Where the FUCK does he even go in the 4 year interim between presidential elections? The only thing I hate about third parties is how incompetent they can be-- Nader, especially. The third parties don't generally try to work from the bottom up in terms of getting elected-- they all just keep aiming at the Presidency even though they don't have a single elected figure in state level or national level politics. Just like Nader. He doesn't seem to do anything other than sink back into the shadows before emerging again to run for President.

Seriously, non-presidential election Nader sightings are so rare that his fucking Wikipedia entry actually lists a time when he's spotted exiting his sister's house outside of election year as if it's something notable (I don't know of course if the entry will be edited to remove that in the future but still, you get my point). Plus, his criticism isn't even fucking constructive-- all he's doing is railing against "the man" and seriously, one of the authority figures he's railing against is a BLACK MAN. I don't want to bring race into it but Obama is not "the man" that people should be afraid of. Also, his interruptions increasingly appeared to be like Tourette's Syndrome and with all his "I told you so" kind of remarks, where the fuck were his specific solutions?

Look, I like third parties as I think they have value in the political process-- they sometimes bring issues that aren't discussed back to the table and they are a valid form of political expression. But people don't realize that in the comfort of a third party, they are freer to criticize the mainstream but they are also freer from scrutiny-- if they were subject to the type of media microscope that the Democrats and Republicans are subject to, I can guarantee you that they'd immediately start looking a lot like those 2 parties (probably crazier too). Don't give me that fucking bullshit that just because they're third parties, they're PURER. When you gather people together, the good AND the bad will be emphasized so there will be some good stuff going on out in the open but there will also be some fucked up clandestine activities. That's what you get with people as a group. Yeah, the third parties all have some affinity with each other since they share affinities but I seriously don't think that the cooperation between third parties has been tested. The current unholy alliance between Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ron Paul is only possible because they are trying to get more share of the political pie but if any of them have any chance at ascendancy as a party, they'll backstab each other. It's a marriage of convenience. Third party politics are actually a shadow struggle compared to the struggle between the Democrats and Republicans in the media spotlight.

Anyway, my point is that my good will for Nader's disappeared and shocked me awake from my complacent acceptance of third parties. I kinda realize that I've been giving them a free pass by virtue of the fact that they're 3rd parties when really, they deserve critical scrutiny too. All power corrupts.