Kerry and Nader meet 5/19/2004

[conjur]

http://news.myway.com/politics/article/id/376958|politics|05-19-2004::17:52|reuters.html

Kerry, Rival Nader Discuss White House Bids

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat John Kerry held "a friendly discussion" with rival Ralph Nader on Wednesday but did not ask the independent candidate whose third party run could sink his presidential bid to drop out of the race.

Other Democrats have urged Nader to abandon his campaign, convinced that he cost Al Gore the presidency in 2000 by siphoning away the votes of more liberal Americans.

But a Kerry aide said this year's presumptive Democratic nominee did not request Nader drop out and the veteran consumer advocate gave no hint of the conditions under which he might do so.

"These two have known each other for 30 years," the aide said. "Obviously it was a very friendly discussion ... there was nothing contentious about it."

The Nader campaign issued a statement afterward saying the meeting was designed "to put the focus on the human race not the presidential horse race" and both men agreed to "continue the dialogue."

An added concern for Kerry is Nader's anti-war sentiment which has struck a chord among some voters, especially in closely contested states.

Although Iraq has emerged as a major issue between the two campaigns -- Nader has called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and Kerry, like President Bush, wants to stay the course -- the aide said the two men did not discuss their differences during the hour-long meeting.

But Kerry, who campaigned in Oregon on Tuesday, enlisted the help of former rival Howard Dean, whose own maverick bid for the Democratic presidential nomination was built around his vehement opposition to the Iraq war.

Both men have warned that Nader could draw votes from the Democratic candidate. Kerry will return to Oregon -- which Gore narrowly won in won in 2000 -- next week.

BELIEVES HE'S HELPING KERRY

Ignoring pleas from Democrats earlier this year to stay out of the race, Nader threw his hat into the ring saying he wanted to challenge the two parties' stranglehold on the political process and their shared addiction to corporate interests.

The Kerry aide, who was in Wednesday's meeting, said Nader made that same argument.

"He believes he is helping John Kerry by doing this," the aide said. "That he can provide a sharper counterpoint to Bush and that the Democratic Party over the past 10 years has not been particularly tough on these issues."

Nader's Green Party bid won nearly 2.9 million votes in 2000 and was blamed by many for draining away support from Gore -- especially in Florida where Nader won 97,488 votes and Gore's loss by a bitterly contested 537 votes cost him the presidency.

"I intend to get elected president," Kerry told Nader, according to the aide. "I'm working hard at this. I think it's a huge deal for the country to get rid of the people in the White House and I think I have the values to do this.

The four-term senator from Massachusetts pointed out that he and Nader had been "together for 30 years" on issues like corporate welfare, consumer issues and abortion rights. The Nader statement said corporate welfare, corporate crime and union rights were among the issues discussed.

Kerry asked Nader not to judge him by his predecessors.

"I have fought with you. I have been with you on a range of issues and you should judge me by my record in the Senate," he said, according to the aide.

The Kerry aide called the session "very straightforward" and said the two men agreed to meet again. Asked if the senator had requested Nader quit the race, the aide replied: "No." Conversely, Nader neither offered to nor gave any hint if he would, he added.

Nader brought up the issue of increasing the number of presidential debates and including more candidates in them, his campaign said.

A public opinion poll late last year showed that two-thirds of Americans did not want Nader to run again. Democratic operatives would continue to press Nader publicly and privately to come around, party officials said.

 

[Infohawk]

If they would cooperate, it could work out great. Nader could run a short campaign and not get on many ballots. He could rile up his base. Then near the end say, "this election is just too important to have any divisions. GWB is just too scary. I support JFK."

Of course, he may just struggle until the end and spoil the election. Where's Ross Perot when we need to dump a Bush?

 

[glenn1]

Perhaps Kerry will name Nader his Veep. Wouldn't that be a hoot. Plus it'd kill two birds with one stone.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: glenn1
Perhaps Kerry will name Nader his Veep. Wouldn't that be a hoot. Plus it'd kill two birds with one stone.

If Veep means Vice President, I'm there.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
If they would cooperate, it could work out great. Nader could run a short campaign and not get on many ballots. He could rile up his base. Then near the end say, "this election is just too important to have any divisions. GWB is just too scary. I support JFK."

Of course, he may just struggle until the end and spoil the election. Where's Ross Perot when we need to dump a Bush?

That'd be messed up. Especially for everyone that worked their asses off to get him on the ballots and whatnot. He'll run the whole way through.

The only thing that will take votes away from Kerry is Kerry.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: conjur
details later, I'm sure.

Maybe AP is reporting it

There goes your chance to bash FOX News. Oh well. It should be interesting to hear the scoop on what they discussed and to see if Nader gave him that memo on how to win

CkG

 

[Perknose]

Nader would never be any mainstream politician's Veep. He just doesn't play that game.

 

[Bowmaster]

The last poll I saw (i'll try to find a link) showed that as many reps would vote for Nader as the dems. I think his overall impact will be a net 0.

 

[conjur]

^ for update

 

[Zephyr106]

This reminds me of when those other two famous Communists met in NYC, Kruschev and Castro.

Zephyr

 

[n0cmonkey]

What does this have to do with communism?

I think it's great. Nader is definitely needed these days more than ever.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Another view on the meeting.

Kerry, Nader Meet and Go Separate Ways
Democrats Want To Diminish Man They Call Spoiler
By Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 20, 2004; Page A04


Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) met privately yesterday with independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who many Democrats believe cost Vice President Al Gore the White House in 2000, but the private session left the two in disagreement over the best way to defeat President Bush in November and with Nader saying he has no intention of quitting the race.

The 70-minute session at Kerry's headquarters in downtown Washington came amid signs of an emerging two-pronged Democratic strategy to counter Nader's candidacy that tries to avoid mistakes Democrats believe were made four years ago.

The strategy includes keeping lines of communication open between Nader and the Kerry campaign and Democratic Party officials while the party and its constituency groups work aggressively to diminish Nader's candidacy and dissuade voters in the battleground states from supporting Nader in November. Kerry's campaign hopes that former Vermont governor Howard Dean can appeal to potential Nader voters as well.

That marks a shift from four years ago, when the Gore campaign feared that engaging with Nader would only raise his political profile and Democrats launched anti-Nader operations in only a handful of states. In two states that Bush won with razor-thin margins, Florida and New Hampshire, Nader's vote far eclipsed Bush's victory margin, Democrats made little effort to diminish Nader's support.

"We paid a price for the big strategic decision we took, which was total non-engagement," said one Democratic strategist who declined to be identified to speak more openly about the Gore campaign's mistakes. "We wish we had done more of a direct appeal in more states than we did."

In their meeting, Kerry did not ask Nader to give up his candidacy. "It wouldn't be successful and I don't think it's our place to tell Ralph Nader what to do," said a Kerry adviser who spoke to reporters after the meeting. The adviser also said Kerry told Nader that the best way "to make progress on the issues we care about is to beat George Bush -- and I intend to do it."

Nader, in an interview, said he argued that in the end he will take more votes from Bush than from Kerry, but Kerry disagreed with that analysis. Shortly before the meeting, Kerry told the Associated Press, "I hope I can make people aware that a vote for Ralph Nader is a vote for George Bush."

Kerry and Nader talked about corporate welfare, consumer issues and other fights they have waged together over the past two decades. When Nader complained that the Democratic Party has given in to corporate interests, Kerry said, "Don't judge me by the people who preceded me."

Asked his reaction to that comment, Nader said: "I believe he believes it. The proof is in the pudding. We're way beyond confusing words with deeds."

The two did not talk about Iraq, which some Democrats fear could be the issue that Nader uses to attract support on the left among voters who want U.S. troops removed immediately. Democratic strategist James Carville told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast yesterday that Nader brings clarity to an issue that troubles many Democrats. "Nader has a simple thing he's saying: bring the troops home," he said. "It's easy to understand."

Both sides described the tone of the meeting as courteous and not contentious, and a Kerry campaign official said the candidate was prepared to continue the dialogue as the campaign year goes along. Similarly, Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe has kept an open line to Nader, mindful of Nader's complaints that he was shunned by Gore and the party four years ago, although McAuliffe never fails to urge Nader to give up his candidacy.

But as some Democrats hold Nader close, others are calling for a far more aggressive effort to challenge him. "I think he is a contemptible liar," said Lanny Davis, a former Clinton administration official who is raising money for the Kerry campaign. "He's knowingly making false statements. . . . when he says he's not hurting John Kerry's chances of becoming president. I believe we need to start to describe him exactly that way and don't mince words. We made that mistake four years ago."

A group of Democratic strategists yesterday unveiled a new Web site -- www.thenaderfactor.com -- dedicated to winning over "Nader Democrats" though a variety of positive appeals, including TV ads.

Tricia Enright, former communications director to Dean, is president of National Progress Fund, which launched the site. David Jones, a former top adviser to Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), helped create the organization. Enright said they planned to start airing targeted television ads next week in as many as six states, including Florida.

Similarly, Elizabeth Cavendish, interim president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said her organization will match or exceed the activity of 2000, when the group spent about $1.5 million on TV ads for Gore in states where Nader had substantial support.

On another matter, Kerry yesterday was forced to clarify his position on an abortion litmus test for Supreme Court appointees. Kerry, who has previously backed a litmus test, appeared to soften that position during an interview with Associated Press.

"I will not appoint somebody with a 5-4 court who's about to undo Roe v. Wade. I've said that before," Kerry said. "But that doesn't mean that if that's not the balance of the court, I wouldn't be prepared ultimately to appoint somebody to some court who has a different point of view. I've already voted for people like that. I voted for Judge [Antonin] Scalia."

A Kerry aide privately admitted the candidate's statement was confusing, while other Democrats said it appeared like a flip-flop. Soon after, the campaign issued a statement clarifying Kerry's opposition to antiabortion rights judges.


© 2004 The Washington Post Company

CkG

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I bet Nader drops out and Kerry pushes through some wacky reforms he wants.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
I bet Nader drops out and Kerry pushes through some wacky reforms he wants.

Only if the Republican-controlled Congress approves it.