Nader tells worried Democrats to lighten up

Nader tells worried Democrats to lighten up
Maverick says his candidacy is aimed squarely at Bush

Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief
Tuesday, February 24, 2004


Washington -- Ralph Nader had a message Monday for Democratic Party leaders and the liberal intelligentsia that is up in arms over his candidacy.

"Relax and rejoice," Nader said as he gave a full airing to his reasons for another run for the presidency. "Rejoice that you have another front carrying the ancient but unfulfilled pretensions and aspirations of the Democratic Party.''

Four years after Nader told Americans that a vote for Al Gore was no better than a vote for George W. Bush, won almost 2.9 million votes, and -- according to many analysts -- drew just enough support from the Democrats to deprive them of the White House, there was no evidence of relaxing or rejoicing. Democratic reaction ranged from disbelief to annoyance to fury.

Yet even as Nader railed against "corporatism" and the "two-party duopoly, " there was widespread agreement about one aspect of his quixotic drive for the presidency: The consumer advocate does not pose the threat to Democrats in 2004 that he did in 2000.
(snip/...)

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/24/MNGV556VID1.DTL

nt

How the party could use someone of his intellect, vision, and uncompromising integrity. Sigh.

If we ever rid ourselves of the present corporate leadership, we might get the party back on track to represent average people - and thereby attract candidates of a higher caliber. Until then...

I'd suggest that Kucinich would end up with more delgates than Ralph would have gotten.

Ralph should have stuck with the structural problem of corvairs.

get more delegates than Ralph.

Saint Ralph was nothing more than a mercenary paid $2000 in advance by publisher Robert Grossman to hack out a hatchet job "exposing" the automakers' lack of concern for safety. The book wasn't even Nader's idea, originally.
Nader also wasn't responsible for the redesign of the Corvair's rear axle (a flaw which was real and did lead to people being killed and maimed). Chevrolet Division Manager Bunkie Knudsen was.
Knudsen's niece was maimed in a Corvair accident (Cadillac Division Manager Cal Werner's son was killed in one) and Knudsen threatened to resign from GM and take the matter public if the corrections weren't made (at a cost of $15 per unit, BTW).
These corrections HAD BEEN MADE before Unsafe even hit the bookstores. The Corvairs then on the lots were perfectly safe, reliable and economical. But GM couldn't sell them in the wake of Saint Ralph's screed and a lot of folks here in my hometown lost their jobs because of it.
John
Nader was little more than a hired gun. But nobody here would ever give the real hero of the story, Knudsen, credit for standing up to GM and saving lives because he's, you know, a corporatist.

The stuff you learn on DU.....another perception of Ralph debunked.

Thanks!

The part about Saint Ralph being paid up front is from David Halberstam's "The Reckoning," p 494.
The story of Knudsen, the death and injuries and the redesign is from "On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors -- John Z. DeLorean's Look Inside the Automotive Giant," by J. Patrick Wright, pp 54-55.
John
The snarky attitude towards Saint Ralph is strictly my own.

Uh, that is NOT the Ralph Nader who is running in this election.

Even the Greens won't touch him.

What? When he said Gore was NO BETTER than Bush? Or when he said it did not matter if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.

has a clue about the economy. I heard him speak the other day and he seemed to know nothing about outsourcing.

I hope these words do to Nader what the rearend collision did to the Chevrolet Corvair.

Ford Pintos exploded in rear-end collisions.
The Corvair's early, deadly problem had to do with its independent rear suspension, compounded by its rear-engine design.
When an early Corvair was put into a turn at fairly high speed, the rear tires would toe-in, much like what happens when you point the tips of your skis toward each other while going downhill at high speed. When the rear tires recontacted the road, the cars flipped.
At first, GM wrote the problem off to reckless driving (the Corvair was quite a sporty car -- very popular with young drivers). As the testing was done and the facts came out, it proved to be a design flaw.
I've alluded to the rest of the story already.
John
Yes, the early Corvairs were deadly. But Knudsen's efforts resulted in having a stabilizing bar (which prevented the toe-in) installed in the 1965 models and an entirely redesigned suspension put in for the 1966 and later years.
ON EDIT: I'm writing the above from memory -- not from direct references. Also, I moved the dates of the corrections ahead one year. Either way, my point about the redesign stands. They were completed before the publication of 'Unsafe at Any Speed.'

I'm sure he finds Bushism amusing. As noted in the top ten conservative idiots, as a millionaire, he's certainly enjoying his tax cut.

I'm glad he's amused.

BTW, what is this fucking Republican doing telling us what Democratic Principles are? Does he think he IS fucking George W. Bush.

Nader is about as relevent as Larouche, good luck spoiler!

but I honestly believe he just wont get near the amount of votes he did last time.The Greens I know wont vote for him,I wont vote for him (and I could here in Mass).I just dont see him being a factor at all,contrary to much of the hysterics you see here daily about him.

... his bullsh*t claim that "there's no difference between the Reps and the Dems" has been laid to rest for anyone with an IQ above 50.

Ignore him and he'll go away.

taunting Democrats - the last hurrah from another delusional politician gone the way of the arrogance of power.

all politicians are delusional even the democractic ones

at least ralph doesn't walk around in a pink tutu
licking corporate asshole

he didn't use Kerry's line.

he doesnt have a kid in Iraq in the middle of a bloodbath..hes as bad as the rest of the comfortable cowards who sit in their leather EZ chairs and pop open champagne and beer as they watch this bloodbath like a football game.
F*ck him and the rest of the GOP Cabal, including the DINOs .

haven't gotten that through to him yet.

... he has handlers.

Regardless of what he says and what you believe, he's one of the creepiest looking people on Earth...

Relax and rejoice I am your savior.

Talk about a false prophet!

Here Ralph, let me give you this, you can hold on to it while you make your calls for no difference>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :nuke:

Democracy in action and the ability for anyone to run......... and the thought of him just realizing the need to remove Bush and putting up someone who can win.

I have said all year that if he runs again I would personally drive to his house and slap him. My fellow staffers wonder why I am still at work. :hurts:

It's the votes that will stay HOME because he's running.
What's his chances of getting on the ballot in all 50? I know *I* won't sign a petition for him. I didn't sign one for Larouche, either.

There are going to be a LOT of disillusioned Howard Dean supporters who feel like they got left at the altar, and since Ralph won't make the ballot in their state, and they can't vote for Dean, and they're angry at Dean ("DUDE! All those meet-ups I put together, those sign-ups at Starbucks, the money I collected for you, and you just up and fuckin' QUIT? Fuck YOU, Man! 'Don't vote for any third party candidates' my ASS! You fuckin' QUITTER! I'll vote for whoever I god-damn wanna! And it ain't gonna be anyone YOU suggest!") then they'll stay home again, just like they did in '00.

They're gonna "send a message", don't forget. Hope they all remember what that message was when they get their "From the President of the United States: Greetings!" letters in the mail next year....