Ralph's Republican allies

• Who's the Mack? If Nader is the GOP's Hooker, Who's Getting Screwed??

My mother once told me something that all parents must share with their kids: "We are the company we keep." Well, in gaining access to the ballots this year, it is clear that Ralph Nader is now hanging out with Republicans. And this is the man who said he was running for president because he saw no essential differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Recently, at a post office in Central Point, Ore., a canvasser stood on the sidewalk asking voters to sign petitions for George W. Bush. The people who signed thought they were supporting Bush. But the canvasser had tricked them into signing their names on Ralph Nader petitions. An alert reporter, watching, caught on. "How can you do that?" "It's legal." Actually, it wasn't. And this wasn't an isolated case. The fact is, the Nader campaign has been characterized by a steady stream of questionable acts, and dirty tricks, helped by massive - and covert - aid from Republicans or their allies. Nader is now on the ballot in more than 30 states plus the District of Columbia, and he's fighting court challenges in at least 11 others. In Oregon, 65 percent of the signatures were declared forged. In Philadelphia more than 70 percent of the signatures collected were expected to be declared illegal, according to a Pennsylvania judge. In West Virginia, Nader used a Republican firm that paid signature gatherers - the going price was a dollar a signature. [more ]