Green Gore Guilt Spawns Web Site

Okay, so you're a liberal voter with a crush on Ralph Nader. How quaint. But you live in a swing state and Al Gore needs your vote. And the prospect of a POTUS with a name like Dubya makes you want to relocate to Kabul.

What's a body to do?

Well, a very low-tech new Internet site called Nader Trader is suggesting a solution. Tell a friend in a state that Bush is going to win readily to vote for the Ralph-man, while you, O swing-state voter, put your support behind Gore.

"I think it kind of reflects that the Nader people are kind of getting nervous about the effect of the Green vote," says Thad Beyle, professor of political science at the University of North Carolina.

For example: John, a voter in the battleground state of Ohio, is afraid to "waste" his vote on Nader, even though he likes Nader's message. So he calls his friend in Texas - a state that's going overwhelmingly for Bush anyway - and has that friend cast a Nader vote while John casts his Ohio ballot for Gore.

The logic, Beyle said, is to bring Gore into the White House, while still getting the Green Party enough votes to secure federal matching funds in future elections.

It's not exactly the most high-tech Internet site.    (CBS)SIZE>

"It's very clear, when you look at that Nader Trader site, that they realize that having Bush as president would be more deleterious to their goals," said Beyle.

The site is registered to a Jeffrey Cardille of Madison, Wisc., a town known for its well-organized Green Party presence.

Cardille, 33, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, said his site has received more than 37,000 visitors since it launched Monday. Cardille doesn't know how many want to trade votes.

"I had hoped there could be enough distribution of this idea that it would take on a life of its own," Cardille said, noting his site encourages friends and family to make informal agreements to swap votes.

For its part, Nader's campaign has forcefully denied involvement in other attempts at persuading voters to tailor their choices between Gore or Nader, depending upon whether they were voting in a state with a close presidential race.

Taking Stock In Nader A recent financial statement shows the Green Party candidate invests in companies he rails against.

The Nader Trader site isn't the only organ promoting a tactical vote for the Green Party candidate. Some newspapers printed ads urging voters in tight states to stay behind Gore.

Nader spokeswoman Theresa Amato downplayed the campaign's role in any matter having to do with a "wasted" vote.

“In this election, the only wasted vote is the one cast without conviction and for cash-register politics as usual,” she said.