Ralph Nader, who ran for president as a third-party candidate in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 — and in the opinions of some observers, contributed to George W. Bush's victory over Al Gore in 2000 — is really objecting to a recent New York Times article on the potential impact that third-party candidates could have on some major campaigns this year.
"I take issue with the use of the word 'spoiler,' obviously," Nader said, in a voice mail message to the article's author, Jonathan Martin. "If we all have a right to run for election, none of us are second-class citizens to be degraded by a politically bigoted word, 'spoiler.' If we all have a right to run equally for election, we're all trying to get votes from one another — so we're either all spoilers of one another, or none of us are spoilers."
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