Could Nader have run as a Democrat?

Zioneer

Banned
As the title says, could Nader win (or even just get past the primaries) if he ran on the Democratic ticket?

As it is, a lot of people have a lot of anger for him since the 2000 election, since his Green Party run took votes away from Al Gore, and in some opinions gave Bush the Presidency.

So what if he used the Green Party to get a following strong enough to be a contender for the Democratic nomination? Would this be plausible, or ASB?
 
Given the Democratic determination to avoid anything that might lead them to being mistaken for a genuinely left-wing party, yes, it would be implausible. Not ASB - but unlikely.

Getting past the primaries might not be hard, though, IF the Democrats consider nominating him in the first place.
 
I'd say the best case for him is sitting out 2000. If Gore felt no left-flank pressure, it's plausible that he would have run a rigorously centrist campaign (no people v. the powerful message). Let's say this approach leads to a thorough beating at the hands of George W. Bush. Continue Democratic timidity up through 2004, and no emergence of the current liberal Al Gore, and Nader might be able to energize a segment of the population. He could easily have usurped the Howard Dean role, although his 1996 third party run would have hurt him. I can imagine him turning in a strong showing in Iowa, and collecting a number of delegates through the rest of the process, especially if you somehow clear the top-line field for Joe Lieberman.
 
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