Responses to popular questions about whether a Nader vote is a wasted vote and the case against lesser-evilism.

Would an Obama presidency bring the change we need? Is he really cut from a different cloth than the rest of the corrupt, corporate-controlled politicians? A deeper look reveals that Obama does not deserve the support of workers, progressives, or youth. Here are ten reasons why.

Corporate America has two parties; we need our own. We need a party with thousands of activists that doesn’t just organize for elections, but also organizes actions to win victories.

With the stock market teetering on the brink of disaster and home foreclosures reaching record highs, working people need real solutions, not the empty promises of the Democratic and Republican parties. We need a clear break from both mainstream parties as a step towards political independence of working people. Nader’s campaign can be used to break people from the two-headed corporate warmongering monster that rules our country.

The race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination remains unresolved, with just a few primaries left. Obama appears to have an insurmountable margin. However, neither candidate is likely to gain the 2,025 delegates required to secure the nomination. This sets the stage for an all-out fight at the August convention, as unelected “super-delegates” will probably decide the outcome.

On February 24, Ralph Nader declared he was running for President to challenge the corporate stranglehold over U.S. politics. Ordinary American have been “shut out of their government by two major parties that, in varying degrees, have turned Washington into corporate-occupied territory,” Nader said. Socialist Alternative is supporting Nader’s antiwar, pro-worker campaign, as we did in 2000 and 2004.

On Sunday February 24, Ralph Nader announced that he was running for president on Meet the Press. This produced the usual storm of derision especially from the Democratic Party hacks in the big business media...

The spectacular victories of Barack Obama in a series of the Democratic primaries are a reflection of several deeper processes taking place in the United States. On the one side, is the genuine hope for change felt by millions of working people, while, on the other side, there is the desire of sections of the ruling class to use Obama to create a more "acceptable face" for imperialism internationally and domestically.

As the subprime mortgage crisis has spread into a housing crisis and slowing economy, serious economic spokespersons are now predicting the U.S. is slipping into an economic recession. Politicians from the Democratic and Republican parties have come together to offer a $150 billion stimulus package to ‘prevent’ or ’shorten’ the coming recession.

The centerpiece of Barack Obama’s campaign has been the claim that he is the candidate of “hope” and “change” as opposed to the establishment figure Clinton. The truth behind the Obama phenomenon, however, is much less attractive than the image. If you look at his concrete policies, voting record, and source of campaign funds, Obama is a trusted servant of the big business elite.

The primary elections are taking place against the backdrop of a fast-developing mood of anger and anxiety throughout U.S. society. Economically squeezed, fed up with the war in Iraq, and angry at the skyrocketing costs of healthcare and other necessities, 7 in 10 Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S.

Antiwar Republican Congressman Ron Paul’s growing popularity in the 2008 presidential race reflects a furor among disenchanted voters at the war in Iraq and the political establishment. However, despite his opposition to the war and the Patriot Act, much of Paul’s program is thoroughly regressive and represents a right-wing threat to workers, women, immigrants, African Americans, and all oppressed groups in the U.S.

The leadership of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City, representing over 100,000 education workers, has made a serious concession to the bosses’ neo-liberal agenda for public education. They have agreed to a “trial” bonus program in 200 city schools that opens the door to individual merit pay.

With the healthcare crisis on many people's minds, there is a lot of talk in the Democratic primaries for the 2008 elections about “universal coverage” or even “universal healthcare.” But all of the plans put forward by the leading Democratic candidates focus on better regulating a private for-profit industry rather than eliminating the profit motive altogether, putting more money into the hands of the insurance companies.

The Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary kicked off the 2008 presidential elections. The results so far show an electorate that is looking to shed the legacy of the Bush administration and strike a blow against the establishment of both parties. Yet despite all the rhetoric about "change," all the major candidates support a similar pro-corporate agenda.