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You write: "I have fought against his re-election proudly..."

Can you say that in German? I cannot. It's an Americanism, right? Would Nadir (sic!) supporters have said the same with regards to John Kerry? "I have fought against his election proudly." Hm...

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819

by Ritter on Thu Nov 17th, 2005 at 06:03:01 PM EST
...ja, ich bin stolz darauf, gegen Gerhard Schröder Wahlkampf gemacht zu haben. Sein politisches Ende betrachte ich mit großer Befriedigung.

As for your Kerry and Nader analogy, I can only say this: I still have a Howard Dean poster on my wall. And who was John Kerry in the first place?

by jandsm on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 03:38:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
And who was John Kerry in the first place?

The second candidate of the War Party. "John Kerry reporting for service!" (BTW, he was among those pushing Clinton towards Desert Fox - read here.)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 04:17:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Ja klar, there's a lot of satisfaction to be gained from the re-installment of Bush and the advent of Berluskoni and Murkle. Something the Lafontaines, Nadirs and Bertinottis of this worls can be really proud of.

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819
by Ritter on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 09:21:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
:-) take it easy, just like Gustav Heinemann did - someone you seem to appreciate. Heinemanns and Brandts SPD were electable, but there was no way any true democratic socialist (read the party plattform of the SPD [Berliner Programm] for what I mean) could give this SPD his/her vote. I am sorry: Hartz IV, Otto Schily.... look where HArtz himself ended up: in a courtroom.

gotta go to bielefeld now...if it exists.

by jandsm on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 09:45:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It is perfectly okay for my prudish leftist friends to remain political virgins. They don't want to get hurt? Fine. Real Realpolitik is bad? Bene.

It's ok to cry.

link:

http://www.rootsofcompassion.org/newshop/catalog/images/

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819

by Ritter on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 10:05:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Ritter, I somehow fail to reconcile this defense of 'realist politics' with your earlier denouncement of Realo Greens :-)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 01:52:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Actually, Nader did not fight against Kerry's election. The Democratic Party used all kinds of legal shenanigans to keep Nader off the ballot this time around, and look what good it did them.

Nader, unlike Kerry, had a platform that put the American people first. Kerry's platform was empire-lite, and his message whatever his campaign advisors thought would capture the "swing voters".

While Bush supporters were true believers, Kerry campaigners were almost apologetic (anybody but Bush is not exactly an endorsement of Kerry).

And blaming Nader for Gore's defeat is disingenuous too. Had Gore won in Florida, he would have been the first president in a long time (ever?) to win the election without carrying his home state. Apart from winning Tennesee, Gore should have been able to "win" the three campaign debates against Bush with his brain tied to his back, and he failed to do that, too (the impression was that he won the first, tied the second and lost the third, on foreign policy).

The Democratic party has nobody to blame but themselves.

Out with the politics of lesser-evilism!

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 09:30:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Quote: "Nader, unlike Kerry, had a platform that put the American people first."

Nadir's has always had a platform to put American consumer rights first. He is a consumer rights advocate, not a politician. When it comes to politics Nadir is a trickster - very much like Panella. Both hate organized working class politics.

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819

by Ritter on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 10:13:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I have seen him speak. He actually talks about what's wrong with america and how to fix it. Democrats talk about what's right with America and how to export it.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 10:16:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yep.

And Kerry if elected would have been the final failure of the Democrats.

He would have continued the sell-out of the working class just like Clinton (who removed more welfare than Reagan). He would have stayed in Iraq, and the Republicans would have made sure that it is viewed as his failure. So would have the oil price hike. While we Europeans would probably have been drawn into the Iraqi mess more strongly.

And what I argued at the time was that the real issue was 2008, not 2004. Had Kerry won in 2004, four years later Jeb Bush or some other Republoscum much more intelligent than Dubya would have taken over - in a real landslide. Then it would have been good-bye America once and for all - now there is some chance that they will be buried deep enough under the Iraq mess and economic troubles for not even Diebold saving them.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 01:48:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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