Editorial: Nader’s ego knows no bounds

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 9:26 a.m.

Let's see if we have this straight: Ralph Nader justifies his third-party presidential bid on the belief that there's virtually no difference between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush. What nonsense. There are significant differences between Gore and Bush on a number of issues -- Social Security, tax policies, deficit reduction, abortion, campaign finance reform and the environment.

The presidential polls show that Nader is barely registering with voters. But since Bush and Gore are running neck and neck, if Nader garners just a few percentage points of the vote it could make a difference in tossup states, deciding the outcome of this presidential election. A vote for Nader is, for all intents and purposes, a vote for Bush. Those supporting Bush's candidacy understand this. After all, a GOP group -- the Republican Leadership Council -- actually is touting Nader's candidacy, running television ads in swing states where the Green Party candidate is doing reasonably well in the polls. The ads promote Nader, showing video of the Green Party candidate attacking Gore's environmental record as being weak. The misleading ad conveniently omits that Bush's anti-environmental policies stand in stark contrast to Gore's strong environmental record .

On a recent campaign stop in Las Vegas, Nader, who said he opposes a nuclear waste repository being built in Nevada, argued that there wasn't much difference between Gore and Bush on this issue, either. But the fact is that Gore consistently has opposed Republican congressional efforts to send nuclear waste to Nevada. Rest assured that if Bush is elected, Congress will pass legislation guaranteeing that nuclear waste will be headed to this state.

In U.S. history, third-party candidacies have served important purposes in shaping the national debate. For instance, even with all his faults (and there were many, including a massive ego), Ross Perot made both parties finally address ways to reduce the growing national debt. While Nader does share Perot's same sense of self-importance, Nader isn't offering anything meaningful to this year's debate over the issues. This ego trip by Nader, masquerading as a presidential campaign, only will serve to undermine the causes that he has fought so hard for if Bush is elected. The stakes are just too high this election year to throw away a vote as a form of protest.