{"id":1824,"date":"2011-01-05T08:42:15","date_gmt":"2011-01-05T16:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/2011\/01\/retreat_of_the_left\/"},"modified":"2011-01-05T08:42:15","modified_gmt":"2011-01-05T16:42:15","slug":"retreat_of_the_left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/2011\/01\/retreat_of_the_left.html","title":{"rendered":"Nader on the Retreat of the Left"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&#8220;They have reduced themselves to a cipher.<br \/>They vote. The vote totals up. But it means nothing.&#8221;<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><small>Flickr \/ Nick Bygon<\/a><\/small><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/report\/item\/the_left_has_nowhere_to_go_20110102\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt title=\"Image of RALPH NADER by Nick Bygon, first published on his photostream at Flickr and free to download. Click for the interview at truthdig.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/NADER%20by%20Nick%20Bygon%20copy.jpg\" class=\"mt-image-left\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt;\" height=\"237\" width=\"480\" \/> <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/report\/item\/the_left_has_nowhere_to_go_20110102\/\">He tells Chris Hedges at truthdig:<\/a> &#8220;The more outrageous the Republicans become, the weaker the left becomes. The more outrageous they become, the more the left has to accept the slightly less outrageous corporate Democrats. &#8230; The left has nowhere to go. Obama knows it. The corporate Democrats know it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n&#8220;There will be criticism by the left of Obama this year and then next year they will all close ranks and say &#8216;Do you want Mitt Romney? Do you want Sarah Palin? Do you want Newt Gingrich?&#8217; It&#8217;s very predictable. There will be a year of criticism and then it will all be muted. They don&#8217;t understand that even if they do not have any place to go, they ought to fake it. They should fake going somewhere else or staying home to increase the receptivity to their demands. But because they do not make any demands, they are complicit with corporate power.<br \/>\n&#8220;Corporate power makes demands all the time,&#8221; Nader went on. &#8220;It pulls on the Democrats and the Republicans in one direction. By having this nowhere-to-go mentality and without insisting on demands as the price of your vote, or energy to get out the vote, they have reduced themselves to a cipher. They vote. The vote totals up. But it means nothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;They have reduced themselves to a cipher.They vote. The vote totals up. But it means nothing.&#8221; Flickr \/ Nick Bygon He tells Chris Hedges at truthdig: &#8220;The more outrageous the Republicans become, the weaker the left becomes. The more outrageous they become, the more the left has to accept the slightly less outrageous corporate Democrats. 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