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New Mexico Supporter Julie Patterson on Ralph Nader

As transcribed from Ms. Patterson's introductory remarks for Mr. Nader Oct. 13th, 2004.

Carol {Miller, Nader/Camejo 2004 New Mexico Coordinator} asked me to tell you a little about how and why I became involved in the Nader litigation. It was something I had not expected to be doing even a week before I found myself in the middle of it.

I have been a lifelong Democrat. I was definitely going to vote for John Kerry. In fact, just before this litigation arose, I had signed up to volunteer for the Kerry campaign. I wasn't involved with the Nader campaign. I didn't even sign Mr. Nader's nominating petition.

I was going with Kerry not because I think he would be a better president than Mr. Nader, but because I think he would be better than Bush. And the vote in New Mexico may be very close.

I have long admired Mr. Nader. I am not one of those who was angry with him for running for office. I think that the right of citizens to run for elected office and the right of voters to vote for the candidate of their choice is the very core of democracy. So while I was not helping Mr. Nader get on the ballot, I fully supported his right to be there and welcomed his contribution to the national discussion.

I heard Mr. Nader speak here at UNM in late August. Very thought provoking as usual. I went to his web site (votenader.org) and read about the campaign being waged against him by the Democratic party across the country to keep him off the ballot. I learned about the big lie that the campaign to get Nader on the ballot is Republican driven. In fact, Mr. Nader refused to accept signatures gathered by organized Republican party efforts.

I read about all manner of sleazy, underhanded tactics, like Democratic party operatives going to the home of a grandmother who was gathering signatures and telling her she could face jail time if any of the signatures she collected turned out to be invalid.

Mr. Nader told of frivolous legal claims. This later happened in New Mexico too. It is well established New Mexico law that the signer's address on the nominating petition does not need to be the same as the address on the person's voter registration card to be valid. Even if every signature the Democrats claimed was fraudulent, duplicative, or not a registered voter had been thrown out, Mr. Nader still had more than enough signatures to qualify.

Worst of all, I learned that Mr. Kerry's had failed to denounce theses tactics after Mr. Nader repeatedly brought this to his attention.

I then heard on the new that Nader had submitted enough signatures and would be on the New Mexico ballot. Right away, the Democratic party announced that it might file a legal challenge. I heard from them the same propaganda that was being used across the country. I had to face the fact that my party, the Democratic party, was engaging in some very undemocratic tactics.

My party was now actively fighting against democracy. Against the right of a citizen to run for office. Against the right of voters to choose. Clearly my party was not acting like the party of the people. This looked to me like a complete abdication of principle. That's when I knew I had to do something to fight against this win at any cost mentality. When you decide that you will do anything to win, you have already lost. Lost sight of what really matters.

I had heard Mr. Nader ask for volunteer attorneys so I called the Nader campaign and less than 72 hours later, we were in court. It was was a ride. The Nader campaign ultimately prevailed on all of the issues.

In the process, the Democrats wasted time and resources they could have devoted to trying to win votes. That's the democratic way. Their tactics backfired. Not only did Nader remain on the ballot, but I seriously doubt that anyone who was trying to decide between Nader and Kerry is going to vote for Kerry now. And I know there are people who were going to vote for Kerry who are not so sure now. Whatever the outcome of the election, I am glad the attempt to subvert the democratic process failed.

So, thank you Mr. Nader for showing me the truth, even though I really didn't want to see it.

Unlike many candidates, Mr. Nader will tell you the truth.

He will tell you the truth you don't want to hear. The truth you are struggling to keep out.

But if we want democracy, if we want to be free, we need to hear the truth and act on the truth.

Thank you for coming out tonight. I can't wait to hear what he has to say now. Please welcome Ralph Nader.

homepage: homepage: http://naderoregon.org

Thanks for the post. 25.Oct.2004 02:43

Tony Blair's dog


The Truth Is...He Has Been Buoyed By Republicans 25.Oct.2004 10:59

Mistletoe Angel

So Julie decides to get all her research done of the "truth" solely on Nader's official campaign web-site?

Seems pretty shallow to me. A party's official web-site is a partisan web-site...period.

And it should be clear enough when it is a FACT Nader had lawyers like Kenneth Sukhia working to get him on the Florida ballot and obtaining signatures from anti-gay groups like the Oregon Family Council, Nader is no stranger to these adversarial politics.

Unlike no politician, Nader won't give you the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Kerry may not be much of a truth-teller either, but he's more sensible than Bush is. In the end, the most fradulent sensible choice is the one who actually can defeat Bush next week.

Noah Eaton

uhhh, Nader's a politician 25.Oct.2004 12:13

besides, "Mistletoe"

what would YOU DO if you were in his shoes,

being opposed by a six-figure nationwide 'Democratic' campaign (why couldn't they spend that money and time "sensibly" and "non-fradulently" to simply boost and endorse their own candidate??) to LEGALLY OBSTRUCT your right to ballot access?

I've Already Admitted... 25.Oct.2004 12:54

Mistletoe Angel

...before that it was wrong for those particular Democrats to run a two-handed shove maneuver on Nader off some state ballots.

Thus there's where the Democrats are also fradulent ones for not being that "democratic".

The earlier point I was making was simply that Nader is not the great truth-teller either. He HAS worked with Republicans, which Nader continues to deny even though there is clear evidence he worked alongside Kenneth Sukhia, the same lawyer who was involved in Florida's 2000 recount and was awarded a federal judgeship by Bush himself in 2001, etc.

It shouldn't be too hard for Nader to admit his campaign has been buoyed in part by Republican lawyers and corporate interests. I find there to be no major problem with that. What the real problem is is Nader just being dishonest about it, and if his official web-site won't admit these particular claims, that is lying.

You shouldn't believe everything about a candidate by what their official web-site says...period. I believe if Julie Patterson could take the time and research beyond official party headquarter web pages and into credible non-partisan, public interest links, there'd be no guarantee she'd suddenly change her mind again but at least have another whole perspective of what's happening.

Noah Eaton

Nader already admits 25.Oct.2004 13:21

that he can't win the 'election'

isn't that enough for you "Mistletoe"?

will you please stop wasting everyone's time on this third-party "spoiler" unsubstantiated, illogical kvetching garbage and work on something REAL, like the currently-occurring-in-front-of-your-face Vote Fraud, Intimidation and Oppression by the Electronic-Voting-Machine-Owning GOP?


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Noah Eaton, cease and desist 25.Oct.2004 19:35


Look, Noah, you have got to stop spreading libelous propaganda. Nader held a press conference answering the ridiculous charge that hiring Ken Sukhia amounts to some sort of collusion with the Republican Party's agenda. That slimy charge was put to rest by Theresa Amato, Nader's campaign manager.

She explained that she first went to the ACLU for representation, and they turned her down flat. She soon discovered that no Democrat or left-leaning attorney with enough trial experience in electoral cases in Florida to really hit the ground running on the caseon such short notice would take the case. So she turned to Ken Sukhia, the only one both willing and experienced enough to take on the case, and the campaign paid him in full, he made no in-kind contribution. Attorneys are hired guns. The Nader campaign has hired Democrats, Republicans, Greens and Independents as attorneys on ballot access cases this year, and the only one available in Florida who could and would do the job was Ken Sukhia, because all the non-Republican attorneys were too busy, or too prejudiced and bigoted to lend a hand, or were already involved in the case on the other side in some way and thus had a conflict of interest.

And here you go, after your disgusting fascist Democratic Party got creamed in the Florida Supreme Court 6-1 by the same Democrat judges who got overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 when they tried to get enough votes counted to certify Gore's victory. That same U.S. Supreme Court keeps denying Nader's injunction filings, including the one to put a stay on the Oregon Supreme Court's ridiculous ruling that the Secretary of State has the authority to make up unwritten rules after petitions are turned in to exclude already-validated voter signatures. That ruling, by the way, sets a precedent that can be applied to any other executive action by the state government, including in relation to Homeland Security. Think about it. If that ruling stands, checks and balances are gone, and due process is dead dead dead. But replacing Bush with his blueblooded Bones Brother who shares the same imperialist agenda is SOOO important to you that you will cheer the annihilation of the Bill of Rights as a sacrifice worthy of your cause.

So here you are claiming that it would be better to elect a Democrat who co-wrote the Patriot act and wants to go after terrorists like he went after that Viet Cong he shot in the back, and destroy Fallujah and its women and children to save it from the Iraqi people's armed resistance to our imperialist occupation? When it is the Democratic Party in the Secretary of State's office here in Oregon, and the Democrats in the Oregon Supreme Court, who have just ruled in effect that THE GOVERNOR HAS THE AUTHORITY TO POLICE THE PEOPLE BY FIAT? That is precisely what Bill Bradbury did, and which the governor can now do as well, thanks to YOUR DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

Stop trying to perpetuate and propagate the Democrat anti-Nader smear campaign. Nader slammed Bush for the Swift Boat Ads, saying Bush was personally responsible for them and obviously behind them. Nader has denounced Sinclair Broadcasting, called for Sinclair stations to defy their headquarters, and sent Nader campaign volunteers to risk arrest demonstrating and protesting against Sinclair at their headquarters. The Nader campaign has stuck its neck out to stand against Bush's smear campaign against Kerry, even more than Kerry himself has. And yet here you are, picking up the splinters of the Democrat anti-Nader smear campaign to smear them yet again onto this venue.

Isn't it time you just went to www.votenader.org and read and viewed and listed to ALL the material there before lapping up and regurgitating every piece of anti-Nader slime you find in the corporate media? The fact is, the votenader.org site is really the ONLY place where you can find most of the FACTS relating to the smears published elsewhere. Give the Nader campaign a fair hearing, stop covering your eyes and ears in hopes that the Democratic Party isn't as wretched criminally awful as the Nader campaign says it is. Read, Noah. Study. Research, before you mouth off any more of what the corporate Demopublicrat fascists have been feeding you.

Why Should I Believe An Official Campaign Web-Site? 26.Oct.2004 12:07

Mistletoe Angel

First of all, it's already too late anyway. I voted Kerry, as he is the only able choice capable of defeating Bush, and I am standing my ground.

Secondly, I find it utterly laughable how so many in defense of Nader use his OFFICIAL WEB-SITE as the source in defending him. Nader and Camejo may very well be distorting and writing the statements themselves. Don't you get that?

I certainly don't judge John Kerry simply by what his web-site says. You can't trust the Internet. The Internet is one of the most vulnerable places to lies and propaganda.

You think I'm the only one spreading libel here? That makes two of us. You and others here spend your whole time doing likewise on Kerry. If you can't see the strategy in electing Kerry to defeat Bush, then let's just keep our biases to ourselves, shall we?

Your whole last response sounds so utopian or chimerical, like everyone related to the Nader campaign family is nothing but a truth-teller. If Theresa Amato says something isn't true in your mind, she has to be right. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but politicians are the least likely people you can ever trust. And I don't trust Kerry. No one should trust any politician. However, it don't mean there's no reason to believe.

You've admitted yourself right there Kenneth Sukhia was appointed by the Nader campaugn. Well, that is quite revealing now. yeah, sure he was the only lawyer in the whole state of Florida they could find! ;)

Your tone alone is quite libelous in the previous response. "Fascist". Then you say "cheer the annihilation of the Bill of Rights as a sacrifice worthy of your cause". My oh my, you're quite the drama king!

As for electing a guy who in your wildest imagination will just intentionally go down and destroy all of Falluja at once, I agree it is piercing to hear things like "I'll hunt and kill those terrorists" coming even from his lips. He certainly is not anti-war on a spiritual or ethical level. Still, at least he has the courage to say Iraq was the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time, and I strongly believe Kerry, though I do admit he probably would have invaded Afghanistan, he would never have invaded Iraq, for unlike Bush, who had taking Saddam out on his mind ever since first taking office, Kerry didn't have that same psychological response.

Stop trying to perpetuate and propagate the Nader anti-Democrat this and that smear campaign. I agree the Democratic Party is corrupted and needs a major fix-up, but it's clear you've ecome so blind you're going to accuse and ataack the Democrats no matter what, no matter what the issue is, even in times when you know they're right.

No matter how much you try to persuade me, I'm not going to magically believe everything about Nader by reading his OFFICIAL WEB-SITE. I've already been there before an umpteen number of times, and I agree and disagree with much written there. I believe some are factual, some are not.

But I urge YOU to also do your research beyond official headquarter waters and look into some more independent, non-partisan party-line territory. There's plenty more fish in the sea, after all.

Noah Eaton