It took a couple weeks, but it seems my "Naderite Nursery Rhymes" cartoon did manage to rankle some readers. I've been lumped in with mainstream "liberals" (presumably in the Clinton-DNC sense), and have been decried as "conservative." Writes reader Matt Lakin, of my cartoon, in the latest Local Planet Weekly in Spokane:

... I thought, "Wait a minute! This seems like a very conservative tactic, like a fake liberal would perpetrate!" Ralph Nader is not stealing votes from John Kerry; he’s earning them the honest way... Conservative means avoiding change and keeping with tradition.

Jen, if you want to ask Ralph not to run, do so, but I feel it’s his right to run and he has my vote.

Sigh.

Okay. I'm not saying Ralph doesn't have the right to run. I never said that. Would that we had a multi-party system like they have in Canada and Europe. Fine by me.

The sad thing here is that I'm fairly certain that these people who are upset at my cartoon actually agree with me on the issues. We all want the same things for this country. The difference lies in how we approach the problem. I am really getting a sense that these people believe there is no difference between Bush and Kerry, and that alarms the bejeezus out of me.

As I've said before, this election is nothing short of a matter of life and death. I do not believe Kerry will perpetuate the Bush assault on our air and water that is certainly going to result in thousands of premature deaths. He's not going to stack the Supreme Court and federal courts with psycho right-wing judges. He's not going to deny funding to organizations that help pregnant women in poor countries because they perform abortions. I could go on, but suffice it to say, people are actually dying because of Bush, and I do not want that on my conscience.

In the end, it's a matter of pragmatism. Sure, you can get your ya-ya's out and vote for Nader. I'm sure the woman with the botched abortion in Uganda will appreciate it. I'm sure the families who live near mercury-spewing, coal-fired power plants will thank you as well, after their children are born autistic.

And I'm being extremely charitable here. For a bolder (and in my opinion, highly amusing) statement on the issue, check out this cartoon by my talented colleague Tim Kreider.