NY Times, February 21, 2004 Democrats United in Asking That Nader Not Enter Race By JIM RUTENBERG
Some of Ralph Nader's best friends are desperately trying to persuade him not to run for president this year.
The left-leaning Nation magazine has pleaded in an open letter, "Don't Run." And yesterday Senator John Kerry's campaign delivered a not-so-subtle statement: "It is important that we remain united in November and rally behind the Democratic nominee, whoever that may be."
The Kerry campaign's appeal was just one in another frenzy of calls yesterday for Mr. Nader to sit this one out, prompted by the announcement by a Nader aide that he would reveal his intentions Sunday.
Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he had met with Mr. Nader several times to ask him not to run. "I'm urging everybody to talk to Ralph Nader," he said in a television interview Friday on CNN.
Ever since Mr. Nader set up a presidential exploratory committee a couple of months ago, Democrats have reacted viscerally to the idea. Many contend that if he had not run in 2000 Al Gore would be president, and that Mr. Nader could get in the way of a Democratic victory this year as well.
In January Mr. Nader said that he would make a run only if he were convinced that he had enough money and volunteers to be credible. But close associates of Mr. Nader said they feared that despite so much outcry against a run - there is even a liberal Web site called RalphDontRun.net - he may just make one.
"As I said in 2000, he's one of the most stubborn men in America," said Joan Claybrook, a close friend of his and head of Public Citizen, a group that Mr. Nader founded.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/21/politics/campaign/21NADE.html
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Nader's nadir Even many of his former allies don't support maverick Ralph Nader's presidential bid. And more mainstream Democrats aren't just mad -- they're apoplectic.
- - - - - - - - - - - - By Eric Boehlert
Feb. 21, 2004 | Word that Ralph Nader will formally announce his plan to run for president this weekend as an independent stirred harsh words and emotions not just among Democrats, but even among the leftists and independents who supported Nader four years ago. Facing an election that they regard as the most crucial in decades, they're stunned and angry that Nader has decided to reprise his third-party candidacy from 2000, which played such a crucial role in siphoning votes away from then Vice President Al Gore and handing the election to George W. Bush.
"It's hypocrisy of the highest level. It's egotism of the highest level. It's dishonesty of the highest level to say 'I'm running as an independent,' when all he's doing is helping elect Bush, and he knows it," says Elizabeth Holtzman, former New York City congresswoman and U.S. district attorney. "He's nothing but a shill for George Bush. A shill, period."
full: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/02/21/nader/index.html
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