"The hysteria over the Nader challenge to Bush/Gore sounds remarkably familiar. Locally the apologists for the lesser evil remain the same.

Five years ago I ran as an independent for the 25th Virginia Senate seat against the sitting Republican incumbent, Ed Robb, and his Democratic challenger and currently the incumbent, Emily Couric. We were joined in the contest by a Libertarian candidate, Eric Strzepek.

My platform was remarkably similar to Ralph Nader's and easily distinguishable from either the Democrat's or the Republican's who, like Bush and Gore, were virtually indistinguishable on the major issues. As today, the fear peddling apologists cried that if I were to remain in the race, there was the potential that the Virginia Senate would be controlled by the Republicans for the first time ever. They argued that the consequences of this might undo the 'great progress' that Virginia had made under Democratic leadership. (Perhaps they were referring the widespread child poverty, Virginia's embarrassing infant mortality rate, the spoiled streams and rivers, clogged highways, run down schools in poor districts, the low wages and regressive tax system, the rapacious consumption of good soil for shopping malls and roads or the never ending state executions - I never was sure).

I remained in the race and as it turned out, the 25th Senate seat went to the Democrat Emily Couric. Despite this, the Virginia House, Senate and the governorship are now in the hands of the Republicans. But alas, the calamities predicted, (giant increases in homelessness, attacks on the rights of women and children, minorities and gays, economic and environmental disasters) have not occurred. Perhaps because things could hardly get worse. (To add embarrassment to the failure of the predictions to materialize, the Republican lead assembly is slowly removing the sales tax on food, the cruelest tax imaginable - created, by the way, when the Democrats were in full control of the the General Assembly.)

Whether it is the death penalty, campaign finance reform, welfare reform (sic) or tax reform, education or the environment, the two major parties are more alike then different - in Virginia as well as elsewhere. The Democrats and Republicans get along famously in Richmond with only occasional highly orchestrated displays of partisanship. The biggest argument between Democrats and Republicans is which gets the biggest teat of the corporate sow at which they suckle.

Accepting evil in any wrapper brings only more disappointment and makes it easier to further sacrifice one's principles, always putting more distance between the society we have and the one we want. Those who have the fewest advantages and are the most vulnerable are better served by the development of an alternative to the corruption that passes for politics today. Importantly, the predictions of despair are simply scare tactics and should be set aside. Now the sponsors of the Democrats and the Republicans do have a reason to be afraid, I agree, the voters are restless and no longer feel the need to follow. That would be revolutionary!

If one accepts the lesser evil argument now then it will be used again when you go to your victorious candidate and demand a social benefit - like universal healthcare. The response will be not to complain - things could be worse.

I refuse to vote for candidates for which I have to apologize and make excuses.

Nader 2000!

Donal Day (electronic mail, October 27, 2000).