August 15, 2004 In 2000 I voted for Nader. No matter what the official mantra says – Nader did not cost the Democrats the election The Supreme Court stole the election with the acquiescence of the Democrats and Al Gore. The Democrats did not lose their backbone after 9/11; they did not have one when the election was stolen. They did not have one when the war was started. They did not have one when the Patriot Act was ramroded through They did not have one when thousands of impeachment petitions were presented to them. They did not have one when they agreed to the appointments of Ashcroft, Gale Norton, Eleanor Chao, Mr. Negroponte, Tommy Thompson, Abramson, Thomas Rich, Homeland Security, and too many more to remember. Along came Dennis Kucinich – a voice in the wilderness. He came like a breath of fresh air, but he did not fit into the Democrats scheme of things and finally he too succumbed to the pressure of party politics as usual. Now his supporters are splitting into two camps: A: Dennis had too much to lose to stand up for what he truly believed. He just did not want to be the “Nader of 2004”, but Kerry will listen to him. (Kerry has moved to the right the day he got the Dean and Kucinich ants into the fold). B: The Democrats have lost all credibility by threatening to make Dennis the “Nader of 2004”. This begs the question what sort of democracy is this? With the war raging on without results, With an unheard off deficit, With our standing in the World Community at an all time low, With bankruptcies skyrocketing, With more poverty beginning to reach up into the former middle class, With the number of people without healthcare going out of sight, With treaties broken every day, With the president ruling like a dictator, Why are the Democrats looking for the swing voters who might never give them their vote, and throwing all of us who should be their base into the trash pile? If you have answers to these questions, would you please let me know? I really am not trying to be argumentative. I truly am seeking to understand. Sincerely, Dorli T Rainey dorlir@earthlink.net