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Steve Myers
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Nader urged not to accept help.
As the campaign trail heats up across the country, here in Michigan, Democratic Party officials are crying foul. Republicans say they are doing nothing wrong.
Democratic Party leadership contends that Republicans are helping third-party candidate Ralph Nader collect the 30,000 signatures needed to qualify him for the Michigan Ballot is highly unethical.
"Now all of a sudden because they think he can be a benefit to them they are going to help him get his name on the petition. Any signature for that petition is a signature for George Bush. Any vote for Ralph Nader is a vote for Bush," charged Genesee County Democratic Chairman John Nickola.
Nickola says Republicans are up to no good and are wrong to use Nader to draw votes away from Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry.
Local Republicans say there is nothing wrong with helping Nader get on the Michigan ballot, and say if it takes votes away from Kerry then so be it. "[They are doing] nothing un-ethical, nothing illegal, from what I've seen. When Clinton was in office, as far as the Democrats were concerned, if it's not going to land him in jail, it's OK," said Genesee County GOP secretary David Krueger.
State Democrat Officials sent a letter to Nader, asking that he refuse any assistance from the GOP and any signatures collected by the GOP, its staff or volunteers. "Everything that Ralph Nader stands for they oppose, they have opposed and will continue to oppose. And I'm really concerned that Ralph Nader would accept their help," Nickola said.
"It's normal politics. Just take four years ago. The Democrats were, with a wink and a nod, encouraging their members to come over and vote in the Republican Primary so that they would get the persons least likely to win the election as the candidate," Krueger countered.
Nader needs to collect those 30-thousand signatures by Thursday, July 15.
Republicans say they are certain they can help him to do that.
Full Story:
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/news/070904_NW_r2_gop_nader.html |
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Sun Jul 11, 2004 1:26 pm |
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