February 6, 2004

THIS TIME NADER WON'T MATTER.

By James Eugene*

Okay, repeat after me, "Ralph Nader is irrelevant."

And that is the truth.

I mean who is going to vote for Nader this time around? Radical no-nothings who wouldn't vote for the Democratic nominee anyway.

The left is so into beating George Bush, they are too afraid to vote for Nader. Nader will only attract those who would not vote anyway.

But Nader's ego trip is showing, big time. Nader really wants to be appointed philosopher-king. His ego is that big.

I realized that Nader was way out there when I read an article on him while in government. Nader has this grand political experiment designed to provide more democracy in government. And believe or not, a town actually adopted his process. The town then had to vote on something and it was a close vote, but Nader's side lost.

Nader's reaction? Very academic. He remarked how the process had worked but the town vote had gotten it wrong and in the future they would side with his view.

The reaction tells a lot about Nader. First, his method had worked. Why? Because there was more community involvement? Because they had used his method? He did not elaborate. Second, his thought about how the town had gotten it wrong was very telling about his opinion of himself. His tone was not that of a die-hard advocate, but rather the tone of someone who knew the answer. He was paternalistic in his reaction. He knew the answer, and since the town had not voted for his position, he knew they were wrong. Finally, he knew the town would eventually see he was right. As if he had figured it all out already and that the town would see its way to his point of view and the error of their ways.

Nader is not running for President. Nader is running for "philosopher-king", the all-knowing benevolent leader from Plato who knows what is best for everyone. Nader truly believes that he is that philosopher-king and that we should all just accept his wisdom.

Hey Ralphie, do me a favor… take a hike!

I have opinions too, don't get me wrong. But they are opinions and I can recognize the legitimacy and the theory in others' arguments. Nader does not. If you disagree with Nader, you are just wrong, or worse yet, corrupted. Gee whiz, Mr. Nader, can you teach me how to get uncorrupted, because I do not know how because my mind has been so warped by corporate America.

It's time to for Nader to be relegated to the dustbin of American history. Nader once did this nation a service, but now all he does is disservice. It is so sad to see a has-been manipulate us all for his own ego. Hopefully, he will do no more damage.

* James Eugene is the pseudonym of a veteran of NYC government affairs. Inside The Big Apple will appear exclusively on the Empire Page. If you want to send tips or column ideas to James Eugene, email them to jameseugene@empirepage.com.