Nader and 2008

John McCain and Barack Obama have both endorsed Instant Run Off voting. In this voting scheme you vote for your favorite to win the election and also for your second and third or more choices. If your first choice doesn’t win, this candidate is dropped from contention and your second choice is added to the vote count. This process continues until a winner is found.

Many people agree with Nader’s analysis of the present state of the US political and corporate climate. But we will not vote for Nader because of the danger that wasted votes might elect a Republican. Nader’s belief that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans is clearly and bull-headedly wrong. The Democrats may be not much better than the Republicans but that’s what elections are all about. You try to elect the best candidate, because there are no perfect candidates.

Nader apparently has not come our for IRV but it would be to his advantage to do so, since his supporters could vote for him without fear of ruining the basic election. Whether Nader comes out for it or not, NY State (and other states) should implement the scheme as fast as possible. Maybe some of it can be done in time for the 2008 election.