Democrats are so angry with Ralph Nader. They would put that energy to better use by directing their rage at Terry McAuliffe, who front-loaded the nominating process so that there could not possibly be a real contest. Not that people seem to care. As a result of McAuliffe's machinations, the media's poison camapaign, and the general public's ignorance, Howard Dean--one of the few straightforward campaigners in history--was dramatically eliminated from the race. Dennis Kucinich was deemed "unelectable," too, from the get-go. Of course, neither of them could be allowed to have a chance--they are both sincere soldiers in the war against corporate ownership of America.

McAuliffe has resigned his position as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but the damage has already been done. We are stuck with John Kerry, or--if something strange happens--John Edwards.

The idea now, of course, is to unite Democrats so that no votes will be syphoned off to Nader, as they were in 2000. As a strategy for defeating Bush, that makes sense. But it does nothing to respect the rights of those who feel that the Democratic Party has betrayed them, nor does it address another significant problem--that in this country, there is a realistic fear that an ignorant, dishonest, corporate-owned, Constitution-bashing, war-mongering puppet could actually be re-elected. That so many people voted for him in the first place is terrifying. That so many will vote for him again is a sure sign that America is a very scary place.

As for me, I will never again vote for a ticket of two white males, no matter what is at stake. It is the 21st Century, and two white males do not represent America, nor can they ever pretend to.