring these facts, Hasen fails to measure Nader’s true impact.
Hasen claims Nader said there was “not a dime’s worth of difference” between Bush and Gore, and he suggests the Iraq War wouldn’t have happened if Nader hadn’t run. But that line was popularized by George C. Wallace in 1968, not Nader, who only said the similarities between Democrats and Republicans tower over the differences. The Iraq War is a case in point: It happened only because congressional Democrats like Hillary Clinton voted to authorize it.
Should Clinton withdraw, so she doesn’t spoil the race for Libertarian Gary Johnson?
Oliver B. Hall, Center for Competitive Democracy; Washington, D.C.
