Ralph Nader Has Made Me Old

It is official.

This election has turned me into an old fart.

I am only 42. This is entirely unexpected. I have practically no wrinkles, very little gray hair, good muscle tone, lots of energy. Hell, construction workers still whistle at me!

Yet old I am.

Worse than that, I am old and cynical.

At least according to several twenty- and thirty-something folks I know. I am sure you are wondering what brought me to this sad but inescapable conclusion.

It was Ralph Nader.

OK, so it wasn't Ralph himself personally. But it was Ralph's presence in the race for the White House - or more accurately, the presence of any third-party candidate in that race.

I discovered electoral politics when I was 14. I worked for George McGovern's presidential campaign, so I learned quickly how it feels to be on the losing side. But I persevered, pushing on through hang-ups to my telephone calls, through slammed doors, through a rather overly enthusiastic escort from an apartment complex by one rather large and angry Nixon supporter. I pushed on because I truly believed in my candidate. I also believed I could change the world.

I believed that for a long time. In fact, I still believe it. Fortunately for my sanity, I have learned that I can't change the world all by myself. Hence my continuing fascination with - and participation in - electoral politics.

But time and wisdom have taught me a few painful lessons.

The first and most important lesson is that I can't change anything. But we can.

The second lesson, without which the first one is pretty meaningless, is that in order to change anything, we must acknowledge and understand it for what it is.

We must see clearly to act effectively.

I can hear you asking, what does any of this have to do with Ralph Nader?

As much as I believe in Ralph Nader's right to run for president, I cannot support his candidacy. I am in fear that in the current election, with the current two-party-dominated structure, his candidacy is a distraction. Quite possibly, given how close this election is likely to be, his candidacy could have dramatic and, to me at least, highly undesirable consequences.

The sad truth is that no third party has anywhere near enough voter support to have a positive impact on the presidential election. Third party candidates can only affect the election by taking votes away from one of the principal candidates. While the antiquated Electoral College system contributes to that reality, so too do the numbers; there simply are not enough Green (or Reform or Libertarian or Communist) party members to make a difference UNLESS they are allied with either Democrats or Republicans.

The hope of third parties is not in national elections - at least, not yet. The hope of third parties is in local elections, where Green Party members, for example, can make a difference on school boards and city councils and township boards all over the country. It is those kinds of successes that will make a third party a force in American politics.

Until then, any third party candidate can be no better than a spoiler.

That's my view of political reality, at least.

Old? Maybe. Cynical? No way.

Just practical.