Dear Ralph Nader: Shut Up!
Posted On Thursday, November 06, 2008 at at 3:56 PM by Dan
Dear Mr. Nader:
For the last 8 years you’ve pretty much shown you don’t care at all about social movements or justice. When you ran in 2000 I thought there might have been some possibility of you helping galvanize something at the grassroots. Your behavior then and after showed I was wrong.
I don’t mean you being a “spoiler” because that’s a straw man. You didn’t spoil the 200 election. Republicans stole and Gore gave it away. What I do mean is that you had a chance to build something and you passed. Have you yet shared your lists with the Green Party? Did you provide any help or substance in following up with the millions who did vote?
By itself these questions aren’t enough to lead to a letter like this. It is enough for me to not consider voting for you, or the Greens, again. It’s also enough for me to avoid watching you on TV, when I do get the chance to watch. By purposefully avoiding your image on the tube, and also by not turning it on much, I missed the interview you had on Fox “news” on election day. Remember that? You were asked about a comment you made to Fox “News” Radio. In that comment you said
“To put it very simply, he is our first African American president; or he will be. And we wish him well. But his choice, basically, is whether he’s going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations.”
You had every chance to backtrack on that quote. You were specifically asked by Shepard Smith- who came across to me like an arrogant, self-righteous ass- asked, “If that’s what you want your legacy to be?” You wiggled around a bit, but you never admitted that phrase was offensive. Or that it could even be possibly considered. Smith actually gave you an out. Remember this:
SHEPARD SMITH: I just wondered if, in hindsight, you wished you used a phrase other than ‘Uncle Tom’?
RALPH NADER: Not at all
Frankly, when you said that you came across as an arrogant, self-righteous ass. Also, you’re a white supremist dickhead. I think you know exactly what you said, you meant exactly what you said, and you said exactly what you wanted to say. Now I’m going to take a turn. Can you just be quiet?
It does feel pretty good.
Seriously, though, shut up.
