Why Nader won't quit the race....

Those who do not understand why Ralph Nader is soooooo angry at BOTH parties have not focused on what has been his major complaint all along, namely, that both sides CAVE to Israeli demands.

In the 2000 presidential race, I suspect Nader was upset when Gore chose Lieberman as his running mate given the latter's dual allegiance to Israel and the U.S., in that order. The rejection of Lieberman as a presidential candidate tells the whole story given that most Democrats do not support his WAR mongering stance.

This time around, Sen. Kerry has also been forced to "pledge allegiance" to Sharon and that is the reason Nader keeps repeating: "there is no difference between the two parties."

Since he is obviously not a stupid man, he is well aware that there is a big difference between the two parties when it comes to other issues, and I suspect that IF Kerry had not fallen into the same Sharonite trap, he would have withdrawn his candidacy.It is possible, of course, that he will still do so, particularly if someone has the GUTS to stand up to Sharon and demand he allow the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

Furthermore, if Sharonites, both in the U.S. and Israel, are interested in winning the war against terror, it would be most helpful if Jerusalem were declared an OPEN CITY and Christians and Muslims INVITED to participate in its governance.

This largely symbolic gesture would be applauded all across the globe at a time that anti-Americanism (read: anti-Bushism) and anti-Semitism continue growing.

Unfortunately, Sharon is headed in precisely the opposite direction and now that he convinced an American president to clean up Israel's neighborhood by using U.S. troops to invade Iraq, he is highly unlikely to help us win the war against hatred.

The following article speaks to this issue:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58007-2004Aug11.html

Wash Post - Thursday, August 12, 2004

Nader vs. the ADL By Brian Faler

Ralph Nader, that master of controversy, has a new bete noire: the Anti-Defamation League. The independent presidential candidate has become embroiled in an ugly exchange with the Jewish organization, after he suggested that President Bush and Congress were "puppets" of the Israeli government. "

The days when the chief Israeli puppeteer comes to the United States and meets with the puppet in the White House and then proceeds to Capitol Hill, where he meets with hundreds of other puppets, should be replaced," Nader said earlier this summer. That prompted an angry letter from the league, which complained that the "image of the Jewish state as a 'puppeteer,' controlling the powerful US Congress feeds into many age-old stereotypes which have no place in legitimate public discourse."

Nader is not backing down. In a letter to the group that will be released today, he reiterated his arguments, challenged the league to cite a recent example of when American leaders have pursued a policy opposed by the Israeli government and pointed to Israeli peace groups that he said share his criticism of that country's leadership.

"There is far more freedom in the media, in town squares and among citizens, soldiers, elected representatives and academicians in Israel to debate and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than there is in the United States," Nader wrote.

The longtime consumer advocate's willingness to criticize Israel may win him some votes, since both Bush and Democratic nominee John F. Kerry strongly support Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But not if Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the league has anything to say about it. "What he said smacks of bigotry," Foxman said. <<