ALL IS FAIR

Dems Tried to Bribe Nader?

Candidate says McAuliffe offered campaign cash.

How scared of Ralph Nader were Democrats in 2004? According to Nader, then-DNC chair and current Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe offered to help fund Nader's campaign if he would agree not to campaign in 19 swing states. In a statement, McAuliffe did not deny the charges, saying through a spokeswoman that he was "concerned that Ralph Nader would cost John Kerry the election" in a similar manner to the 2000 contest. Nader said he turned the "inappropriate" offer down, adding that "if you don't immediately say no, it's like taffy, you get stuck with it." Despite his stand against McAuliffe, Nader happily accepted thousands of dollars at the time from wealthy Republicans who hoped he would steal votes from the Democratic candidate.