Ralph Nader Plays the Fool...Again

It's become quite fashionable for lefties to pile on Rush Limbaugh these days. Once The One offered his opinion his loyal lackeys jumped right in.

Today's contestant, perennial presidential loser Ralph Nader:

Another combatant joined the ever-expanding Limbaugh wars Monday.

Consumer activist Ralph Nader challenged Rush Limbaugh to reimburse the American public for his multimillion-dollar salary - adding more discord to the life of the radio host, who skirts the line between media heavy and uber-politico.

"It's amazing how he gets away with it. Rush Limbaugh hammers away about big government and welfare and yet he's the corporate welfare king," Mr. Nader said. "He's an unctuous megalomaniac."

Mr. Nader, who turns 75 this month, was as ferocious about Mr. Limbaugh as he once was about smog.

"You are making this money on the public property of the American people for which you pay no rent. You, Rush Limbaugh, are on welfare," Mr. Nader wrote in a letter to the host, who has broadcast for two decades and enjoys a weekly audience of 20 million listeners on 600 stations.

"As you know, the public airwaves belong to the American people. The Federal Communications Commission is supposed to be our trustee in managing this property. The people are the landlords and the radio and TV stations and affiliated companies are the tenants," Mr. Nader said.

He urged Mr. Limbaugh "to set a capitalist example for his peers and pay rent to the American people for the very lucrative use of their property. You need not wait for the broadcast industry-indentured FCC and Congress to do the right thing. You can lead by paying a voluntary rent - determined by a reputable appraisal organization."

"This is a ridiculous idea. Rush Limbaugh already pays his dues to the American people in the form of income tax," said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine, which tracks talk radio.

I guarantee you Rush won't give 2 seconds concern to Nader. This isn't the first time Nader has tried to get some free publicity at Rush's expense. He tried the same routine last July.

Ralph is not a quick learner.

Political Quote of the Day

From multiple-time loser Ralph Nader:

“To put it very simply, he is our first American-American president and we wish him well,” Mr. Nader said. “But his choice, basically, the question is whether he is going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations.”

And the first racial epithet is tossed out by a far left liberal. You know, those people of tolerance.

Just as a sidenote, the piece at The Caucus (a NY Times blog) where this comes refers to the Fox News anchor interviewing Nader as "Sam Shepherd". Sorry, it was Shepherd Smith. Do you think the Times would have screwed up the name of an anchor on any other network?

Nader Thinks the Obamessiah's VP Will Be Hillary

Ralph Nader, when not busy tilting at election windmills, offered his opinion to Politico that Obama must make the surprise pick of Hillary to be Vice-Messiah:

Count Ralph Nader as unimpressed by the crop of supposed finalists to be Barack Obama’s running mate.

“I don’t think he’s that dumb,” said Nader, commenting on widespread speculation that Obama’s choices are down to Sens. Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, or Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

The smart pick, according to Nader, is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Nader phoned into Politico Tuesday afternoon to offer his prediction that a surprise nod to Clinton is actually what Obama has in mind—never mind the talk of mistrust between the Clintons and Obama.

“He just has to swallow hard and do what JFK did” in picking rival Lyndon Johnson in 1960, said the liberal activist and maverick presidential candidate.

According to Nader’s logic, Obama may dislike Hillary, but will conclude he has no choice but to get over it if he hopes to leave next week’s convention in Denver with a unified party and a decent shot against John McCain in the fall: “The polls show 25 percent of her supporters have not gotten on board.”

“He’s got to be very concerned by the [neck-in-neck] polls and by what happened at Saddleback,” added Nader, referring to the recent candidates forum hosted by evangelist Rick Warren. “He got beat in Saddleback—big time.”

That's probably the first time Nader's ever said anything I agree with. Hillary is Obama's best chance to win in November, but it would add a lot of expense to the campaign for food tasters, airplane mechanical inspectors, car bomb detection specialists....

Meanwhile, another member of wacky left fringe, Michael Moore, thinks Obama should choose...wait for it...Caroline Kennedy. It's not enough that she was wildly unqualified to be vetting VP candidates, Moore (no relation, thank God) wants her to be VP just because of her famous name. I thought this passage was particularly interesting:

"Caroline: Pull a Cheney!"

Caroline, I know that nominating yourself is the furthest idea from your mind and not consistent with who you are, but there would be some poetic justice to such an action. Just think, eight years after the last head of a vice presidential search team looked far and wide for a VP -- and then picked himself (a move topped only by his hubris to then lead the country to near ruin while in office) -- along comes Caroline Kennedy to return the favor with far different results, a vice president who helps restore America to its goodness and greatness. ...

The "logic" of his argument is all fine and good as long as you're willing to ignore the fact that by the time Dick Cheney was selected as the VP nominee he had already been a congressman, Chief of Staff to President Gerald Ford, Defense Secretary to George H.W. Bush, not to mention the chief executive of one of the world's largest oil services companies.

Ms. Kennedy has spent her life being....well, Caroline Kennedy. When she was 5 she lived in the White House and had a pony named Macaroni, and every now and then she gives out a Profiles in Courage Award to somebody. There's nothing wrong with all that, but it's hardly the level of experience you'd hope for in a person that will be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

And then there's this:

This is the year that a woman should be on the Democratic ticket. This is the year that both names on that ticket should be people OUTSIDE the party machine. This is the year millions of independents and, yes, millions of Republicans are looking for something new and fresh and bold (and you are the Kennedy Republicans would vote for!).

Yes, that's what we need, somebody who is not a political professional. That's sort of like the Dodgers saying "we need a new catcher, but we don't want a professional baseball player. We want somebody who hasn't been sullied by baseball."

You can read his open letter to her at this link.

The left is getting worried.

Nader: Obama Not the Right Kind of African-American

Ralph Nader takes another shot at the Obamessiah:

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is again slamming Barack Obama. ABC News reports Nader says Obama will not make the kind of African-American president that he and other civil rights supporters had hoped for.

"People who have fought the civil rights battle... would often talk about, 'look what would happen if we had an African-American president'... it doesn't look like it's going to be what we all thought it would be," Nadar said.

Nader also says he lost respect for Obama because the senator opposed the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Nader told the Rocky Mountain News in June that Obama was trying to "talk white" and was trying to appeal to "white guilt" during his presidential run.

Obama dismissed those comments, saying Nader was just trying to get attention.

Apparently the "right kind" of African American president would look and act like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. The Dems tried that in 1984, 1988 and again in 2004, and neither of the "right kind" African Americans got very far. Even the Dems didn't want them.

Ralph Nader Attacks...Rush Limbaugh??

Ralph Nader is running for president *YAWN*, so you would expect him to be attacking the GOP and Dem candidates. Not so. Nader is going after....wait for it...Rush Limbaugh:

NADER TO LIMBAUGH, GET OFF WELFARE

WASHINGTON, July 10——Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader today released the following letter to radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh
The Rush Limbaugh Show
2 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10121

Dear Mr. Limbaugh,

The Associated Press reports your new contract with Premiere Radio Networks will enrich you with at least $38 million a year over the next eight years. You are making this money on the public property of the American people for which you pay no rent.

You, Rush Limbaugh, are on welfare.

As you know, the public airwaves belong to the American people. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is supposed to be our trustee in managing this property. The people are the landlords and the radio and TV stations and affiliated companies are the tenants.

The problem is that since the Radio Act of 1927 these corporate tenants have been massively more powerful in Washington, DC than the tens of millions of listeners and viewers. The result has been no payment of rent by the stations for the value of their license to broadcast. You and your company are using the public's valuable property for free. This freeloading on the backs of the American people is called corporate welfare.

It is way past due for the super-rich capitalist—Rush Limbaugh from Cape Girardeau, Missouri—to get himself off big time welfare. It is way past due for Rush Limbaugh as the Kingboy of corporatist radio to set a capitalist example for his peers and pay rent to the American people for the very lucrative use of their property.

You need not wait for the broadcast industry-indentured FCC and Congress to do the right thing. You can lead by paying a voluntary rent—determined by a reputable appraisal organization—for the time you use on the hundreds of stations that carry your words each weekday.

Payment of rent for the use of public airwaves owned by the American people is the conservative position. Real conservatives oppose corporate welfare. Real corporatists feed voraciously from hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare gushing out of Washington, DC yearly.

Whose side are you on? Freeloading? Or paying rent for the public property you have been using free for many years?

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely yours,

Ralph Nader

I know, it reads like a parody but it's legit. My guess is that Rush will have a response on today's show, and it will likely consist of one of a couple of three word phrases that I can think of, though at least one of them couldn't be said on the radio.

Actually, Rush will probably make the logical argument that he is paying rent - it's called "income taxes". Rush's tax bill on that $38 million per year will be staggering and that money goes straight to the federal treasury. That's all the "rent" the government needs.

Nader Picks His Running Stooge

Ralph Nader has chosen his running stooge mate and he comes from the home of the anti-American and anti-military left: San Francisco.

Less than a week after saying he would make another independent bid for president, Ralph Nader "just announced that former San Francisco Supervisor and Board President Matt Gonzalez will be his running mate in the November elections," according to USA Today.

Just in case you've forgotten, here are some of San Francisco's greatest hits:
Gay Bay Lefties Attempt to Ban the Blue Angels
San Francisco Drops JROTC
No Battleships Allowed in the Gay Bay

The Military has fought back from time to time:
The Navy Writes Off the Gay Bay

Dems Don't Care Much for Nader Bid

As expected the Dem candidates aren't too excited about Ralph Nader's plans to run for president:

Out on the campaign trail Sunday, the candidates addressed the big buzz caused by Ralph Nader’s decision to enter the race. The famed consumer advocate announced he will again run for president — his third effort, one that is sure to anger Democrats who are still miffed over his role in the 2000 race that many believe cost Al Gore the election against George W. Bush.

Nader said Sunday he’s not the reason Gore lost the election and blamed everything from voter fraud in Miami to the Supreme Court. In any case, he said, that’s no reason why he shouldn’t run.

“The political bigotry that’s involved here is that we shouldn’t enter the electoral arena? We — all of us who think that the country needs an infusion of freedom, democracy, choice, dissent — should just sit on the sidelines and watch the two parties own all the voters and turn the government over to big business?” he asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where he announced his candidacy.

Asked about the possible impact, Obama and Clinton both downplayed it while also criticizing Nader.

“Mr. Nader is somebody who if [you] don’t listen and adopt all of his policies, [he] thinks you’re not substantive. He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work,” Obama said. “Historically, he is a singular figure in American politics and has done as much as just about anybody on behalf of consumers, so in many ways, he is a heroic figure and I don’t mean to diminish him, but I do think there’s a sense now that, you know, if somebody’s not hewing to the Ralph Nader agenda then you must be lacking in some way.”

Clinton was also less than enthusiastic.

“Obviously, it’s not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is. But it’s a free country. I don’t know what party he’ll run on. Where did he run on last time? Does anybody remember? Was it on the Green Party? Well, you know, his being on the Green Party prevented Al Gore from being the greenest president we could have had and I think that’s really unfortunate. I think we paid a big price for it,” she said.

There was more news in this story that at least one Dem isn't too excited about:

The best political gift of the day for Barack Obama’s campaign has been served up by Iowa’s Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in the swing state that put the Illinois senator on top in possible head-to-head match-ups in the fall election.

The poll shows Obama ahead of Republican nominee John McCain by a substantial margin, 53-36. A head-to-head match between McCain and Hillary Clinton shows McCain is the preferred choice, 49-40.

The poll comes as Clinton continues on the campaign trail to say that she is best equipped to beat McCain in the general election. The New York senator is under mounting pressure to win both of the big-state contests of Texas and Ohio, which vote with Rhode Island and Vermont on March 4.

Just what Hillary needed - more reason for the voters and superdelegates to abandon her campaign.

I'll talk about this subject and more on Monday's BlogTalkRadio program which you can hear by clicking on the icon. Feel free to call in and join the conversation. The show kicks off at 7pm PT Monday night.

I'll also have selected political jokes from the Oscars and a brief report on the submarine races at Fontana. The call-in number will be (347) 347-5547.

Run Ralph Run!

There's good news for politics watchers this morning - Ralph Nader is starting yet another third party effort for president:

WASHINGTON (AP) –Ralph Nader is launching a third-party campaign for president.

The consumer advocate made the announcement Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He says most Americans are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties, and that none of the presidential contenders are addressing ways to stem corporate crime and Pentagon waste and promote labor rights.

Nader also ran as a third-party candidate in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. He is still loathed by many Democrats who call him a spoiler and claim his candidacy in 2000 cost the party the election by siphoning votes away from Al Gore in a razor-thin contest in Florida.

Nader was a factor in 2000, especially in Florida where the voters he took from Al Gore could have decided the race in favor of the great wooden candidate. He was an asterisk in 2004, and if there's something smaller than an asterisk, that's what he'll be in 2008. I don't think the Dems have much to fear from his candidacy, and certainly he won't affect the GOP at all.

I'll talk about this subject and more on Monday's BlogTalkRadio program which you can hear by clicking on the icon. Feel free to call in and join the conversation. The show kicks off at 7pm PT Monday night.

I've expanded Monday's show to 45 minutes to give us plenty of time. The call-in number will be (347) 347-5547.