Ralph Nader sues the Democratic Party

Nader's lawsuit, filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, also named as co-defendants Kerry's campaign, the Service Employees International Union and several so-called 527 organizations such as America Coming Together, which were created to promote voter turnout on behalf of the Democratic ticket.

The lawsuit also alleges that the Democratic National Committee conspired to force Nader off the ballot in several states.

"The Democratic Party is going after anyone who presents a credible challenge to their monopoly over their perceived voters," Nader said in a statement. "This lawsuit was filed to help advance a free and open electoral process for all candidates and voters. Candidate rights and voter rights nourish each other for more voices, choices, and a more open and competitive democracy."

Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the DNC tried to bankrupt Nader's campaign by suing to keep him off the ballot in 18 states. It also suggests the DNC sent Kerry supporters to crash a Nader petition drive in Portland, Ore., in June 2004, preventing him from collecting enough signatures to get on the ballot.

Squashing dissent. I'm never surprised by the hypocrisy of the Democratic party. Republicans, while as guilty of playing dirty politics as the Democrats, are a "what you see is what you get" kind of a party. We don't deny wanting to save the unborn, we don't deny wanting to lower taxes, we don't deny supporting a war against fanatics. We don't deny supporting big business (and small business). We don't deny wanting to secure the border and fix our immigration laws.

But the Democrats hide their agenda. All the top Presidential candidates say they are against gay marriage, but you and I both know they really are not. Hillary pretends to be for immigration reform when we all know she is an open border type person. The Democrats are for better education for children, yet fight against school choice for the poor. The Democrats say they are against the war, but do nothing to stop it.

You can look no further than the leaders for this type of hypocrisy. Gore is the king of environmentalism, but we all know that his house is an energy drain while George Bush built his house environmental friendly. George Bush also sent his kids to public school, while the Clinton's, who fight school choice for others, sent their child to a elite private school. The Clinton's daughter goes after the 6 figure paycheck while the Bush's daughters take jobs that help the world community. The Clinton's are suppose to be champions for the black community, but it was Bush who appointed more blacks to positions of power in his administration. The Clinton's claim to be a family of faith, but it is the Bush family that honors their marriage. It is the Cheney family that quietly gives millions to charity while the Gore's give comparitively little.

I could go on and on, but I think you catch my meaning. The Republicans are not all I wish my party could be, but they are better than the hypocrites of the Democratic party.

So good on Nader. Shine a light on the slime that buys votes in elections with cigarettes and bus rides. Shine a light on the slime that will do anything to win.

via Ace

Update: A commenter alerted me to this lawsuit as well. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida is suing his own party as well.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Tallahassee, Nelson accuses the Democratic National Committee and its chief, Howard Dean, of voter "disenfranchisement on a massive scale" for stripping Florida of its 210 delegates to the national convention next summer.

Final paragraph in the story:

"It is thus truly a monumental irony for the Democratic National Committee to replace its own commitment to assuring that every vote must be counted with a decree that no Florida Democrat's vote will count," according to the claims in the lawsuit."