Nader slams candidates

Reform Party candidate talks about Iraq, health insurance, voting

by N.S. Garcia
The Metropolitan

Reform Party candidate Ralph Nader said there is too much corporate power in politics, which has caused several issues to be ignored by the two mainstream American political parties.

"They have sold the trust of the American people for the commercial dollar," Nader told reporters prior to a speech at the Flatirons Theater in Boulder.

Nader, who will be on the Nov. 2 presidential ballot after a legal battle with Colorado Democrats, suing for him to be removed, spoke in Boulder, Denver, and Pueblo on Saturday, Sept. 18.

Democrats said because Nader had not been affiliated with the Reform party for more than a year, he could not run under the party's nomination.

However, Nader responded by saying the Democrats missed the deadline to file a complaint.

Nader, who ran in the 2000 election as the Green Party candidate, thanked his lawyers and the people of Colorado who "helped beat back the forces of darkness" that attempted to keep him off the ballot.

(Bradley Wakoff / The Metropolitan)
Ralph Nader speaking at the Flatirons Theater in Boulder. Nader's presidential candidacy is intended to promote grassroots democratic values and curtail the influence of corporations in American politics.

He said he knows his chances of winning are slim. However, he said third parties must continue to be an agent of change.

He alluded to the Abolitionist and Women's Suffrage Parties.

"In this election we hope to push the two parties to recognize they represent the people," he said.

He also critiqued the Republicans who, he said, have become masters of preventing people from voting.

"They are denying the voters a choice," he said. "In greed, they are re-districting our country that votes only one way. When you don't have selection there is no election."

Nader spoke out against President Bush, saying Bush is the worst president of the 21st century.

"He is running on a platform of lies. Iraq has nothing to offer the American people except a never-ending quagmire."

About 400 people attended the Boulder event.

In the latest Rocky Mountain News/News 4 poll, Bush and Kerry are tied in Colorado, according to statistics based on a sample of 500 registered voters.

Of those polled, 45 percent of Coloradoans would vote for Bush while 44 percent would vote for Kerry. Three percent said they would vote for Nader.

When asked if he thinks his supporters should vote for Kerry in order to get Bush out of office, Nader said voters should vote for whomever they want and they should not settle for the "least worse" candidate.

"What's our breaking point with the least of the worst?" he asked the audience.

He said as long as Americans vote that way, he guarantees both parties will get worse.

"They're laughing at us," he said. "Flattering us softly so they can fool us. They are agents of business with no allegiance to this country or any other. They are marinated in oil."

Issues concerning Colorado voters and young people nationwide are being ignored or poorly handled, Nader said. Those issues include health care, jobs with a livable wage, the rising death toll and money spent in Iraq, the possibility of a military draft, the failed war on drugs and higher education costs.

He said he wants to provide universal health care for all Americans.

America is the only western democracy that has not created a similar plan and both Bush and Kerry have ignored this problem because health insurance providers are contributors to their campaigns, he said.

Bush has said little if anything about an increase in the minimum wage, while Kerry suggests a $7 wage by 2007.

However, this isn't enough, Nader said. He would provide help via tax relief to smaller business and those who keep jobs in America.

He said he wants America out of Iraq in three months and has a three-step process in mind.

First, he said, international peacekeepers would be brought in. Then, the United States would spend more on humanitarian aid than on weapons. Lastly, Iraq must have an internationally supervised election in order to have a true democratic autonomy.

Nader said the military budget is too much for what little development they have made since the Cold War.

He warned young voters to be vocal about the possible military draft. He said he's learned of several possible bills in the house and senate that would enact a draft.

He also commented that he would seek the legalization and regulation of some drugs such as marijuana. More counseling is needed to help drug addicts instead of prison time, he said.

Fewer American teens are attending college because of the rising costs and higher education needs to be free like public K-12 education is, he said.

He said he would also cut those departments and programs, like weapons development, that are not producing any good for America.

Nader concluded his speech with passionate remarks about not giving up.

He said third parties and individuals have pioneered change in the United States.

"We need to get back our motivation," he said. "We spend little time in our civic responsibility."

Nader told reporters earlier, "Our votes will be taken for granted.

He suggested this is why corporations now run politics.

"If you're not into politics, politics will be into you in a disagreeing matter," he said. "This is no tidily-winks. This is the future of the world."