Helping Nader Decide

Helping Nader Decide

There is no segment of Americans more attuned to Ralph Nader’s prophetic themes than Nation readers–many of whom supported his presidential candidacy in 2000.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

There is no segment of Americans more attuned to Ralph Nader’s prophetic themes than Nation readers–many of whom supported his presidential candidacy in 2000. Nader has now established the Nader 2004 Presidential Exploratory Committee. He has indicated that he will decide whether to run as an Independent–not as a Green–sometime before the end of January.

On his exploratory committee website, Nader asks friends to fill out a questionnaire advising him on whether to run again–and whether they will support him if he so chooses. He’s already heard from those progressives who opposed his candidacy in 2000 and from some who supported it then but do not now (see Micah L. Sifry, “Ralph Redux?” November 24, 2003). He has heard our views (see John Nichols, “Fleeing the Greens,” January 12/19). We have published letters both pro and con, reflecting a rough balance in the views of those moved to write us (see Exchange, “How Green Was My Tally,” January 5).

But there is probably no group more influential with Nader during this exploratory time than those who have supported him in the past but have thus far remained silent on the 2004 race. We urge such readers to accept his invitation to advise him now by completing the questionnaire at www.naderexplore04.com.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x