Nader Takes a Hit in Oregon

The Naderites put out the word in Portland, Oregon, yesterday for a thousand people to come on down to the Roseland Theater to sign a petition to get him on the ballot, which would have made Oregon the first of 50 state ballots that Nader qualified for. (L.A. Times story here.) But only 741 people showed up, in a state where Nader was strong in 2000.

Nader was trying to ease onto the ballot through a little-used option of getting a thousand signatures at one event. The other avenue requires 15,000 signatures ... a mere drop in the bucket compared with what some states impose on independent candidates (like North Carolina, for example).