Capitol Letter: Nader Was Right

The court's May ruling in favor of gay marriage put the issue in play, and Bush's support for a constitutional ban allowed him to draw a bright line between himself and Kerry. It was the clearest difference voters could see. On the war, Kerry supported it; on the economy, Kerry offered words, few of them memorable. "No wonder enough of the voters go for the moral issues," says Nader. "What else do they have? When you take away the economic issue, then you allow the presidency to be personalized. If Bush happens to be more likeable--don't ask me why--he becomes the transmitter of the moral issues. They garnish it with gay marriage and abortion and occlude all the secular immorality."

President Clinton, who signed the Defense of Marriage Act when he was in the White House, advised Kerry in a phone call early in the campaign to find a way to support the state bans. Kerry never considered abandoning his principles to that extent, but he also didn't take seriously enough the threat. Expanding the definition of "values" beyond opposition to gay marriage and abortion is the challenge for Democrats. Nader points to the fact that initiatives calling for an increase in the minimum wage won in Florida and Nevada. What if the Democrats had gotten behind those initiatives with the same fervor Republicans backed same-sex marriage bans? Paying people a decent wage can be framed as a moral issue.

Many religious people are upset that moral values are defined so narrowly around reproductive rights and sexual identity when the Bible pays far more attention to issues of poverty. A Blue State Catholic friend says the biggest immorality is that Bush took the country to war on a lie that is costing thousands of lives--American and Iraqi. He half jokes that he will retire in a few years, buy a gas station and sell $80 a barrel oil. Customers who fill up their tank will get a free Bible. "Bush's presidency is like a church revival," he says. Maybe so, but if the Democrats want to win elections, they'll have to figure out a way to fill up the pews.

© 2004