Ryan ChartrandSince I have been so critical of the conservative column, I definitely feel an obligation to say that the last three weeks have been very good. Reading conservative opinions on the proposed agreement with Jubail University and the California budget deficit as well as a general opinion about animal rights has been quite enjoyable and has definitely educated me not only as to what conservative opinions are, but why they are held.
However, it’s time for me to criticize the liberal column. To refer to Ralph Nader, or in fact any third party, as merely a “spoiler” is to denigrate American democracy. Third parties aren’t just siphons that pull votes away from the major parties, they represent vibrant alternatives that people who are sick of the major parties can turn to. Personally, the Democratic party suits me just fine for the most part, but perhaps those 97,488 people who voted for Nader in 2004 were unhappy with the Democratic party and wouldn’t have voted for Gore anyway.
Sure, liberals have been pushing this “Nader as a spoiler” argument for a long time, but let’s remember that at one time, the Democratic and Republican parties were just poor third parties spoiling the race for the Whigs and the Federalists.