Independent US presidential hopeful Ralph Nader (news - web sites) accused Democratic candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) of harassment to keep him off November's presidential ballot(AFP/Getty Images/File)
Posted on 08/18/2004 5:04:44 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SALEM, Ore. - Accusations of dirty tricks are rare in Oregon politics, but Ralph Nader (news - web sites)'s presidential campaign has sparked charges and countercharges between his campaign and backers of Democratic nominee John Kerry (news - web sites).
Union officials who support Kerry accused Nader's backers this week of engaging in widespread fraud and forgery in gathering signatures to place Nader on the Nov. 2 ballot in this battleground state.
Nader's supporters countered that Democrats and their union allies are resorting to "gangster" tactics by bullying and intimidating signature-gatherers in hopes of thwarting Nader's petition drive.
Nader, a 70-year-old consumer activist, is in a last-ditch effort to qualify for the ballot in Oregon, a state that once was one of his strongholds. He failed during two separate attempts to collect the 1,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot and now is trying another tack — gathering 15,000 signatures statewide. Nader has until Tuesday to collect them.
But as the deadline nears, the tension between his campaign and his opponents is growing.
The Service Employees International Union, which supports Kerry, said in an election complaint filed with the state that it has heard from more than 30 people who say their names were falsified on Nader's petitions.
The union also has warned nearly 60 of Nader's signature-gatherers that they could face a felony conviction and prison time for knowingly submitting fraudulent signatures.
"The evidence indicates a clear pattern of widespread signature fraud in the effort to put Nader on the ballot," union spokesman Mark Weiner said.
Nader's Oregon coordinator, Greg Kafoury, said one petition-gatherer was "badly shaken and intimidated" by two union members who knocked on her door and told her she was under investigation.
"We have been sabotaged and smeared, and now we have had our people bullied by people who knock on doors at night," Kafoury said. He said there is no intentional effort to turn in invalid signatures.
Kafoury said 30 of the campaign's 150 petition-carriers have quit because of the union's actions, but he said the Nader campaign still believes it will be able to meet Tuesday's deadline.
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Even a trip to the Olympics couldn't get U.S. soccer star Julie Foudy's mind off the presidential campaign.
"I had a dream last night that I was chitchatting with John Kerry," Foudy said Wednesday. She said she had been watching CNN in the athletes' hotel in Thessaloniki, Greece, before dozing off.
"We were sitting in the stands, watching football or soccer, I don't even know," Foudy said. "Just chitchatting with him. I woke up this morning, and I was like, 'That was odd.'"
Foudy is retiring from international soccer after the Games and is unsure of her plans. Friends have suggested she run for political office someday, and she said the dream might be a subconscious signal to join Kerry's campaign.
"I have a couple of friends working on his campaign," Foudy said. "Maybe that's a sign that's what I'm going to do after the Olympics."
Independent US presidential hopeful Ralph Nader (news - web sites) accused Democratic candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) of harassment to keep him off November's presidential ballot(AFP/Getty Images/File)
They all are, every last one of them.
Nader's supporters countered that Democrats and their union allies are resorting to "gangster" tactics by bullying and intimidating signature-gatherers in hopes of thwarting Nader's petition drive.
RATs eating their own.
It just keeps getting better and better.
I remember..it was Dreyfus in one of the Pink Panthers just before he went totally, eye twitchin' insane.
union officials accusing others of shaninigans.that's
funny.
Unions using thugs... How novel.
yeah..
Pot to Kettle: "Kettle, you're black!"
Opponents? That would be Kerry, Bush is not mentioned.
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