The Nader Speaks

Back in the day when Ralph Nader was running as a 3rd party candidate I accused him of being a media whore.  Why?  Because every time you turned around he was on the TV spouting some crap that few Americans wanted to hear….not saying that I disagreed with him just he was everywhere…..today that would be nothing new for it is standard operating procedures for a politico.

Even though I did not think much of his constant natterings I admit that I do agree with some the old dude has had to say about the Democrats…..

If Democrats are wondering why they lost to reality television star Donald Trump and the deeply unpopular GOP in the 2016 elections—and why their advantage in 2018 polling continues to slip—longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader argues the party must stop searching for scapegoats and start fighting for a bold and progressive agenda.

With a rare invitation to appear on cable news, Nader told MSNBC host Ari Melber, Nader said that instead of blaming third party candidates like himself and other external factors for losses that resulted from their own incompetence and inability to articulate an inspiring platform, Democrats must embrace widely popular ideas like Medicare for All and a living wage if they are to oust the “corporate indentured” Republican Party.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/11/ralph-nader-decrepit-democrats-stop-scapegoating-and-embrace-bold-agenda

Like I said…I agree, at least this time…….the Dems are spending too much time and energy scapegoating….and I think all that crap will not turn the lever in their favor come the next elections.

Vote Nader?

For more than four decades, Ralph Nader has saved lives, opened minds, implemented solutions, and inspired citizens everywhere to participate in building a better, more democratic world. He has founded or organized more than 100 civic organizations, authored countless books and publications, and perhaps more than any other person has defined our modern understanding of the American ideals of democracy, civic duty, and participation for the public good, rather than dominance by the corporate powers. Known for his ethics, integrity and independence, Ralph Nader is recognized world-wide for putting democracy to work.

What is less well known is that in his 2000 bid for President of the United States, Ralph Nader earned the votes of citizens across the political spectrum. Under the banner, ‘Not for Sale’, millions responded to Nader’s message to the American people calling for greater accountability for corporations and an end to corporate-controlled government. According to the exit polls conducted by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, fully 25% of his votes came from Republicans, 38% from Democrats, and the remainder from people who would not have voted. No other American leader can be credited with such broad appeal across the divides of our polarized nation. No other American leader can claim such unfettered independence from the ethically bankrupt quagmire of insider politics where the lives of ordinary Americans are regularly sacrificed to commercial interests.

To his credit, Ralph Nader does more than just talk. As the New York Times said, “What sets Nader apart is that he has moved beyond social criticism to effective political action.” Part of his mammoth legacy is the effective national network of citizen reform groups that labor to preserve the safety and quality of life of EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN. His groups have made an imprint on many areas including civic skills, tax reform, pensions, aviation, regulation of atomic power, renewable energy, clean air and water, clean elections, food, medicine and auto safety, safety in the workplace, access to healthcare, civil rights, civil justice, Congressional ethics, campaign finance, discriminatory lending, the tobacco industry, corporate crime and reform, investor protection, corporate globalization, agribusiness and small farms, intellectual property, medicine prices abroad, freedom of information, and government procurement. The list goes on and on.

Once again, Ralph Nader is standing up for all Americans, proposing brighter solutions and futures while decrying the big government erosion of civil liberties, the vast diversion of tax dollars for wasteful military spending, the Iraq quagmire, and the daily abuses and frauds suffered by ordinary Americans at the hands of corrupt corporations and indifferent bureaucracies. The campaign is seeking participators, to invoke Jefferson’s word, who support his independent campaign for the office of President of the United States.

Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer, author, and has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Americans in the Twentieth Century.

For over four decades Ralph Nader has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups to advocate for solutions.

His efforts have helped to create a framework of laws, regulatory agencies, and federal standards that have improved the quality of life for two generations of Americans.

His groups were instrumental in enacting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In the past decade, Nader has dedicated himself to putting people back in charge of America’s democracy, launching three major presidential campaigns.

Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments.

Nader’s Four Point Plan

First, he called for universal health care. This would be a single-payer set-up based upon “private delivery” of medical goods and services. He pointed to the irrationality of the US health care industry, which he said costs twice as much per capita compared to Canada and Switzerland.

Second, Nader called for what he termed a “living wage.” He was not specific about just what this would be, but he seemed to suggest that the current minimum wage should be based upon an incremental increase of the 1968 minimum wage adjusted to subsequent inflation. This would put the figure at nearly $11 per hour, he said.

Third, Nader called for a “massive expansion of law enforcement against corporate crime.” He pointed to the gutting of the regulatory agencies of the federal government as a basic cause of a number of problems, including workplace accidents and environmental degradation.

Fourth, he proposed a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East. Nader called for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq within six months, and derided Obama’s proposed “withdrawal” that would leave 50,000 US military personnel and permanent bases in Iraq. Nader spent more time, however, discussing the Israeli-Palestinian question. He called for a two-state solution, and criticized Obama’s fervently pro-Israeli position as a betrayal that he sees arising from the power of the pro-Israeli lobbying group AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) over US politics.

Nader Predicts Clinton As VP

He is such a media whore……his day has come and gone…but he continues to try and get some type of press.

Count Ralph Nader as unimpressed by the crop of supposed finalists to be Barack Obama’s running mate.

The smart pick, according to Nader, is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Nader phoned into Politico on Tuesday afternoon to offer his prediction that a surprise nod to Clinton is actually what Obama has in store — never mind the talk of mistrust between the Clintons and Obama.

According to Nader’s logic, Obama may dislike Hillary, but will conclude he has no choice but to get over it if he hopes to leave next week’s convention in Denver with a unified party and a decent shot against John McCain in the fall: “The polls show 25 percent of her supporters have not gotten on board.”

Nader said his own sources — and, to be blunt, they sound a bit sketchy — lead him to believe that Clinton remains in serious consideration. A friend, he said, recently saw Clinton family intimate Vernon Jordan on Martha’s Vineyard and reported the “usually very effusive” Jordan to be suspiciously “tight-lipped.”

Nader said he does not see how Biden, Bayh or Kaine would help Obama politically, and believes the speculation about them is a “smokescreen.” If it’s a traditional white male politician Obama is after, Nader offered, the better pick would be former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, who brings national security heft and could put his home state in play.

Say It Ain’t So, Ralph!

It has been a great week for dumbass, bonehead statements by political insiders.  First, Charlie Black makes his now infamous terror attack comment and now the permanent presidential candidate Ralph Nader has joined into the fray.

Speaking with Colorado’s Rocky Mountain News, Nader accused Obama of attempting to “talk white” and appealing to “white guilt” in his quest to win the White House.

“There’s only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He’s half African-American,” Nader told the paper in comments published Tuesday.

“Whether that will make any difference, I don’t know. I haven’t heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We’ll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards,” Nader added.

Please, that is just mental masturbation or as some pundit called it “verbal vomit”.  Since his present campaign has about as much steam as snail in a hurry, he is looking to press.  Nader has just shot himself in the foot.  While he, Nader, does have some planks in his independent platform that could have made him a bit more appealing to voters, crap like this will help drive the final nail in the coffin that is his campaign.

I can say that I agree that Obama has moved to the conservative side of the party since he became the presumptive nominee, but that is nothing unusual for a politician.  Sour grapes is not becoming.  Did not look good on Clinton; does not look good on Nader.