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{{Short description|American lawyer and activist (born 1934)}} | |||
{{Infobox Politician | |||
{{Pp-blp|small=yes}} | |||
| name = Ralph Nader | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} | |||
| image = Naderspeak.JPG | |||
{{Infobox person | |||
| caption = Nader speaking in 2007 | |||
| |
| name = Ralph Nader | ||
| image = Naderspeak.JPG | |||
| alma_mater = ], <br />] | |||
| caption = Nader in 2007 | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1934|02|27}} | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1934|2|27}} | |||
| birth_place = ]<br />United States | |||
| birth_place = ], U.S. | |||
| death_date = | |||
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| party = ] | |||
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| party = {{ubli|] (1952–1996)|] (1996–2003)|] (2004–2008)|] (2008–present)}} | ||
| education = {{ubli|] (])|] (])}} | |||
| relations = | |||
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| mother = ] | ||
| relatives = {{plainlist| | |||
| civil partner = | |||
* ] (brother) | |||
| children = | |||
* ] (sister) | |||
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* ] (sister) | |||
| occupation = Attorney and Political ] | |||
}} | |||
| religion = | |||
| awards = {{ubli|]|]|]}} | |||
| signature = | |||
| occupation = {{hlist|Lawyer|activist|environmentalist|author}} | |||
| website = | |||
| signature = Ralph Nader Signature.svg | |||
| footnotes = | |||
| website = {{URL|nader.org|Official website}} | |||
| module = {{Infobox military person | |||
| embed = yes | |||
| allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | |||
| branch = {{army|United States}} | |||
| serviceyears = 1959}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Ralph Nader''' (born February 27, 1934) is an American ], ], ], ], and independent candidate for ] in 2004 and ] as well as a ] candidate in 1996 and 2000, with his role in the 2000 election in particular being subject to much debate. Areas of particular concern to Nader include ], ], ], and ]. | |||
Nader is both the first ] and ] presidential candidate in the U.S.<ref></ref> | |||
'''Ralph Nader''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|eɪ|d|ər}}; born February 27, 1934)<ref>{{cite web|title= Ralph Nader Biography and Interview |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=]|url=https://www.achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/#interview}}</ref> is an American political activist involved in ], ], and government reform causes. He is a ]. His 1965 book '']'', which criticized the automotive industry for its safety record, helped lead to the passage of the ] in 1966. | |||
==Background and early career== | |||
Nader was born in ], ]. His parents, Nathra and ], were ] immigrants from ]. His family's native language is Arabic,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rjliban.com/communique8/ralph%20nader's%20childhood%20roots.htm |title=Ralph Nader's Childhood Roots}}</ref> and he has spoken it along with ] since childhood. | |||
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the United States, Nader attended ] and ]. He quickly developed an interest in vehicle designs that were hazardous and contributed to elevated levels of car accidents and fatalities.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web |date=September 29, 2023 |title=Ralph Nader {{!}} Biography, Unsafe at Any Speed, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ralph-Nader |access-date=September 30, 2023 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Published in 1965, ''Unsafe at Any Speed'' became a highly influential critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers, focusing on General Motors' (GM's) Corvair automobile in particular. | |||
Nathra Nader was employed in a textile mill, and at one point owned a bakery and restaurant where he engaged customers in political discourse.<ref name=unreasonableman>{{cite video |people=Mantel, Henriette (Director) |title= |medium=DVD |publisher=] |year2=2006}}</ref> | |||
Following the publication of ''Unsafe at Any Speed'', Nader led a group of volunteer law students—dubbed "Nader's Raiders"—in an investigation of the ], leading directly to that agency's overhaul and reform. In the 1970s, Nader leveraged his growing popularity to establish a number of advocacy and watchdog groups including the ], the ], and ]. Two of Nader's most notable targets were the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9622838/ralph-nader-american-museum-of-tort-law |title = Ralph Nader is still punching companies where it hurts |date=October 28, 2015 |publisher=] |last=Warren |first=Tamara}}</ref> | |||
Nader graduated from ] in 1955 and ] in 1958.<ref name="cnn34">{{cite news |title=2004 Presidential Candidates - Ralph Nader |url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/candidates/nader.html |work=CNN.com Specials}}</ref> He served in the ] for six months in 1959, then began work as a lawyer in ], ]. Between 1961 and 1963, he was a Professor of History and Government at the ]. In 1964, Nader moved to ], where he worked for Assistant Secretary of Labor ]. He also advised a ] subcommittee on car safety. In the early 1980s, Nader spearheaded a powerful lobby against the ] (FDA) approval of mass-scale experimentation of artificial lens implants. Nader has served as a faculty member at the ] ]. | |||
Nader made four bids to become President of the United States, running with the ] in ] and ], the ] in ], and as an ] in ]. In each campaign, Nader said he sought to highlight under-reported issues and a perceived need for electoral reform. He received nearly three million votes during his ], but also stirred controversy over allegations that his campaign helped ] candidate ] win a close election against ] candidate ]. In 2006, '']'' listed Nader as one of the hundred most influential Americans in history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200612/influentials|title=The Top 100: The Most Influential Figures in American History|work=Atlantic Monthly|date=December 2006|page=62}}</ref> | |||
== Automobile-safety activism == | |||
Nader's first consumer safety articles appeared in the '']'', a student publication of ], but he first criticized the automobile industry in an article he wrote for '']'' in 1959 called "The Safe Car You Can't Buy."<ref>]. ''50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed To Know.'' New York: ], 2005. p.87 ISBN 1932857184</ref> In 1965, Nader wrote '']'', a study that revealed that many American automobiles were unsafe, especially the ] manufactured by ]. The Corvair had been involved in numerous accidents involving spins and rollovers, and there were over 100 lawsuits pending against GM in connection to accidents involving the popular compact car. These lawsuits provided the initial material for Nader's investigations into the safety of the car.<ref>Diana T. Kurylko. "Nader Damned Chevy's Corvair and Sparked a Safety Revolution." ''Automotive News'' (v.70, 1996).</ref> GM tried to discredit Nader, hiring private detectives to tap his phones and investigate his past, and hiring prostitutes to trap him in compromising situations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/November-December-2005/scene_longhine_novdec05.msp |title=Ralph Nader's museum of tort law will include relics from famous lawsuits-if it ever gets built |date=December 2005 |work=LegalAffairs.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2005-05-07 |work=Federal Highway Administration |url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/safetyep.htm |title=President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Federal Role in Highway Safety: Epilogue - The Changing Federal Role}}</ref> GM failed to uncover any wrongdoing, and never explained resorting to smear tactics instead of defending the car in the popular press, where the company had considerable corporate influence. GM's avoidance of technical journals makes more sense, as it was well known among auto engineers that the early (1960-64) Corvair's ] ] handled miserably.<ref>{{cite web |title=Independent Suspensions: Swing axle suspension |url=http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/suspension/tech_suspension2.htm |date=1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.aol.com/herald948/cc/ |title=Original Triumph Spitfire -- Camber Compensator |date=1999-08-21}}</ref> Upon learning of GM's actions, Nader successfully sued the company for ], forced it to publicly apologize, and used much of his $284,000 net settlement to expand his consumer rights efforts. Nader's lawsuit against GM was ultimately decided by the ], whose opinion in the case expanded tort law to cover "overzealous ]."<ref>Nader v. General Motors Corp., 307 N.Y.S.2d 647 (N.Y. 1970)</ref> | |||
A two-time ], Nader is the author or co-author of more than two dozen books and was the subject of a documentary film on his life and work, '']'', which debuted at the 2006 ]. He has been repeatedly named to lists of the "100 Most Influential Americans", including those published by '']'', '']'', and '']''. '']'' described him as a "dissident".<ref>{{cite news |first=Warren Jr. |last=Weaver |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/26/archives/a-dozen-dissidents-criticize-the-president-and-the-government-in.html |title=A Dozen Dissidents Criticize the President and the Government in 'the People's State of the Union' |work=] |date=January 26, 1972 }}</ref> | |||
Nader's advocacy of automobile safety and the publicity generated by the publication of ''Unsafe at Any Speed'', along with concern over escalating nationwide traffic fatalities, led to the unanimous passage of the 1966 ]. The act established the ], and marked a historic shift in responsibility for automobile safety (which shifted from the consumer to the manufacturer). The legislation mandated a series of safety features for automobiles, beginning with safety belts and stronger windshields.<ref>Brent Fisse and John Braithwaite. ''The Impact of Publicity on Corporate Offenders''. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1983.</ref><ref>Robert Barry Carson, Wade L. Thomas, Jason Hecht. ''Economic Issues Today: Alternative Approaches''. | |||
M.E. Sharpe, 2005.</ref><ref>Stan Luger. ''Corporate Power, American Democracy, and the Automobile Industry''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.</ref> | |||
== Early life and education== | |||
A 1972 ] safety commission report conducted by ] concluded that the 1960-1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control than its contemporaries in extreme situations.<ref>Brent Fisse and John Braithwaite, ''The Impact of Publicity on Corporate Offenders''. State University of New York Press, 1983. p.30 ISBN 0873957334</ref> A different account, however, was given in ]'s "General Motors autobiography," ''On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors'', 1979 (published under the name of his would-be ], J. Patrick Wright), in which DeLorean asserts that Nader's criticisms were valid. The ''specific'' Corvair design flaws were corrected in the second half (1965-1969) of the Corvair's production, although by then the Corvair name was irredeemably compromised. | |||
Ralph Nader was born on February 27, 1934, in ], to ] (née Bouziane) and Nathra Nader, both of whom were ] immigrants from Mount Lebanon and the ] in Southeastern ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Pastor Bassilios Nadar "Nader" Saffi (March 2018)|url=https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/websiteattachments/bio_Basilios%20Nadar%20Saffi%20%20updated.pdf|access-date= December 18, 2022|website=Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church of America|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Nader a Winner This Day – Ralph Nader |url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-84181380/nader-a-winner-this-day |work=Washington Times|date=March 18, 2002}}</ref><ref name=Battling_for_Democracy>{{Citation |last=Graham |first=Kevin |title=Ralph Nader: Battling for Democracy |publisher=Windom Publishing Company |location=Denver, Colorado |isbn=0-9700323-0-7 |year=2000 |url=https://archive.org/details/ralphnaderbattli00grah }}</ref><ref name="Nader-Childhood"/> After settling in Connecticut, Nathra Nader worked in a textile mill before opening a bakery and restaurant.<ref name=unreasonableman>{{cite video |people=Mantel, Henriette (Director) |title=An Unreasonable Man |medium=DVD |publisher=] |date=2006}}</ref> Ralph Nader occasionally helped at his father's restaurant, as well as worked as a newspaper delivery boy for the local paper, the Winsted ''Register Citizen''.<ref name="nation11">{{cite news|last1=Green|first1=Mark|title=How Ralph Nader Changed America|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-ralph-nader-changed-america/ |access-date=August 2, 2016|work=]|date=December 1, 2015}}</ref> Nader graduated from ] in 1951, going on to attend ]. Though he was offered a scholarship to Princeton, his father forced him to decline it on the grounds that the family was able to pay Nader's tuition and the funds should go to a student who could not afford it.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g88RWOBJz1UC&pg=PA25 | title =Ralph Nader: Man With a Mission |author =Nancy Bowen | publisher = ] | date =April 1, 2002| isbn =978-0-7613-2365-5 }}</ref> Nader graduated '']'' and ]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/social-sciences-and-law/social-reformers/ralph-nader |title=Nader, Ralph |date=2005 |encyclopedia=West's Encyclopedia of American Law |via=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=March 15, 2019 }}</ref> with a Bachelor of Arts from the ] in 1955 after completing a senior thesis titled "Lebanese Agriculture".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/activist/ralph-nader |title=Ralph Nader Biography |work=] |date=May 10, 2016 |access-date=October 4, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Nader|first=Ralph |year=1955 |publisher=Princeton University, Department of Politics |title=Lebanese Agriculture |url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/dsp01hm50tt424 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
After graduating from Princeton, Nader enrolled at ], though he quickly became bored by his courses. While at Harvard, Nader would frequently skip classes to hitchhike across the U.S. where he would engage in field research on Native American issues and migrant worker rights. He earned a ] (LL.B.) from Harvard in 1958.<ref name="nation11"/> Nader identified with ] philosophy in his youth, but gradually shifted away in his early 20s. Although Nader acknowledged that he "didn't like public housing because it disadvantaged landlords unfairly", his viewpoint changed when he "saw the slums and what landlords did".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ralph Nader, "To The Ramparts" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWxc_kYmPTE&t=3208 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/OWxc_kYmPTE| archive-date=October 30, 2021|website=Politics and Prose | date=October 2018 |publisher=Tom Warren |access-date=October 4, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After graduating from Harvard, Nader served in the ] as a cook and was posted to ].<ref name="nation11"/> | |||
== Activism == | |||
Hundreds of young activists, inspired by Nader's work, came to DC to help him with other projects. They came to be known as "Nader's Raiders" who, under Nader, investigated government corruption, publishing dozens of books with their results: | |||
* ''Nader's Raiders'' (Federal Trade Commission) | |||
* ''Vanishing Air'' (National Air Pollution Control Administration) | |||
* ''The Chemical Feast'' (Food and Drug Administration) | |||
* ''The Interstate Commerce Omission'' (Interstate Commerce Commission) | |||
* ''Old Age'' (nursing homes) | |||
* ''The Water Lords'' (water pollution) | |||
* ''Who Runs Congress?'' (Congress) | |||
* ''Whistle Blowing'' (punishment of whistle blowers) | |||
* ''The Big Boys'' (corporate executives) | |||
* ''Collision Course'' (Federal Aviation Administration) | |||
* ''No Contest'' (corporate lawyers) | |||
* ''Destroy the Forest'' (Destruction of ecosystems worldwide) | |||
* ''Operation: Nuclear'' (Making of a nuclear missile) | |||
] at the ].]] | |||
In 1971, Nader founded the ] (NGO) ] as an ] for these projects. Today, Public Citizen has over 140,000 members and investigates Congressional, health, environmental, economic and other issues. Nader wrote, "The consumer must be protected at times from his own indiscretion and vanity."<ref>{{cite news |date=2004-03-03 |work=Jewish World Review |title=Nader's Glitter |first=Thomas |last=Sowell |url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell030304.asp}}</ref> | |||
== Career == | |||
In the 1970s and 1980s Nader was a key leader in the ]. "By 1976, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who later became allied with the environmental movement 'stood as the titular head of opposition to nuclear energy'"<ref>Nuclear Power in an Age of Uncertainty (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTA-E-216, February 1984), p. 228, citing the following article: </ref><ref>Public Opposition to Nuclear Energy: Retrospect and Prospect, Roger E. Kasperson, Gerald Berk, David Pijawka, Alan B. Sharaf, James Wood, Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 5, No. 31 (Spring, 1980), pp. 11-23</ref> He advocates the complete elimination of nuclear energy in favor of solar, tidal, wind and geothermal, citing environmental, worker safety, migrant labor, national security, disaster preparedness, foreign policy, government accountability and democratic governance issues to bolster his position.<ref>{{cite web |work=Frontline |title=Ralph Nader interview transcript |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/interviews/nader.html}}</ref> | |||
===Early history=== | |||
In 1959, Nader was admitted to the bar and began practice as a lawyer in ], while also lecturing at the ] and traveling to the ], Chile, and ], where he filed dispatches for the '']'' and '']''.<ref name="nation11"/> In 1964, he moved to Washington, D.C., taking a position as a consultant to ] ].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marcello|first1=Patricia Cronin|title=Ralph Nader: A Biography|date=2004|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|isbn=0-313-33004-2|page=|url=https://archive.org/details/ralphnaderbiogra0000marc|url-access=registration|quote=Moynihan.|access-date=January 27, 2017}}</ref> | |||
===''Unsafe at Any Speed''=== | |||
=== Non-profit organizations === | |||
Nader gained national attention with the 1965 publication of his journalistic exposé '']''. The book, critical of the automotive industry, argued that many American automobiles were generally unsafe to operate. For the book, Nader researched case files from more than a hundred lawsuits then pending against ]' ] to support his assertions.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mickey Z |author-link=Mickey Z |title=50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know |location=New York |publisher=] |year=2005 |page=87 |isbn=1-932857-18-4}}</ref> | |||
In 1980, Nader resigned as director of Public Citizen to work on other projects, forcefully campaigning against what he believed to be the dangers of large ]s. He went on to start a variety of non-profit organizations: | |||
The book became an immediate bestseller, but also prompted a backlash from General Motors (GM), which ]. GM tapped Nader's phone in an attempt to obtain salacious information and, when that failed, GM hired prostitutes in an attempt to catch him in a compromising situation.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/November-December-2005/scene_longhine_novdec05.msp |title=Ralph Nader's museum of tort law will include relics from famous lawsuits—if it ever gets built |date = December 2005|work=LegalAffairs.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 7, 2005 |work=Federal Highway Administration |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/safetyep.cfm |title=President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Federal Role in Highway Safety: Epilogue — The Changing Federal Role}}</ref> Nader, by then working as an unpaid consultant to ] ], reported to the senator that he suspected he was being followed. Ribicoff convened an inquiry that called GM CEO James Roche who admitted, when placed under oath, that the company had hired a private detective agency to investigate Nader. Nader sued GM for ], settling the case for $425,000 and using the proceeds to found the activist organization known as the Center for the Study of Responsive Law.<ref name="nation11"/> | |||
{| border="0" style="background:white" | |||
|- | |||
| | |||
* Citizen Advocacy Center | |||
* Citizens Utility Boards | |||
* Congress Accountability Project | |||
* Consumer Task Force For Automotive Issues | |||
* Corporate Accountability Research Project | |||
* Disability Rights Center | |||
* Equal Justice Foundation | |||
* Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights | |||
* Georgia Legal Watch | |||
* National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform | |||
* National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest | |||
* Pension Rights Center | |||
* PROD (truck safety) | |||
* Retired Professionals Action Group | |||
* The Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest | |||
* 1969: Center for the Study of Responsive Law | |||
* 1970s: ] | |||
* 1970: ] | |||
* 1970: ] | |||
* 1971: Aviation Consumer Action Project | |||
* 1972: Clean Water Action Project | |||
|| | |||
* 1972: Center for Women's Policy Studies | |||
* 1973: Capitol Hill News Service | |||
* 1980: '']'' (magazine covering multinational corporations) | |||
* 1982: Trial Lawyers for Public Justice | |||
* 1982: ] (encourage citizen activism and do investigative journalism) | |||
* 1983: Telecommunications Research and Action Center | |||
* 1983: National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest | |||
* 1989: ] (alumni public service) | |||
* 1993: ] (local change) | |||
* 1994: Resource Consumption Alliance (conserve trees) | |||
* 1995: Center for Insurance Research | |||
* 1995: ] | |||
* 1997?: Government Purchasing Project (encourage purchase of safe products) | |||
* 1998: Center for Justice and Democracy | |||
* 1998: Organization for Competitive Markets | |||
* 1998: American Antitrust Institute (ensure fair competition) | |||
* 1999?: Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest | |||
* 1999?: Commercial Alert (protect family, community, and democracy from corporations) | |||
* 2000: Congressional Accountability Project (fight corruption in Congress) | |||
* 2001: Citizen Works (promote NGO cooperation, build grassroots support, and start new groups) | |||
* 2001: ] (hold rallies to educate and empower citizens) | |||
|| | |||
|} | |||
A year following the publication of ''Unsafe at Any Speed'', Congress unanimously enacted the ]. ] ] said the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was brought about by the "crusading spirit of one individual who believed he could do something: Ralph Nader".<ref>{{cite web |title=Congress Acts on Traffic and Auto Safety |publisher=] |work=CQ Almanac |year=1966 |pages=266–268 |url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal66-1301349 |access-date=April 27, 2016 |quote=Breaking into the traffic safety inertia was the publication in November 1965 of ''Unsafe At Any Speed,'' a book written by Ralph Nader a 32-year-old Connecticut lawyer who had served as a consultant for the Department of Labor and a Senate subcommittee in 1964–65. House Speaker John W. McCormack (D Mass.) Oct. 21, 1966, credited the final outcome of the traffic safety bill to the 'crusading spirit of one individual who believed he could do something: Ralph Nader'.}}</ref> | |||
== Presidential campaigns == | |||
=== Third-party votes controversy === | |||
In the ], ] defeated ] by 537 votes. Nader received 97,421 votes. In fact, all seven of the other third-party candidates on the ballot in Florida each received more than 537 votes. | |||
==="Nader's Raiders", Public Citizen and Center for Auto Safety=== | |||
The claim is that this was Nader's "greatest impact" on the election. Nader himself, both in his book '']'', and on his website, states: "In the year 2000, exit polls reported that 25% of my voters would have voted for Bush, 38% would have voted for Gore and the rest would not have voted at all."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.votenader.org/why_ralph/index.php?cid=14 |title=Dear Conservatives Upset With the Policies of the Bush Administration |work=Nader for President 2004}}</ref> When asked about claims of being a spoiler, Nader typically points to the ] that halted a Florida recount, Gore's loss in his home state of Tennessee, and the "quarter million Democrats who voted for Bush in Florida."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121218925042534249.html |work=Wall Street Journal |title=Interview: Ralph Nader}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=Grist |title=Nader on the Record |url=http://www.grist.org/feature/2008/03/19/nader/ |date=2008-03-19}}</ref> A study in 2002 by the ] found no correlation between votes for Nader and votes for Gore (i.e., more votes for Nader did not correlate to fewer votes for Gore and vice versa).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prorev.com/green2000.htm |title=Poll Analysis: Nader not responsible for Gore's loss}}</ref> An analysis conducted by Harvard Professor B.C. Burden in 2005 showed Nader did affect Gore's chances, but that | |||
In 1968, Nader recruited seven volunteer law students, dubbed "Nader's Raiders" by the Washington press corps, to evaluate the efficacy and operation of the ] (FTC). The group's ensuing report, which criticized the body as "ineffective" and "passive" led to an ] investigation of the FTC. Based on the results of that second study, ] revitalized the agency and sent it on a path of vigorous consumer protection and antitrust enforcement for the rest of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://muse.jhu.edu | title=The Little Old Lady Has Teeth: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Advertising Industry, 1970–1973 |publisher=Advertising & Society Review 12.4| author=Niesen, Molly |access-date=July 19, 2012}}</ref> | |||
<blockquote>"Contrary to Democrats’ complaints, Nader was not intentionally trying to throw the election. A spoiler strategy would have caused him to focus disproportionately on the most competitive states and markets with the hopes of being a keyplayer in the outcome. There is no evidence that his appearances responded to closeness. He did, apparently, pursue voter support, however, in a quest to receive 5% of the popular vote."<ref>{{Citation | |||
| last = Burden | |||
| first = B. C. | |||
| author-link = B. C. Burden | |||
| title = Ralph Nader's Campaign Strategy | |||
| journal = American Politics Research | |||
| volume = | |||
| issue = | |||
| pages = 673-699 | |||
| date = September | |||
| year = 2005 | |||
| url = https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/bcburden/web/burden2005.pdf}} | |||
</ref> </blockquote> | |||
Nader's Raiders became involved in such issues as nuclear safety, international trade, regulation of insecticides, meat processing, pension reform, land use, and banking.<ref name="britannica.com"/> | |||
When asked by MSNBC's ] about the possibility of preventing a Democratic victory in 2008, Nader responded, "Not a chance. If the Democrats can’t landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, and emerge in a different form."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/nader-to-run-again/ |title=Nader to Run Again |work=The Caucus - New York Times Blog |date=2008-02-24}}</ref> | |||
Following the publication of the report, Nader founded the watchdog group ] in 1971 to engage in public interest lobbying and activism on issues of consumer rights.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 2, 1971 |title=NADER FORMS UNIT TO SEEK DONATIONS |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/02/archives/nader-forms-unit-to-seek-donations.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He also served on its board of directors until 1980.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 2, 1980 |title=Nader Resigns as Chief Of Public Citizen Inc. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/02/archives/nader-resigns-as-chief-of-public-citizen-inc.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
=== Presidential campaign history === | |||
{{main|Ralph Nader's presidential campaigns|Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2004|Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2008}} | |||
===1970s–1990s=== | |||
;1972 | |||
] and U.S. president ] in 1974.]] | |||
:"Draft Nader" effort had no ballot line to offer, nor did Nader authorize his name to appear on any ballot until 1992. | |||
;1990 | |||
:Nader considered launching a third party around issues of citizen empowerment and consumer rights. He suggested a serious third party could address needs such as campaign-finance reform, worker and ] rights, government-sanctioned watchdog groups to oversee banks and insurance agencies, and class-action lawsuit reforms. | |||
;1992 | |||
:Nader stood in as a ] for "none of the above" in both the 1992 ]<ref> February 18, 1992</ref> and received 3,054 of the 170,333 Democratic votes and 3,258 of the 177,970 Republican votes cast.<ref></ref> He was also a candidate in the 1992 Massachusetts Democratic Primary, where he appeared at the top of the ballot. | |||
] | |||
;1996 | |||
By the early 1970s Nader had established himself as a household name. In a critical memo written by ] to the ], Powell warned business representatives that Nader "has become a legend in his own time and an idol of millions of Americans".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/democracy/the-lewis-powell-memo-a-corporate-blueprint-to-dominate-democracy/ |title=The Lewis Powell Memo – A Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy |work=] |access-date=January 1, 2014 }}</ref> | |||
:Nader was ]ed as a candidate for ] on the ] ticket during the ]. He was not formally nominated by the ], which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some areas, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). | |||
;2000 | |||
:In the 2006 documentary '']'', Nader describes how, during the second ], he found that he was unable to get the views of his public interest groups heard in Washington, even by then President Clinton's administration. Nader cites this as one of the primary reasons that he decided again to actively run in the ] election as candidate of the ], which had been formed in the wake of his 1996 campaign. | |||
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the ], a progressive split-off from the ]. Chief among his advocates was author ], who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in '']'' magazine in 1971.<ref name="The Best Man/'72">{{cite web |author-link=Gore Vidal |last=Vidal |first=Gore |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/gore-vidal-archive/best-man-1972 |title=The Best Man/'72 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105221536/http://www.esquire.com/features/gore-vidal-archive/best-man-1972 |archive-date=January 5, 2010 |work=] |date=May 13, 2008 }}</ref> Nader declined the advances.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite magazine |first=Peter |last=Barnes |title=Toward '72 and Beyond: Starting a Fourth Party |magazine=The New Republic |issue=July 24–31, 1971 |pages=9–21 }}</ref><ref name="Justin Martin 2002">{{cite book |first=Justin |last=Martin |title=Nader: Crusader, Spoiler, Icon |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Perseus Publishing |year=2002 |isbn=0-7382-0563-X}}</ref> | |||
:In October 2000, at the largest Super Rally of his campaign,<ref></ref> held in New York City's Madison Square Garden, 15,000 people paid $20 each<ref></ref> to hear Mr. Nader speak. Nader's campaign rejected both parties as institutions dominated by corporate interests, stating that ] and ] were "]." The campaign also had some prominent union help: The ] and the ] endorsed his candidacy and campaigned for him.<ref></ref> | |||
In 1973, Ralph Nader was plaintiff in the case against acting attorney general ], who under orders of President ] had fired special prosecutor ] in the so-called ], an action that was ultimately ruled illegal by federal judge ].<ref>''Nader v. Bork'', 366 F. Supp. 104 (D.D.C. 1973)</ref> | |||
:In 2000, Nader received 2,883,105 votes, for 2.74 percent of the popular vote,<ref></ref> missing the 5 percent needed to qualify the Green Party for federally distributed public funding in the next election, yet qualifying the Greens for ballot status in many new states. | |||
In 1974, he received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national|title=Jefferson Awards FoundationNational - Jefferson Awards Foundation|work=Jefferson Awards Foundation|access-date=January 15, 2016|archive-date=November 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124043935/http://jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national}}</ref> | |||
:Nader's votes in ] and ] vastly exceeded the difference in votes between Gore and Bush, as did the votes of all alternative candidates.<ref></ref> Exit polls showed the state staying close, and within the margin of error without Nader<ref></ref> as national exit polls showed Nader's supporters choose Gore over Bush by a large margin<ref></ref> well outside the margin of error. Winning either state would have given Gore the presidency, and while critics claim this shows Nader tipped the election to Bush, Nader has called that claim "a mantra — an assumption without data."<ref></ref> ] at first argued that Florida was so close that votes for any of seven other candidates could also have switched the results,<ref></ref> but in 2004 joined the view that Nader had helped make Bush president.<ref></ref><ref></ref> Other Nader supporters argued that Gore was primarily responsible for his own loss.<ref></ref> But ], perhaps Nader's most persistent critic, has regarded such arguments as beside the point: "One person in the world could have prevented Bush's election with his own words on the Election Day 2000."<ref></ref> ''Nation'' columnist Alexander Cockburn cited Gore's failure to win over progressive voters in Florida who chose Nader, and congratulated those voters: "Who would have thought the Sunshine State had that many progressives in it, with steel in their spine and the spunk to throw Eric Alterman's columns into the trash can?"<ref>Alexander Cockburn. ''The Nation.''November 9, 2000.</ref> Nader's actual influence on the 2000 election is the subject of considerable discussion, and there is no consensus on Nader's impact on the outcome.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> Still others argued that even if Nader's constituents could have made the swing difference between Gore and Bush, the votes Nader garnered were not from the Democrats, but from Democrats, Republicans, and discouraged voters who would not have voted otherwise. {{Fact|date=September 2008}} | |||
In the 1970s, Nader turned his attention to environmental activism, becoming a key leader in the ], described by one observer as the "titular head of opposition to nuclear energy".<ref>{{cite report |title=Nuclear Power in an Age of Uncertainty |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment |id=OTA-E-216 |date=February 1984 |page=228 |url=https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1984/8421/8421.PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | jstor=689009 | title=Public Opposition to Nuclear Energy: Retrospect and Prospect | last1=Kasperson | first1=Roger E. | last2=Berk | first2=Gerald | last3=Pijawka | first3=David | last4=Sharaf | first4=Alan B. | last5=Wood | first5=James | journal=Science, Technology, & Human Values | year=1980 | volume=5 | issue=31 | pages=11–23 | doi=10.1177/016224398000500203 | s2cid=145616169 | issn=0162-2439}}</ref> The ] was formed by Nader in 1974 as a national ] umbrella group, growing to become the largest national ], with several hundred local affiliates and an estimated 200,000 supporters.<ref>{{cite book |first=Steve |last=Cohn |date=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQu_YotSU94C&pg=PA133 |title=Too cheap to meter: an economic and philosophical analysis of the nuclear dream |publisher=SUNY Press |pages=133–134 |isbn=978-0-7914-3389-8 }}</ref> The organization's main efforts were directed at lobbying activities and providing local groups with scientific and other resources to campaign against nuclear power.<ref name=wr>Wolfgang Rudig (1990). ''Anti-nuclear Movements: A World Survey of Opposition to Nuclear Energy'', Longman, p. 402.</ref><ref name="Justin Martin 2002"/>{{rp|172–179}} | |||
;2004 | |||
] | |||
:Nader announced on December 24, 2003 that he would not seek the Green Party's nomination for president in 2004; however, he did not rule out running as an ]. | |||
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, through his ongoing work with Public Citizen, Nader continued to be involved in issues of consumer rights and public accountability. His work testifying before Congress, drafting model legislation, and organizing citizen letter-writing and protest efforts, earned him direct credit for the enactment of the ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCraw |first=David E. |title=The "Freedom From Information" Act: A Look Back at Nader, FOIA, and What Went Wrong |url=https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/the-freedom-from-information-act-a-look-back |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=www.yalelawjournal.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Michael |title=Celebrating THE Clean Water Champion |url=https://cleanwater.org/2018/02/08/celebrating-clean-water-champion |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=Clean Water Action |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=W. N. N. |date=December 1, 2021 |title='An Unheard of Dream': Ralph Nader's 50 Years in Whistleblowing |url=https://whistleblowersblog.org/features/an-unheard-of-dream-ralph-naders-50-years-in-whistleblowing/ |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=Whistleblower Network News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How Ralph Nader defined consumer rights |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/daily-videos/2015/12/how-ralph-nader-defined-consumer-rights |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=PBS Newshour Classroom |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In the late 1990s, Nader accused ] of being a monopoly and organized a conference featuring Microsoft's critics from the tech world.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Heilemann|first1=John|title=The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth|url=https://www.wired.com/2000/11/microsoft-7/|access-date=April 14, 2018|magazine=Wired|ref=Microsoft -Wired}}</ref> | |||
: '''Meeting with John Kerry''' — Ralph Nader and Democratic Candidate ] held a widely publicized meeting early in the 2004 Presidential campaign, which Nader described in ''An Unreasonable Man''. Nader said that John Kerry wanted to work to win Nader's support and the support of Nader's voters. Nader then provided more than 20 pages of issues that he felt were important and he "put them on the table" for John Kerry. According to Nader the issues covered topics ranging from environmental, labor, healthcare, tax reform, corporate crime, campaign finance reform and various consumer protection issues. | |||
In 1999, Nader was unsuccessfully approached by ] to appear in an advertisement. The firm offered Nader $25,000 to say "another shameless attempt by Nike to sell shoes" while holding Air 120 sneakers. After Nader turned down the offer, the corporation hired filmmaker ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Nader Nixes Nike $25K Run |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/05/13/names-38/07e9829a-e023-45dc-b170-ffce9b6b846c/ |access-date=December 8, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 13, 1999}}</ref> | |||
:Nader reported that he asked John Kerry to choose any three of the issues and highlight them in his campaign and if Kerry would do this, he would refrain from the race. Several months passed and Kerry failed to adopt any of Nader's issues as benchmarks of his campaign, so on February 22, 2004, Nader announced on NBC that he would indeed run for president as an independent, saying, "There's too much power and wealth in too few hands." | |||
=== Presidential campaigns === | |||
: '''Paying Nader not to run''' — Nader also reported in the documentary ''An Unreasonable Man'' that many wealthy Democratic donors offered to give money to his public interest groups if he declined to run; however, none of these groups would go a step further to guarantee that his issues would get a fair hearing in Washington. Nader replied, "why should I spend all of your money working on issues that are just going to run into a brick wall in Washington?" | |||
==== 1972 ==== | |||
: '''The campaign''' — Nader's 2004 campaign ran on a platform consistent with the Green Party's positions on major issues, such as opposition to the war in Iraq. Due to concerns about a possible ] in 2000, many Democrats urged Nader to abandon his 2004 candidacy. The Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, ], stated that Nader had a "distinguished career, fighting for working families," and that McAuliffe "would hate to see part of his legacy being that he got us eight years of George Bush." Nader received 463,653 votes, for 0.38% of the popular vote.<ref></ref> Nader replied to this, in filmed interviews for ''An Unreasonable Man'', by pointing out that, "Voting for a candidate of one's choice is a Constitutional right, and the Democrats who are asking me not to run are, without question, seeking to deny the Constitutional rights of voters who are, by law, otherwise free to choose to vote for me." | |||
] | |||
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the ], a progressive split-off from the ] in 1972. Chief among his advocates was author ], who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in '']'' magazine in 1971.<ref name="The Best Man/'72"/> Psychologist ] organized a "draft Ralph Nader for President" campaign in Florida on the New Party's behalf.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coalition Party Opens Conference |newspaper=] |date=October 2, 1971 |pages=2A }}</ref> Nader declined their offer to run that year; the New Party ultimately joined with the ] in running ] in the ].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="Justin Martin 2002"/><ref>Gore Vidal. "The Best Man /'72: Ralph Nader Can Be President of the US." ''Esquire'', June 1971.</ref> Spock had hoped Nader in particular would run, getting "some of the loudest applause of the evening" when mentioning him at the ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Spock Shares Youths' Views |author=Smithey, Waylon |newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News |date=September 23, 1971 |page=2 }}</ref> Spock went on to try to recruit Nader for the party among over 100 others, and indicated he would be "delighted" to be replaced by any of them even after he accepted the nomination himself.<ref>{{cite news |title=People's Party Nominates Dr. Spock for President |newspaper=] |date=November 29, 1971 |pages=B5 }}</ref> Nader received one vote for the vice-presidential nomination at the ].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=59902&ShowAllCand=Y | title=Our Campaigns - US Vice President - D Convention Race - Jul 10, 1972 }}</ref> | |||
==== 1980 ==== | |||
:In the 2004 campaign, Democrats such as ] and ] asked that Nader return money donated to his campaign by Republicans who were well-known Bush supporters, such as billionaire ].<ref name="SFGOPmoney">{{cite news | url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/10/MNG9J7JMDK1.DTL | title= Nader defends GOP Cash | date= July 10, 2004 | accessdate= 2008-07-06 | work= Carla Marinucci | publisher= ] }}</ref><ref name="AMNader Republicans">{{cite news | url= http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200409/littlefield2 | title= Nader Republicans | date= September 2004 | accessdate= 2008-07-06 | work= Nathan Littlefield | publisher= ] }}</ref> Nader's reaction to the request was to refuse to return any donations and he charged that the Democrats were attempting to smear him.<ref name="SFGOPmoney" /> Nader's vice-presidential running mate, ], supported the return of the money if it could be proved that "the aim of the wealthy GOP donors was to peel votes from Kerry."<ref name="SFGOPmoney" /> According to the ], Nader defended his keeping of the donations by saying that wealthy contributors "are human beings too."<ref name="SFGOPmoney" /> | |||
In the ], the progressive-oriented ] approached Nader with the prospect of running as their Presidential Nominee. Nader declined their offer stating "I will never run for president".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://time.com/4584919/barry-commoner-shocking-ad/|title = The Shocking Campaign Ad That Put a Third-Party Candidate on the Political Map}}</ref> The party ended up nominating biologist ] instead.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vinciguerra |first=Thomas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/science/earth/19conv.html |title=A Conversation with Barry Commoner: At 90, an Environmentalist From the '70s Still Has Hope |work=The New York Times |date=June 19, 2007 |access-date=October 2, 2012}}</ref> | |||
==== 1992 ==== | |||
;2008 | |||
] | |||
{{Future election candidate|section|Nader, Ralph}} | |||
Nader stood in as a ] for "none of the above" in both the 1992 ]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/18/us/the-1992-campaign-write-in-in-nader-s-campaign-white-house-isn-t-the-goal.html |title=The 1992 Campaign: Write-In; In Nader's Campaign, White House Isn't the Goal |work=] |date=February 18, 1992 }}</ref> and received 3,054 of the 170,333 Democratic votes and 3,258 of the 177,970 Republican votes cast.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sos.nh.gov/presprim1992/index.htm |title=1992 Presidential Primary |publisher=Sos.nh.gov |date=February 18, 1992 |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716000840/http://www.sos.nh.gov/presprim1992/index.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2009 }}</ref> He was also a candidate in the 1992 Massachusetts Democratic Primary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1992 President Democratic Primary Statewide (showing only Dukes County) |url=https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/106310/filter_by_county:Dukes |access-date=July 18, 2023 |website=PD43+ |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==== 1996 ==== | |||
{{Main|Ralph Nader 1996 presidential campaign}} | |||
] | |||
Nader was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the ] ticket during the ]. He was not formally nominated by the ], which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). However, many activists in the Green Party USA worked actively to campaign for Nader that year. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politics1.com/nader04.htm |title=Politics1.com |publisher=Politics1.com |date=February 27, 1934 |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080316082743/http://politics1.com/nader04.htm |archive-date = March 16, 2008}}</ref> garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1996 |title=Uselectionatlas.org |publisher=Uselectionatlas.org |access-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref> although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=B. Drummond Ayres |date=August 20, 1996 |title=Ralph Nader Is Nominated for President, but Vows He Will Ignore His Party's Platform |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/20/us/ralph-nader-nominated-for-president-but-vows-he-will-ignore-his-party-s-platform.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for ] reporting requirements.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 23, 1996 |title=Candidate Nader runs quixotic campaign Unconventional effort has minimal budget and low expectations|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-09-23-1996267043-story.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |website=Baltimore Sun}}</ref> The unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} | |||
Nader received some criticism from ] supporters for calling gay rights "]al politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Nader.html |title=1.75 cheers for Ralph |work=Left Business Observer |date=October 1996 |access-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref> In July 2004, however, he publicly stated that he supported ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ralph_Nader_Civil_Rights.htm |title=On The Issues|publisher=Votenader.org |date=September 9, 2018|access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> | |||
His 1996 running mates included: Anne Goeke (nine states), Deborah Howes (Oregon), ] (New York), Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and ] (California and Texas).<ref>Gaard, Greta (May 11, 1998). ''Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens'', ]. page 240.</ref> | |||
==== 2000 ==== | |||
{{Main|Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign}} | |||
In the 2006 documentary '']'', Nader described how he was unable to get the views of his public-interest groups heard in Washington, even by the ]. Nader cited this as one of the primary reasons why he decided to actively run in the ] election as candidate of the ], which had been formed in the wake of his 1996 campaign.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} | |||
] speaking, protest his exclusion from the televised debates in 2000]] | |||
In June 2000, The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) organized the national nominating convention that took place in Denver, Colorado, at which Green Party delegates nominated Ralph Nader and ] to be their party's candidates for president and vice president.<ref>{{cite web |work=Common Dreams Progressive Newswire |date=July 11, 2001 |url=http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0710-02.htm |title=Green Meeting Will Establish Greens as a National Party |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208092841/http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0710-02.htm |archive-date=December 8, 2013 |access-date=August 28, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Susan |work=Synthesis/Regeneration |volume=26 |issue=Fall 2001 |url=http://www.greens.org/s-r/26/26-17.html |title=The G/GPUSA Congress and the ASGP Conference: Authentic Grassroots Democracy vs. Packaged Public Relations |access-date=August 28, 2009 }}</ref> | |||
On July 9, the ] nominated Nader, giving him ballot access in the state.<ref>Ballot Access News (August 1, 2000). {{cite web|url=http://ballot-access.org/2000/0801.html |title=Vermont Progressives Nominate Nader |access-date=October 22, 2002 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022183249/http://ballot-access.org/2000/0801.html |archive-date=October 22, 2002 }}</ref> On August 12, the ] of South Carolina chose Ralph Nader as its presidential nominee, giving him a ballot line in the state.<ref name="United Citizens Party Picks Nader">(2000-08-01) {{cite web|url=http://ballot-access.org/2000/0901.html |title=United Citizens Party Picks Nader |access-date=August 20, 2002 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020820004727/http://ballot-access.org/2000/0901.html |archive-date=August 20, 2002 }}, Ballot Access News.</ref> | |||
In October 2000, at the largest Super Rally of his campaign,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/100200-02.htm |title=Nader 'Super Rally' Draws 12,000 To Boston's FleetCenter |publisher=Commondreams.org |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418060352/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/100200-02.htm |archive-date=April 18, 2010 }}</ref> held in New York City's ], 15,000 people paid $20 each<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/14/nader.ap/index.html |work=CNN |title=Loyal Nader fans pack Madison Square Garden |date=October 14, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202133001/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/14/nader.ap/index.html |archive-date=December 2, 2008 }}</ref> to hear Nader speak. Nader's campaign rejected both parties as institutions dominated by corporate interests, stating that ] and ] were "]". A long list of notable celebrities spoke and performed at the event including ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The campaign also had some prominent union help: The ] and the ] endorsed his candidacy and campaigned for him.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.socialistworker.org/2008-1/659/659_07_Nader.shtml |title= Nader, the Greens and 2008 |publisher= Socialistworker.org |date= January 25, 2008 |access-date= May 24, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081204175825/http://www.socialistworker.org/2008-1/659/659_07_Nader.shtml |archive-date= December 4, 2008 }}</ref> | |||
Nader and LaDuke received 2,883,105 votes, for 2.74 percent of the popular vote (third place overall),<ref>{{cite web |url= http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2000 |title= 2000 Presidential General Election Results |author= David Leip |access-date= January 15, 2016}}</ref> missing the 5 percent needed to qualify the Green Party for federally distributed public funding in the next election, yet qualifying the party for ballot status in many states.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} | |||
Nader often openly expressed his hope for Bush's victory over Gore, saying it "would mobilize us",<ref name="Calvo-2000">{{cite news|last1=Calvo|first1=Dana|title=Nader Refuses to Cease Fire on Gore, Bush |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-21-me-40021-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=October 21, 2000 |access-date=September 19, 2016}}</ref> and that environmental and consumer regulatory agencies would fare better under Bush than Gore.<ref name="Meet the Press">{{cite web|title=Transcript: Ralph Nader on 'Meet The Press'|url=http://commondreams.org/headlines/050800-03.htm|website=Common Dreams|date=August 6, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112182912/http://commondreams.org/headlines/050800-03.htm|archive-date=November 12, 2016}}</ref> When asked which of the two he'd vote for if forced, Nader answered "Bush ... If you want the parties to diverge from one another, have Bush win."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Heinrichs|first1=Jay|title=Will Ralph Nader become Al Gore's worst nightmare? |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1837851/ralph-nader-2000-campaign-interview|website=Outside Magazine|date=August 1, 2000}}</ref> As to whether he would feel regret if he caused Gore's defeat, Nader replied "I would not—not at all. I'd rather have a provocateur than an anesthetizer in the White House."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Poundstone|first1=William|title=Gaming the Vote: Why Elections Aren't Fair (and What We Can Do About It) |publisher=Macmillan|url=https://archive.org/details/gamingvotewhyele00poun|url-access=registration|page=|date=February 17, 2009|isbn=978-0-8090-4892-2}}</ref> On another occasion, Nader answered this question with: "No, not at all ... There may be a cold shower for four years that would help the Democratic Party ... It doesn't matter who is in the White House."<ref name="Meet the Press" /> | |||
===== Spoiler controversy ===== | |||
In the ], George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes. Nader received {{formatnum:97421}} votes, which led to claims that he was responsible for Gore's defeat. Nader disputes that he helped Bush win.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.votenader.org/why_ralph/index.php?cid=14 |title=Dear Conservatives Upset With the Policies of the Bush Administration |work=Nader for President 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040702033113/http://www.votenader.org/why_ralph/index.php?cid=14 |archive-date=July 2, 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121218925042534249 |work=] |title=Interview: Ralph Nader | first=Tunku | last=Varadarajan | date=May 31, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=Grist |title=Nader on the Record |url=http://www.grist.org/feature/2008/03/19/nader/ |date=March 19, 2008}}</ref> A 2003 study found that Nader's candidacy was a critical factor in Bush's victory.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Magee |first1=Christopher S. P. |title=Third-Party Candidates and the 2000 Presidential Election |journal=Social Science Quarterly |date=September 2003 |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=574–595 |doi=10.1111/1540-6237.8403006 }}</ref> A 2004 study found that Nader voters had the profile of likely voters with a preference for Democratic candidates.<ref name="Southwell-2004">{{cite journal |last1=Southwell |first1=Priscilla L |title=Nader voters in the 2000 Presidential Election: what would they have done without him? |journal=The Social Science Journal |date=September 1, 2004 |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=423–431 |doi=10.1016/j.soscij.2004.04.009 |s2cid=144552793 }}</ref> They were therefore likely to vote for Gore over Bush in the absence of Nader's candidacy.<ref name="Southwell-2004" /> | |||
A study by Harvard Professor B.C. Burden in 2005 showed Nader did "play a pivotal role in determining who would become president following the 2000 election", but that: | |||
{{blockquote|Contrary to Democrats' complaints, Nader was not intentionally trying to throw the election. A spoiler strategy would have caused him to focus disproportionately on the most competitive states and markets with the hopes of being a key player in the outcome. There is no evidence that his appearances responded to closeness. He did, apparently, pursue voter support, however, in a quest to receive 5% of the popular vote.<ref name="Burden 673–699">{{Cite journal|last=Burden |first=B. C. |author-link=Barry Burden |title=Ralph Nader's Campaign Strategy |journal=American Politics Research |pages=673–699 |date=September 2005 |url=https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/bcburden/web/burden2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713031620/https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/bcburden/web/burden2005.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-13 }}</ref>}} | |||
However, ] of '']'' and '']'' notes that Nader did indeed focus on swing states disproportionately during the waning days of the campaign, and by doing so jeopardized his own chances of achieving the 5% of the vote he was aiming for. | |||
{{blockquote|Then there was the debate within the Nader campaign over where to travel in the waning days of the campaign. Some Nader advisers urged him to spend his time in uncontested states such as New York and California. These states – where liberals and leftists could entertain the thought of voting Nader without fear of aiding Bush – offered the richest harvest of potential votes. But, Martin writes, Nader – who emerges from this account as the house radical of his own campaign – insisted on spending the final days of the campaign on a whirlwind tour of battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Florida. In other words, he chose to go where the votes were scarcest, jeopardizing his own chances of winning 5 percent of the vote, which he needed to gain federal funds in 2004.<ref name="prospect1">{{cite web |url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=books_in_review_110402 |title=Books in Review: | The American Prospect |publisher=Prospect.org |access-date=2011-01-01 |archive-date=December 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222070928/http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=books_in_review_110402 }}</ref>}} | |||
When Nader, in a letter to environmentalists, attacked Gore for "his role as broker of environmental voters for corporate cash," and "the prototype for the bankable, Green corporate politician," and what he called a string of broken promises to the ], ] president ] sent an open letter to Nader, dated October 27, 2000, defending Al Gore's environmental record and calling Nader's strategy "irresponsible."<ref>{{cite web |work=knowthecandidates.org |url=http://www.knowthecandidates.org/ktc/NaderSierraC.htm#sierraclubnader |title=The Nader Debate with the Sierra Club about Gore and the Environment }}</ref> He wrote: | |||
{{blockquote|You have also broken your word to your followers who signed the petitions that got you on the ballot in many states. You pledged you would not campaign as a spoiler and would avoid the swing states. Your recent campaign rhetoric and campaign schedule make it clear that you have broken this pledge ... Please accept that I, and the overwhelming majority of the environmental movement in this country, genuinely believe that your strategy is flawed, dangerous and reckless.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pope |first=Carl |date=October 27, 2000 |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/102700-03.htm |title=Ralph Nader Attack On Environmentalists Who Are Supporting Vice-President Gore |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112182906/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/102700-03.htm |archive-date=2016-11-12 |work=CommonDreams.org }}</ref>}} | |||
==== 2004 ==== | |||
{{Main|Ralph Nader 2004 presidential campaign}} | |||
] in February 2004]] | |||
Nader announced on December 23, 2003, that he would not seek the Green Party's nomination for president in 2004, but did not rule out running as an ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levine |first1=Adam |title=Green Party: Nader mulling independent run |url=https://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/23/elec04.prez.nader/ |website=cnn.com |publisher=Cable News Network LP, LLLP. |access-date=November 26, 2023}}</ref> | |||
Ralph Nader and Democratic candidate ] held a widely publicized meeting early in the 2004 presidential campaign. Nader said that John Kerry wanted to work to win Nader's support and the support of Nader's voters, prompting Nader to provide Kerry more than 20 pages of issues that he felt were important. According to Nader, he asked John Kerry to choose any three of the issues and highlight them in his campaign; should Kerry meet these conditions Nader would not contest the election. On February 22, 2004, having not heard back from Kerry, Nader announced that he would run for president as an independent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nader rejects spoiler label in new presidential bid |url=https://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/23/elec04.prez.nader/ |website=cnn.com |publisher=Cable News Network LP, LLLP. |access-date=November 26, 2023}}</ref> | |||
Due to concerns about a possible ], many Democrats urged Nader to abandon his 2004 candidacy. ] stated that Nader had a "distinguished career, fighting for working families", and that McAuliffe "would hate to see part of his legacy being that he got us eight years of George Bush". ], Nader's national campaign manager in 2000 and 2004, later alleged that McAuliffe offered to pay off Nader if he would not campaign in certain states, an allegation confirmed by Nader and undisputed by McAuliffe.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803823.html |title=Nader: McAuliffe Offered Money To Avoid Key States in '04 Race |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= May 29, 2009|access-date=May 24, 2010 | first1=Anita | last1=Kumar | first2=Rosalind S. | last2=Helderman}}</ref> | |||
Nader received 463,655 votes, for 0.38 percent of the popular vote, placing him in third place overall.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2004&minper=0&f=0&off=0&elect=0 |work=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |title=2004 Presidential General Election Results |access-date=February 24, 2009 }}</ref> | |||
==== 2008 ==== | |||
{{Main|Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2008}} | {{Main|Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2008}} | ||
] | |||
{{wikinewspar2|Ralph Nader enters US presidential race as independent|Ralph Nader calls out Democrats for financial bailout}} | |||
:In February 2007, Nader criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton as "a panderer and a flatterer." Asked on '']'' news program if he would run in 2008, Nader replied, "It's really too early to say...."<ref name="NewsMax"> ], February 5, 2007.</ref> Asked during a radio appearance to describe the former First Lady, Nader said, "Flatters, panders, coasting, front-runner, looking for a coronation ... She has no political fortitude."<ref> Feb. 16, 2007</ref> Some Greens started a campaign to draft Nader as their party's 2008 presidential candidate.<ref></ref> | |||
] | |||
After some consideration, Nader announced on Februrary 24, 2008, that he would run for President as an independent. His vice-presidential candidate is ].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cbc.ca/world/usvotes/story/2008/02/28/nader-ticket.html |title= Nader names running mate in presidential bid |accessdate=2008-10-30 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= ] |work= |publisher= ]}}</ref> | |||
In February 2007, Nader criticized Democratic front-runner ] as "a panderer and a flatterer," later describing her as someone who had "no political fortitude."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nichols |first1=John |title=An Unreasonable Man May Run Again |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/unreasonable-man-may-run-again/ |date=January 31, 2008 }}</ref> During a February 2008 appearance on '']'', Nader announced his intention to run for president as an independent, later naming ] as his running-mate.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nader-names-running-mate-in-presidential-bid-1.704680 |title= Nader names running mate in presidential bid |access-date=October 30, 2008 |date= February 28, 2008 |publisher= ]}}</ref> Nader was endorsed by ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The Nader campaign raised $4.3 million in campaign funds, primarily from small, individual donations. Nader/Gonzalez earned 738,475 votes and a third-place finish in the ].<ref name="FEC">{{cite web |url= http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008presgeresults.pdf |title= 2008 Official Presidential General Election Results |access-date=February 3, 2009 |date= November 4, 2008 |publisher= ]}}</ref> | |||
== Personal finances == | |||
{{clear}} | |||
According to the mandatory fiscal disclosure report that he filed with the ] in 2000, he then owned more than $3 million worth of stocks and mutual fund shares; his single largest holding was more than $1 million worth of stock in ] He also held more than $2 million in two money market funds. Nader owned no car or real estate in 2000, and said he lived on ]25,000 a year, giving most of his stock earnings to many of the over four dozen non-profit organizations he had founded.<ref></ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php?txtName=nader |title= Ralph Nader: Personal Finances |accessdate=2008-10-28 |work= |publisher= ] |date= }}</ref> | |||
<div style="overflow:auto;"> | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|- | |||
! colspan=2 class="unsortable"| Campaign | |||
! style="width:150px;" class="unsortable" | Running mate | |||
! style="width:100px;"data-sort-type="date" class="unsortable"| Ballot access | |||
! style="width:50px;" | Funds raised | |||
! style="width:50px;" class="unsortable"| Popular vote | |||
! style="width:315px;" class="unsortable"| Party affiliation | |||
---- Co-nominators | |||
! style="width:315px;" class="unsortable"| Media and organizational endorsers | |||
! style="width:315px;" class="unsortable"| Notable endorsers | |||
|- | |||
|data-sort-value="2008"|]<br /><big>''']'''</big> | |||
| style="background:#0f0;"| | |||
|]<br />] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|$8.4 million | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|2,882,995<br /> (2.74%) | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|] | |||
---- ]<br/> | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|* ]<br /> * ]<br /> * ]<br /> * '']''<br /> * '']''<br /> * '']''<br /> * '']'' | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
|- | |||
|data-sort-value="2004"|<!--]--><br /><big>''']'''</big> | |||
| style="background:#fff;"| | |||
|]<br />] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|<!-- Deleted image removed: ] --> | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|$4.6 million | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|463,655 <br /> (0.38%) | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|unaffiliated | |||
---- ]<br /> ]<br/>] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"| | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|], ], ], ], ] | |||
|- | |||
|data-sort-value="2008"|]<br /><big>''']'''</big> | |||
| style="background:#fff;"| | |||
|]<br />] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|$4.3 million<ref>{{cite web|title=Ralph Nader Candidate Summary, 2008 Cycle|url=https://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00000086|website=opensecrets.org|publisher=]|access-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref> | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|738,475 | |||
(0.56%) | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|unaffiliated | |||
---- | |||
]<br/>] <br /> ] <br /> ] <br /> ] | |||
| data-sort-value="0"| | |||
| data-sort-value="0"|], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
|}</div> | |||
===Congressional Accountability Project=== | |||
In 2000, ''The New York Times'' reported that Nader's secretiveness had "spawned a host of dark theories among his critics,"<ref>James Dao. ''The New York Times'', April 15, 2000,</ref> among them a 1990 report in ''Forbes'' magazine that reported the claim of neighbors that Nader has been living in a $1.5 million townhouse for almost 20 years. <ref name="autogenerated1"></ref> Nader told the ''Times'' the town house he has been spotted entering is his sister's, which ''Forbes'' confirmed.<ref>James Dao. ''The New York Times'', April 15, 2000.</ref><ref name="autogenerated1" /> | |||
Nader founded the ] to "oppose corruption in the U. S. Congress."<ref>per 1993-2007 director Gary Ruskin's formal wording: "Its mission is to ... {{cite web|date=February 28, 2011|title=Application for Member, Delegation to Green Party of the United States|url=http://www.cagreens.org/delegates/election/2011-04/gary_ruskin.htm}}</ref> | |||
== |
===Later activities=== | ||
Nader condemned the ].<ref>{{cite news |last=McMaster |first=Nick |date=March 21, 2011 |url=https://www.newser.com/story/114620/barack-obama-is-a-war-criminal-ralph-nader-says.html |title=Ralph Nader: Impeach 'War Criminal' Obama – If Bush, Cheney Were Criminals, Obama Is Too |work=] |access-date=April 23, 2011 }}</ref> He branded President ] as a "war criminal"<ref name="Left's view on Libya">{{cite news |last=Avlon |first=John P. |date=March 23, 2011 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/23/avlon.left.obama/ |title=Left's View on Libya: Is This Bush's Third Term? |work=] |access-date=April 23, 2011 }}</ref> and called for his ].<ref name="A noble fight in Libya">{{cite web |author-link=Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) |last=O'Reilly |first=Bill |date=March 27, 2011 |url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/2011_0327a_noble_fight_in_libya/srvc=home&position=also |title=A Noble Fight in Libya |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430101748/http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/2011_0327a_noble_fight_in_libya/srvc%3Dhome%26position%3Dalso |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |work=] |access-date=April 23, 2011 }}</ref> | |||
In June 2019, Nader, who lost his 24-year-old grandniece in the ],<ref name="MacGillis-2019">{{cite news |last1=MacGillis |first1=Alec |title=The Case Against Boeing |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/18/the-case-against-boeing |magazine=The New Yorker |date=November 8, 2019 }}</ref> claimed that the ] "must never fly again... it's not a matter of software. It's a matter of structural design defect: the plane's engines are too much for the traditional fuselage".<ref name="Nader-Boeing"/> Nader also called for ] top leaders to resign and said that the ] "has been in the pockets of the Boeing company for years".<ref name="Nader-Boeing">{{cite news |last1=Beene |first1=Ryan |title=Ralph Nader Says Boeing 737 Max Is Flawed and Should Never Fly Again |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-04/nader-says-boeing-737-max-is-flawed-and-should-never-fly-again |publisher=Bloomberg News |date= June 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bursztynsky |first=Jessica |title=Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says Boeing 737 Max should never fly again |work=CNBC |date=July 23, 2019 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/23/ralph-nader-says-boeing-737-max-should-never-fly-again.html }}</ref> | |||
In 1999 an NYU panel of eminent journalists ranked Nader's book '']'' 38th among the top 100 pieces of journalism of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E3D6123CF932A35750C0A96F958260|title=MEDIA; Journalism's Greatest Hits: Two Lists of a Century's Top Stories|work=NY Times|date=1999-03-01|pages=2|first=Felicity|last=Barringer}}</ref> In 1990 Life Magazine,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6DD1431F932A1575AC0A966958260|title=Washington at Work; Eclipsed in the Reagan Decade, Ralph Nader Again Feels Glare of the Public|work=NY Times|date=1990-09-21|first=Jason|last=Deparle}}</ref> and again in 1999 Time Magazine,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apbspeakers.com/themes/DefaultView/SpeakerPages/Ralph%20Nader.aspx|work=The American Program Bureau|title=Ralph Nader}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1194028,00.html?iid=chix-sphere|title="A Triumph of the Newsmagazine's Craft"|first=James|last=Kelly|date=2006-05-15|work=Time.com|publisher=Time Inc.|quote=Nearly 100 Influentials were on hand that evening, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ralph Nader, Will Smith, George Lucas, Nobel laureate James Watson, Bill Belichick and Dr. Andrew Weil.}}</ref> named Nader one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century. In its December 2006 article on the "100 most influential Americans" in history, in which its ten invited historians voted Nader 96th, '']'' stated: "He made the cars we drive safer; thirty years later, he made ] the president."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200612/influentials|title=The Top 100: The Most Influential Figures in American History|work=Atlantic Monthly|month=December|year=2006|pages=62}}</ref> | |||
====D.C. Library Renaissance Project==== | |||
==Television appearances== | |||
In 2002, Nader founded the D.C. Library Renaissance Project, which has sought to halt the development of the ] in Washington, D.C., alleging that it "violated affordable housing guidelines, undervalued the land, and didn't conform to the city's Comprehensive Plan."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/376043/court-rules-against-ralph-nader-group-in-library-fight/ |first=Aaron |last=Wiener |title=Court Rules Against Ralph Nader Group in Library Fight |work=Washington City Paper |date=August 8, 2013 |access-date=October 8, 2013}}</ref> The legal obstacles presented by the Library Renaissance Project have cost the D.C. government over one million dollars in legal fees.<ref name="Washingtoncitypaper.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/44911/ralph-nader-and-dc-public-libraries |title=How Ralph Nader became D.C. libraries' biggest headache (and pissed off a whole neighborhood) |work=Washington City Paper |date=October 4, 2013 |access-date=October 13, 2013}}</ref> Nader has opposed the privatized development of D.C. libraries despite community support, citing a lack of oversight and competitive bidding process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/opposition-to-dc-public-private-land-deals-imperil-library-other-projects/2013/11/02/8b46ec04-3c44-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.html |title=Opposition to D.C. public-private land deals imperil library, other projects |newspaper=] |date= November 2, 2013|access-date=November 4, 2013 |first=Mike |last=DeBonis}}</ref> | |||
Ralph Nader appeared on ] in 1988. He was featured as "a person in your neighborhood." The song began "A consumer advocate is a person in your neighborhood." This was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as his profession as a consumer advocate was largely self-defined, and he was perhaps the only professional full-time consumer advocate at that time. This song compares him to a postman or a policeman, members of professions whom you may run into on a daily basis. This appearance on Sesame Street was particularly memorable because this was the only time that the grammar of the last line of the song "A person who you meet each day" was questioned and corrected in the show. Ralph Nader refused to sing the grammatically incorrect line, and so a compromise was reached, resulting in Ralph Nader singing the last line as a solo with the modified words: "A person ''whom'' you meet each day."<ref>David Borgenicht, Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets, and Songs, 1998 and 2002 reprint, ISBN 1-4028-9327-2</ref> | |||
He also hosted an episode of ]'s '']'' in 1977. | |||
====''Only the Super Rich Can Save Us''==== | |||
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Nader appeared on ] with ], ] with ], ]'s '']'', and ] with ].<ref>{{cite web | title = Nader on CNN, FOX, CNBC and PBS NewsHour Tuesday | url = http://www.votenader.org/blog/2008/10/13/nader-on-cnn-fox/ | publisher = Nader for President 2008 | date = 2008-10-13 | accessdate = 2008-10-23 }}</ref> He also appeared on comedy programs, including '']'', interviewed by ] in 2008. | |||
In 2009 Nader published his first work of fiction, '']''. Many of the characters were fictionalized versions of real-life persons including ] and ]. The book's principal villain, a "conservative evil genius" named Brovar Dortwist, represents ]. According to Norquist, Nader had called him prior to the book's publication and said he "wouldn't be too unhappy, because the character was principled".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Khatchadourian|first1=Raffi|title=NADER'S BLUEPRINT|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/28/naders-blueprint|access-date=August 2, 2016|magazine=]|date=September 28, 2009}}</ref> | |||
The novel met with mixed reviews with '']'' noting that the book "reads less like a novel ... than a dream journal" with a plot that victoriously concludes with "American society thoroughly Naderized", though '']'' called it "a powerful idea by the perfect person at a fortuitous time".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Long|first1=Rob|title=One Man's Utopia|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471504574440954001791002|access-date=August 2, 2016|work=]|date=September 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Heaps|first1=Toby|title=This way to the future|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/only-the-super-rich-can-save-us-by-ralph-nader/article4286647/|access-date=August 2, 2016|work=The Globe and Mail|date=September 24, 2016}}</ref> | |||
Nader is a member of the union ] and receives a union pension.{{fact|date= October 2008}} | |||
Nader also branched out into fiction with the ] collection ''Animal Envy'' in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In 'Animal Envy,' the Animals Speak for Themselves |url=https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/ralph-nader-animal-envy-animals-speak-for-themselves/ |access-date=July 18, 2023 |website=Earth Island Journal}}</ref> | |||
==Works== | |||
{{main|Bibliography of Ralph Nader}} | |||
====2012 debate moderator==== | |||
==See also== | |||
During the ], Nader moderated a debate for third-party candidates at Washington, D.C.'s ]. The debate was attended by Green Party presidential candidate ], Libertarian ], ] of the ] and ] candidate ]. He later moderated a similar debate in a studio appearance broadcast by ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Nader's third-party debate raises alternate issues|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2012/11/05/nader-stein-johnson-debate-third-party/1682643/|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=November 12, 2012}}</ref> | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
====Ralph Nader Radio Hour==== | |||
==Notes== | |||
Since March 2014, Nader has co-hosted the weekly '''''Ralph Nader Radio Hour''''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/news/where-we-read-your-dreams-listening-to-the-imagination-on-where-else-kpfk-6451827|title=Where We Read Your Dreams: Listening to the Imagination on (Where Else?) KPFK - OC Weekly|date=March 15, 2014|website=Ocweekly.com|access-date=December 1, 2018}}</ref> produced at ]-FM in Los Angeles and distributed via the ]. The program features "interviews with some of the nation's most influential movers and shakers" and discussion of current events. Nader's co-hosts are Steve Skrovan and ].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ralphnaderradiohour.com/about-the-show/ | title=About the show | publisher=] | work=Ralph Nader Radio Hour | access-date=March 12, 2017 | archive-date=July 11, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711213145/https://ralphnaderradiohour.com/about-the-show/ }}</ref> | |||
* (2006). '']'' is a documentary film about Ralph Nader that appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. | |||
* Burden, Barry C. (2005). 2005, ''American Politics Research'' 33:672-99. | |||
* This film blends archival footage and scenes of Nader and his staff at work in Washington with interviews with Nader's family, friends and adversaries, as well as Nader himself. Written, directed and produced by Mark Litwak and Tiiu Lukk, 1990, color, 72 mins. Narration by Studs Terkel. Broadcast on ]. Winner, Sinking Creek Film Festival; Best of Festival, Baltimore Int'l Film Festival; Silver Plaque, Chicago Int'l Film Festival, Silver Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival. | |||
* Bear, Greg, "]" — the novel includes a depiction of a future group called the "Naderites" who follow Ralph Nader's humanistic teachings. | |||
* Martin, Justin. ''Nader: Crusader, Spoiler, Icon.'' Perseus Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-7382-0563-X | |||
====American Museum of Tort Law==== | |||
In 2015, after a decade planning, Nader founded the ] in ]. The opening ceremonies were emceed by ]. Nader personally donated $150,000 to the establishment of the museum, which was sited on two parcels of land rezoned by the town of Winsted to host it. At the time of its opening, some expressed skepticism that a museum dedicated to ] would have much interest to the general public, though Nader responded that he was "astounded how a country can go over 200 years and not have a law museum".<ref>{{cite news|title=Buckle Up for Ralph Nader's 'Tort Museum'|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ralph-nader-is-on-track-to-open-a-tort-museum-in-september-1434502337|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=June 16, 2016}}</ref> | |||
====Campaign for Harvard admissions reform==== | |||
Nader unsuccessfully sought a seat on the ] Board of Overseers in 2016 as part of an insurgent candidate slate operating under the name "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" which called for increased transparency by the university as to how it made ] and ] decisions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nader bid for Harvard board comes up short|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/05/nader-bid-for-harvard-board-comes-up-short-223482|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=May 23, 2016}}</ref> In February of that year, while noting that he would not vote for him personally, he expressed support for ] making a third-party run for president, saying that such a move might help break-up the two party system.<ref>{{cite web |title = Ralph Nader on Trump's 2016 presidential bid |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2_vThJFTzQ|date = August 7, 2015|access-date = February 19, 2016 |work = Fox Business |via=] }}</ref> | |||
====Newspapers==== | |||
Following the closure of ''The Winsted Journal'' in 2017, Nader provided the first funds for ''The Winsted Phoenix'' in 2018 and then pulled backing. The newspaper folded in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sillick |first=Bob |date=March 9, 2023 |title=New reporting reveals more turmoil in the Ralph Nader newspaper debacle |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/new-reporting-reveals-more-turmoil-in-the-ralph-nader-newspaper-debacle,242638 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> A year later, Nader announced he was financially backing the creation of another newspaper in his hometown called the '']'' and provided $15,000 for the first monthly issue printed February 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sillick |first=Bob |date=February 27, 2023 |title=The Winsted Citizen: Ralph Nader's gift to his hometown |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/the-winsted-citizen-ralph-naders-gift-to-his-hometown,242454 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=Editor & Publisher |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Dave |date=November 20, 2023 |title=After trying to buck trend, newspaper founded with Ralph Nader's help succumbs to financial woes |url=https://apnews.com/article/ralph-nader-newspaper-closing-connecticut-1fe0cabb64d32d04e3f9875abb965cfb |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> | |||
A month later it was reported Nader failed to provide funding as initially promised for the paper's second edition. He had agreed to cover 75% of the cost, with the newspaper covering the rest. However, the money had not been delivered by the time of the second edition's printing. Instead, at that time Nader offered to give a $8,000 loan, which the newspaper declined to accept.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sillick |first=Bob Sillick |date=March 6, 2023 |title=Winsted Citizen: Ralph Nader gets the press but leaves his 'gifted' newspaper in the lurch |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/winsted-citizen-ralph-nader-gets-the-press-leaves-gifted-newspaper-in-the-lurch,242585 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=Editor & Publisher |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In April 2022, Nader founded the print newspaper '']''. According to ''Politico'', the publication's coverage centers on issues important to Nader, such as the growth of corporate influence on the federal government, corruption among lawmakers and the follies and failures of the mainstream political media.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ward |first=Ian |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Ralph Nader Thinks People Aren't Paying Attention to His Progressive Agenda |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/04/ralph-nader-really-really-wants-you-to-pay-attention-to-him-00053368 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
== Personal life == | |||
Nader, whose family was Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christian, recalled that during his childhood his family had been "embraced" by a ] church where he attended ].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Seventeen Traditions: Lessons from an American Childhood|last=Nader|first=Ralph|date=October 13, 2009|publisher=]|pages=103–105}}</ref> In addition to English, Nader also speaks Spanish, Russian, ], Chinese, and conversational Arabic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ralph Nader Fast Facts|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/08/us/ralph-nader-fast-facts/|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=March 2, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Crashing the Party|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?168072-1/crashing-party|access-date=November 10, 2021|work=]|date=January 4, 2002}}</ref> | |||
Nader defines his ideology not as left-wing or right-wing but as a "] ]".<ref name="me">{{cite web |url=https://reason.com/archives/2014/06/11/ralph-nader/5 |title=Ralph Nader Q&A: How Progressives and Libertarians Are Taking on Crony Capitalism and Corrupt Dems and Reps |last=Gillespie |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Gillespie |work=] |date=January 11, 2014}}</ref> He has lived in Washington D.C. since the 1960s, but is domiciled in ], where he is registered to vote.<ref name="Washingtoncitypaper.com"/> Nader has expressed admiration for ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?318980-1/qa-ralph-nader|title=Q&A with Ralph Nader}}</ref> | |||
His siblings are ] (a professor of social and cultural ] at ]), ], and late brother ].<ref name=Nader-Childhood>{{cite web|title=Ralph Nader's Childhood Roots|work=Green Party of Ohio (official website)|publisher=Green Party of Ohio|access-date=May 20, 2014|author=Annie Birdsong|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816010515/http://www.ohiogreens.org/nader2000/roots.html|url=http://www.ohiogreens.org/nader2000/roots.html|archive-date=August 16, 2000|date=August 13, 2000}}</ref> After his older brother Shafeek died of ] in 1986, Nader developed ], which paralyzed the left side of his mouth for several months. He commented on his partial facial paralysis to audiences during this time with the quip that "at least my opponents can't say I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/candidates/nader.html |title=Specials |publisher=Cnn.com |access-date=February 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ralph Nader on the issues|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Ralph_Nader.htm|access-date=March 23, 2017}}</ref> Nader's grandniece Samya Stumo was among the 157 people killed in the crash of ] in March 2019.<ref name="MacGillis-2019"/> | |||
Nader is a lifelong fan of the ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Neuman |first1=Joshua |title=Ralph Nader Petitions Mariano Rivera for One More Year |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a24076/ralph-nader-mariano-rivera/ |access-date=January 8, 2023 |work=Esquire |date=July 29, 2013}}</ref> | |||
===Personality and character traits=== | |||
] of '']'' described Nader as an "ascetic ... bordering on self-righteous".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cornwell|first1=Rupert|title=Ralph Nader: Ascetic, zealot-like, bordering on self-righteous|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/ralph-nader-ascetic-zealot-like-bordering-on-self-righteous-a6893481.html|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=February 27, 2016}}</ref> Despite access to respectable financial assets, he lives in a modest apartment and spends $25,000 annually on personal bills, conducting most of his writing on a ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Victor|first=Kirk|title=Typewriter Man|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-economy/ralph-nader-typewriter-man-20120607|work=]|access-date=September 8, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Princeton alumni piece">{{cite web|last1=Fisher|first1=Marc|title=Ralph Nader '55's Paradise Lost|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/ralph-nader-55s-paradise-lost|website=Princeton Alumni Weekly|date=June 3, 2015|publisher=The Trustees of Princeton University|access-date=May 7, 2018}}</ref> According to popular accounts of his personal life, he does not own a television, relies primarily on ], and over a 25-year period, until 1983, exclusively wore one of a dozen pairs of shoes he had purchased at a clearance sale in 1959. His suits, which he reports he purchases at sales and outlet stores, have been the repeated subject of public scrutiny, being variously described as "wrinkled", "rumpled", and "styleless". A newspaper story once described Nader as a "conscientious objector to fashion".<ref>{{cite news|title=Conscientious Objector to Fashion|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19910820&id=PRJgAAAAIBAJ&pg=5739,3997624|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=August 20, 1991}}</ref> | |||
Nader has never married. Karen Croft, a writer who worked for Nader in the late 1970s at the Center for Study of Responsive Law, once asked him if he had ever considered marriage, to which he responded that he had made a choice to dedicate his life to career rather than family.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2000/07/nader.html |title=Candidate Nader |work=Mother Jones |access-date=February 1, 2009 }}</ref> | |||
=== Finances === | |||
According to the mandatory fiscal disclosure report that he filed with the ] in 2000, Nader owned more than $3 million worth of stocks and mutual fund shares; his single largest holding was more than $1 million worth of stock in ] He also held between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of shares in the ].<ref>{{cite journal | |||
| last = Tapper | |||
| first = Jake | |||
| title = Inside Nader's stock portfolio | |||
| journal = ] | |||
| date = October 28, 2000 | |||
| url = https://www.salon.com/2000/10/28/stocks_4/ | |||
| access-date = August 15, 2009}}</ref> | |||
Nader said he owned no car and owned no real estate directly in 2000, and said that he lived on $25,000 a year, giving most of his stock earnings to many of the over four dozen non-profit organizations he had founded.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/19/us/nader-reports-big-portfolio-in-technology.html |title=Nader Reports Big Portfolio In Technology |work=] |date=June 19, 2000 |access-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php?txtName=nader |title= Ralph Nader: Personal Finances |access-date=October 28, 2008 |publisher= ] }}</ref> | |||
Nader owns shares in ] and believes the corporation should be paying shareholders a dividend.<ref name="Fox Business Amazon dividends">{{cite web|title=Ralph Nader calls on Amazon to issue dividends|url=http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5712152040001/?#sp=show-clips|website=Fox Business| date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> He also believes that there should be an "antitrust investigation" looking into the company's business practices.<ref name="Amazon business practices">{{cite web|title=Trump won't do anything about Amazon: Ralph Nader|url=http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5760656275001/?#sp=show-clips|website=Fox Business| date=March 29, 2018 |access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Nader is also an ] shareholder. In 2018, he wrote an open letter to ] criticizing Apple's $100 billion ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ralph Nader to Apple's Tim Cook: Use profits for worker raises|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ralph-nader-to-apples-tim-cook-use-profits-for-worker-raises/|access-date=May 13, 2018|publisher=CBS News}}</ref> | |||
== Media appearances == | |||
===Film=== | |||
In the 2005 ] film '']'', Nader makes a cameo appearance as himself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jan/22/review.features27 |title=Fun With Dick and Jane | Movies |work=The Guardian |date= January 22, 2006|access-date=February 19, 2022}}</ref> | |||
The Steve Skrovan documentary film '']'' is about the life of Ralph Nader and uses both archival footage and original interviews. It debuted at the ] in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/arts/09iht-flik10.4533694.html |title=Movies: 'An Unreasonable Man': Reappraising Ralph Nader, the activist and the candidate - Culture - International Herald Tribune - The New York Times |work=] |date=February 9, 2007 |access-date=February 19, 2022}}</ref> | |||
===Periodicals=== | |||
Nader was featured on the cover of the January 22, 1968, issue of '']''; the December 12, 1969, issue of '']''; the June 1971 issue of '']''; and the August 2016 issue of '']''.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} | |||
===Television=== | |||
Nader has been a guest on multiple episodes of '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''. In 2003 he appeared on '']''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |date=February 24, 2003 |title=Ali G fails to win respect in the US |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/24/arts.media |access-date=July 18, 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and, in 2008, was interviewed by ] on '']''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=October 9, 2008 |title=An election to laugh about |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/arts/09iht-09live.16806716.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
In 1988, Nader appeared on '']'' as "a person in your neighborhood", the episode also featuring ] and ]. Nader's appearance on the show was memorable because it was the only time that the grammar of the last line of the song{{snd}} "a person that you meet each day"{{snd}} was questioned and changed. Nader refused to sing a line which he deemed grammatically improper, so a compromise was reached by which Nader sang the last line solo, with the modified words: "a person ''whom'' you meet each day."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Borgenicht |title=Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets, and Songs |orig-date=1998 |year=2002 |isbn=1-4028-9327-2}}</ref> | |||
== Bibliography == | |||
{{Main|Bibliography of Ralph Nader}} | |||
==Recognition== | |||
] | |||
* In 1967 Nader was named one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Year" by the ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carlisle |first1=Rodney |title=Encyclopedia of Politics: Left and Right |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo0000carl/page/323 |url-access=registration |date=2005 |publisher=Sage |isbn=1-4522-6531-3 |page=}}</ref> | |||
* In 1990 Nader was listed one of the "100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th century by '']'' magazine.<ref>{{cite news|title=Life Lists 20th Century's Most Influential Americans|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/119956/LIFE-LISTS-20TH-CENTURYS-MOST-INFLUENTIAL-AMERICANS.html?pg=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107050529/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/119956/LIFE-LISTS-20TH-CENTURYS-MOST-INFLUENTIAL-AMERICANS.html?pg=all|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 7, 2015|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=]|date=September 1, 1990}}</ref> | |||
* In 1999 '']'' magazine named Nader one of the "100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th Century".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Christie |first1=Ryan |title=Managing Your Personal Finances |date=2010 |publisher=Cengage |isbn=978-1-305-48316-3 |page=655 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUN-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA675 }}</ref> | |||
* In 1999 a ] panel of journalists ranked ''Unsafe at Any Speed'' 38th among the top 100 pieces of journalism of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/01/business/media-journalism-s-greatest-hits-two-lists-of-a-century-s-top-stories.html |title=MEDIA; Journalism's Greatest Hits: Two Lists of a Century's Top Stories|work=The New York Times|date=March 1, 1999|page=2|first=Felicity|last=Barringer}}</ref> | |||
* In 2006 Nader was named one of the "100 Most Influential Americans" by '']''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Atlantic Unveils 100 Most Influential Americans List|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-atlantic-unveils-100-most-influential-americans-list-56474742.html|website=prnewswire.com|publisher=]|access-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref> | |||
* In 2008 Nader was listed among the "100 Most Influential Americans" in the ''Britannica Guide to 100 Most Influential Americans''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Britannica Guide to 100 Most Influential Americans|date=2008|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|isbn=978-1-59339-857-6|page=433}}</ref> | |||
* In 2016 Nader was inducted into the ].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Martinez|first1=Michael|title=Ralph Nader: Unlikely Automotive Hall of Fame inductee|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2016/07/21/nader-automotive-hall-fame/87417650/|access-date=July 22, 2016|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=July 21, 2016|quote=Nader said it felt like validation. And appropriately enough, there was a Corvair on the floor. "What's happened is that they're now marketing safety; when I started out they said safety doesn't sell and would have never mentioned the possibility of seat belts," he told ''The Detroit News''. "They didn't even want to talk about crashes because it would reduce the fantasy of buying cars. ... It's like saying, 'You were right.' "}}</ref> | |||
* In 2016 Nader received that year's ] from ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ralph Nader is recipient of New Haven group's annual Gandhi Peace Award|url=http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20160722/ralph-nader-is-recipient-of-new-haven-groups-annual-gandhi-peace-award|access-date=August 1, 2016|work=New Haven Register|date=July 22, 2016}}</ref> | |||
==Electoral history== | |||
{{Election box begin no change | |||
| title = ]<ref>{{cite web |title=1996 Presidential General Election Data - National, Uselectionatlas.org. |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1996&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ''']/]''' | |||
| party = Democratic Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 47,401,185 | |||
| percentage = 49.2% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ]/] | |||
| party = Republican Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 39,197,469 | |||
| percentage = 40.7% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ]/] | |||
| party = Reform Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 8,085,294 | |||
| percentage = 8.4% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = Ralph Nader/] | |||
| party = Green Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 685,297 | |||
| percentage = 0.7% | |||
}} | |||
{{election box end}} | |||
{{Election box begin no change | |||
| title = ]<ref>{{cite web |title=2000 Presidential General Election Data - National, Uselectionatlas.org. |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2000&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ''']/]''' | |||
| party = Republican Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 50,456,002 | |||
| percentage = 47.9% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ]/] | |||
| party = Democratic Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 50,999,897 | |||
| percentage = 48.4% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = Ralph Nader/] | |||
| party = Green Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 2,882,955 | |||
| percentage = 2.7% | |||
}} | |||
{{election box end}} | |||
{{Election box begin no change | |||
| title = ]<ref>{{cite web |title=2004 Presidential General Election Data - National, Uselectionatlas.org. |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2004&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ''']/]''' | |||
| party = Republican Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 62,040,610 | |||
| percentage = 50.7% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ]/] | |||
| party = Democratic Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 59,028,444 | |||
| percentage = 48.3% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = Ralph Nader/] | |||
| party = Reform Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 465,151 | |||
| percentage = 0.4% | |||
}} | |||
{{election box end}} | |||
{{Election box begin no change | |||
| title = ]<ref>{{cite web |title=2008 Presidential General Election Data - National, Uselectionatlas.org. |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2008&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ''']/]''' | |||
| party = Democratic Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 69,498,516 | |||
| percentage = 52.9% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = ]/] | |||
| party = Republican Party (United States) | |||
| votes = 59,948,323 | |||
| percentage = 45.7% | |||
}} | |||
{{Election box candidate with party link no change | |||
| candidate = Ralph Nader/] | |||
| party = Independent politician | |||
| votes = 739,034 | |||
| percentage = 0.6% | |||
}} | |||
{{election box end}} | |||
== See also == | |||
{{Portal|Biography|Politics}} | |||
* '']'' | |||
* ], a term coined by Nader | |||
{{-}} | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist |
{{reflist}} | ||
== General and cited references == | |||
* (2006). '']'' is a documentary film about Ralph Nader that appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. | |||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1177/1532673x04272431|title=Ralph Nader's Campaign Strategy in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election |year=2005 |last1=Burden |first1=Barry C. |journal=American Politics Research |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=672–699 |s2cid=43919948 }} | |||
* This film blends archival footage and scenes of Nader and his staff at work in Washington with interviews with Nader's family, friends and adversaries, as well as Nader himself. Written, directed and produced by Mark Litwak and Tiiu Lukk, 1990, color, 72 mins. Narration by Studs Terkel. Broadcast on ]. Winner, Sinking Creek Film Festival; Best of Festival, Baltimore Int'l Film Festival; Silver Plaque, Chicago Int'l Film Festival, Silver Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival. | |||
* Bear, Greg, '']''{{snd}} the novel includes a depiction of a future group called the "Naderites" who follow Ralph Nader's humanistic teachings. | |||
* {{cite book|publisher=Seven Stories Press|date=October 1, 2000|isbn=978-1583220573|title=The Ralph Nader Reader|first=Ralph|last=Nader}} | |||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Burt |first1=Dan M. |title=Abuse of Trust: A Report on Ralph Nader's Network |date=1982 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-89526-661-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/abuseoftrustrepo0000burt |language=en |via=]}} | |||
*''What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?'' by ], Wroughten Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9749879-2-7 | |||
* |
* {{Cite book |last=McCarry |first=Charles |author-link=Charles McCarry |year=1972 |title=Citizen Nader |url=https://archive.org/details/citizennader00mccarich |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=0-8415-0163-7}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Sabin |first=Paul |year=2021 |title=Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=9780393634044 |oclc=1196176432}} | |||
* ''The Investigation of Ralph Nader'' by Thomas Whiteside 1972. | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Vsych |first=Jurgen |author-link=Jurgen Vsych |year=2008 |title=What Was Ralph Nader Thinking? |publisher=Wroughten Books |isbn=978-0-9749879-2-7 }} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Whiteside |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Whiteside (journalist) |year=1972 |title=The Investigation of Ralph Nader: General Motors Vs. One Determined Man |url=https://archive.org/details/investigationofr0000whit |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Arbor House |isbn=9780877950349 |oclc=369991}} | |||
==External links== | == External links == | ||
{{Sister project links|d=Q193156|b=no|wikt=no|s=Author:Ralph Nader|voy=no|v=no|species=no|mw=no|n=Ralph Nader|m=no}}<!--n has no page on Nader yet but several returns--> | |||
{{Toomanylinks}} | |||
* {{Official website}} | |||
{{commons|Category:Ralph Nader|Ralph Nader}} | |||
* weekly radio program/podcast | |||
* | |||
* |
* campaign website | ||
* {{C-SPAN}} | |||
* (a 2008 presidential draft site) | |||
* {{Charlie Rose view|901}} | |||
* | |||
* {{IMDb name}} | |||
* | |||
* {{New York Times topic}} | |||
* | |||
* at '']'' | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* for ] about the spin of information. April 26, 2007 | |||
* July 14, 2007 | |||
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* March 23, 2007 | |||
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*, presentation at Benson High School in Portland, Oregon, May 13, 2008. | |||
| title = Ralph Nader Goes to Washington ... Again | |||
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* "," article by Nader in the September 1963 issue of '']'' | |||
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* . '']''. December 20, 2015 | |||
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Latest revision as of 21:40, 1 December 2024
American lawyer and activist (born 1934)
Ralph Nader | |
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Nader in 2007 | |
Born | (1934-02-27) February 27, 1934 (age 90) Winsted, Connecticut, U.S. |
Education | |
Occupations |
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Political party |
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Mother | Rose Nader |
Relatives |
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Awards | |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1959 |
Website | Official website |
Signature | |
Ralph Nader (/ˈneɪdər/; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed, which criticized the automotive industry for its safety record, helped lead to the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the United States, Nader attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He quickly developed an interest in vehicle designs that were hazardous and contributed to elevated levels of car accidents and fatalities. Published in 1965, Unsafe at Any Speed became a highly influential critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers, focusing on General Motors' (GM's) Corvair automobile in particular.
Following the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader led a group of volunteer law students—dubbed "Nader's Raiders"—in an investigation of the Federal Trade Commission, leading directly to that agency's overhaul and reform. In the 1970s, Nader leveraged his growing popularity to establish a number of advocacy and watchdog groups including the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Auto Safety, and Public Citizen. Two of Nader's most notable targets were the Chevy Corvair and the Ford Pinto.
Nader made four bids to become President of the United States, running with the Green Party in 1996 and 2000, the Reform Party in 2004, and as an independent in 2008. In each campaign, Nader said he sought to highlight under-reported issues and a perceived need for electoral reform. He received nearly three million votes during his 2000 candidacy, but also stirred controversy over allegations that his campaign helped Republican candidate George W. Bush win a close election against Democratic candidate Al Gore. In 2006, The Atlantic Monthly listed Nader as one of the hundred most influential Americans in history.
A two-time Nieman Fellow, Nader is the author or co-author of more than two dozen books and was the subject of a documentary film on his life and work, An Unreasonable Man, which debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. He has been repeatedly named to lists of the "100 Most Influential Americans", including those published by Life, Time, and The Atlantic. The New York Times described him as a "dissident".
Early life and education
Ralph Nader was born on February 27, 1934, in Winsted, Connecticut, to Rose (née Bouziane) and Nathra Nader, both of whom were Antiochian Greek Christians immigrants from Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley in Southeastern Lebanon. After settling in Connecticut, Nathra Nader worked in a textile mill before opening a bakery and restaurant. Ralph Nader occasionally helped at his father's restaurant, as well as worked as a newspaper delivery boy for the local paper, the Winsted Register Citizen. Nader graduated from The Gilbert School in 1951, going on to attend Princeton University. Though he was offered a scholarship to Princeton, his father forced him to decline it on the grounds that the family was able to pay Nader's tuition and the funds should go to a student who could not afford it. Nader graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1955 after completing a senior thesis titled "Lebanese Agriculture".
After graduating from Princeton, Nader enrolled at Harvard Law School, though he quickly became bored by his courses. While at Harvard, Nader would frequently skip classes to hitchhike across the U.S. where he would engage in field research on Native American issues and migrant worker rights. He earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Harvard in 1958. Nader identified with libertarian philosophy in his youth, but gradually shifted away in his early 20s. Although Nader acknowledged that he "didn't like public housing because it disadvantaged landlords unfairly", his viewpoint changed when he "saw the slums and what landlords did". After graduating from Harvard, Nader served in the U.S. Army as a cook and was posted to Fort Dix.
Career
Early history
In 1959, Nader was admitted to the bar and began practice as a lawyer in Hartford, Connecticut, while also lecturing at the University of Hartford and traveling to the Soviet Union, Chile, and Cuba, where he filed dispatches for the Christian Science Monitor and The Nation. In 1964, he moved to Washington, D.C., taking a position as a consultant to Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Unsafe at Any Speed
Nader gained national attention with the 1965 publication of his journalistic exposé Unsafe at Any Speed. The book, critical of the automotive industry, argued that many American automobiles were generally unsafe to operate. For the book, Nader researched case files from more than a hundred lawsuits then pending against General Motors' Chevrolet Corvair to support his assertions.
The book became an immediate bestseller, but also prompted a backlash from General Motors (GM), which attempted to discredit Nader. GM tapped Nader's phone in an attempt to obtain salacious information and, when that failed, GM hired prostitutes in an attempt to catch him in a compromising situation. Nader, by then working as an unpaid consultant to United States Senator Abe Ribicoff, reported to the senator that he suspected he was being followed. Ribicoff convened an inquiry that called GM CEO James Roche who admitted, when placed under oath, that the company had hired a private detective agency to investigate Nader. Nader sued GM for invasion of privacy, settling the case for $425,000 and using the proceeds to found the activist organization known as the Center for the Study of Responsive Law.
A year following the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, Congress unanimously enacted the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John William McCormack said the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was brought about by the "crusading spirit of one individual who believed he could do something: Ralph Nader".
"Nader's Raiders", Public Citizen and Center for Auto Safety
In 1968, Nader recruited seven volunteer law students, dubbed "Nader's Raiders" by the Washington press corps, to evaluate the efficacy and operation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The group's ensuing report, which criticized the body as "ineffective" and "passive" led to an American Bar Association investigation of the FTC. Based on the results of that second study, Richard Nixon revitalized the agency and sent it on a path of vigorous consumer protection and antitrust enforcement for the rest of the 1970s.
Nader's Raiders became involved in such issues as nuclear safety, international trade, regulation of insecticides, meat processing, pension reform, land use, and banking.
Following the publication of the report, Nader founded the watchdog group Public Citizen in 1971 to engage in public interest lobbying and activism on issues of consumer rights. He also served on its board of directors until 1980.
1970s–1990s
By the early 1970s Nader had established himself as a household name. In a critical memo written by Lewis Powell to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Powell warned business representatives that Nader "has become a legend in his own time and an idol of millions of Americans".
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the New Party, a progressive split-off from the Democratic Party. Chief among his advocates was author Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in Esquire magazine in 1971. Nader declined the advances.
In 1973, Ralph Nader was plaintiff in the case against acting attorney general Robert Bork, who under orders of President Richard Nixon had fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the so-called Saturday Night Massacre, an action that was ultimately ruled illegal by federal judge Gerhard Gesell.
In 1974, he received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen.
In the 1970s, Nader turned his attention to environmental activism, becoming a key leader in the antinuclear power movement, described by one observer as the "titular head of opposition to nuclear energy". The Critical Mass Energy Project was formed by Nader in 1974 as a national anti-nuclear umbrella group, growing to become the largest national anti-nuclear group in the United States, with several hundred local affiliates and an estimated 200,000 supporters. The organization's main efforts were directed at lobbying activities and providing local groups with scientific and other resources to campaign against nuclear power.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, through his ongoing work with Public Citizen, Nader continued to be involved in issues of consumer rights and public accountability. His work testifying before Congress, drafting model legislation, and organizing citizen letter-writing and protest efforts, earned him direct credit for the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Clean Water Act, Consumer Product Safety Act, and Whistleblower Protection Act.
In the late 1990s, Nader accused Microsoft of being a monopoly and organized a conference featuring Microsoft's critics from the tech world.
In 1999, Nader was unsuccessfully approached by Nike to appear in an advertisement. The firm offered Nader $25,000 to say "another shameless attempt by Nike to sell shoes" while holding Air 120 sneakers. After Nader turned down the offer, the corporation hired filmmaker Spike Lee.
Presidential campaigns
1972
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the New Party, a progressive split-off from the Democratic Party in 1972. Chief among his advocates was author Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in Esquire magazine in 1971. Psychologist Alan Rockway organized a "draft Ralph Nader for President" campaign in Florida on the New Party's behalf. Nader declined their offer to run that year; the New Party ultimately joined with the People's Party in running Benjamin Spock in the 1972 presidential election. Spock had hoped Nader in particular would run, getting "some of the loudest applause of the evening" when mentioning him at the University of Alabama. Spock went on to try to recruit Nader for the party among over 100 others, and indicated he would be "delighted" to be replaced by any of them even after he accepted the nomination himself. Nader received one vote for the vice-presidential nomination at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.
1980
In the 1980 Presidential Election, the progressive-oriented Citizens Party approached Nader with the prospect of running as their Presidential Nominee. Nader declined their offer stating "I will never run for president". The party ended up nominating biologist Barry Commoner instead.
1992
Nader stood in as a write-in for "none of the above" in both the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic and Republican Primaries and received 3,054 of the 170,333 Democratic votes and 3,258 of the 177,970 Republican votes cast. He was also a candidate in the 1992 Massachusetts Democratic Primary.
1996
Main article: Ralph Nader 1996 presidential campaignNader was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the Green Party ticket during the 1996 presidential election. He was not formally nominated by the Green Party USA, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). However, many activists in the Green Party USA worked actively to campaign for Nader that year. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states, garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall), although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign, presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for Federal Elections Commission reporting requirements. The unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.
Nader received some criticism from gay rights supporters for calling gay rights "gonadal politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters. In July 2004, however, he publicly stated that he supported same-sex marriage.
His 1996 running mates included: Anne Goeke (nine states), Deborah Howes (Oregon), Muriel Tillinghast (New York), Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and Winona LaDuke (California and Texas).
2000
Main article: Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaignIn the 2006 documentary An Unreasonable Man, Nader described how he was unable to get the views of his public-interest groups heard in Washington, even by the Clinton Administration. Nader cited this as one of the primary reasons why he decided to actively run in the 2000 election as candidate of the Green Party, which had been formed in the wake of his 1996 campaign.
In June 2000, The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) organized the national nominating convention that took place in Denver, Colorado, at which Green Party delegates nominated Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke to be their party's candidates for president and vice president.
On July 9, the Vermont Progressive Party nominated Nader, giving him ballot access in the state. On August 12, the United Citizens Party of South Carolina chose Ralph Nader as its presidential nominee, giving him a ballot line in the state.
In October 2000, at the largest Super Rally of his campaign, held in New York City's Madison Square Garden, 15,000 people paid $20 each to hear Nader speak. Nader's campaign rejected both parties as institutions dominated by corporate interests, stating that Al Gore and George W. Bush were "Tweedledee and Tweedledum". A long list of notable celebrities spoke and performed at the event including Susan Sarandon, Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper, Tim Robbins, Michael Moore, Eddie Vedder and Patti Smith. The campaign also had some prominent union help: The California Nurses Association and the United Electrical Workers endorsed his candidacy and campaigned for him.
Nader and LaDuke received 2,883,105 votes, for 2.74 percent of the popular vote (third place overall), missing the 5 percent needed to qualify the Green Party for federally distributed public funding in the next election, yet qualifying the party for ballot status in many states.
Nader often openly expressed his hope for Bush's victory over Gore, saying it "would mobilize us", and that environmental and consumer regulatory agencies would fare better under Bush than Gore. When asked which of the two he'd vote for if forced, Nader answered "Bush ... If you want the parties to diverge from one another, have Bush win." As to whether he would feel regret if he caused Gore's defeat, Nader replied "I would not—not at all. I'd rather have a provocateur than an anesthetizer in the White House." On another occasion, Nader answered this question with: "No, not at all ... There may be a cold shower for four years that would help the Democratic Party ... It doesn't matter who is in the White House."
Spoiler controversy
In the 2000 presidential election in Florida, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes. Nader received 97,421 votes, which led to claims that he was responsible for Gore's defeat. Nader disputes that he helped Bush win. A 2003 study found that Nader's candidacy was a critical factor in Bush's victory. A 2004 study found that Nader voters had the profile of likely voters with a preference for Democratic candidates. They were therefore likely to vote for Gore over Bush in the absence of Nader's candidacy.
A study by Harvard Professor B.C. Burden in 2005 showed Nader did "play a pivotal role in determining who would become president following the 2000 election", but that:
Contrary to Democrats' complaints, Nader was not intentionally trying to throw the election. A spoiler strategy would have caused him to focus disproportionately on the most competitive states and markets with the hopes of being a key player in the outcome. There is no evidence that his appearances responded to closeness. He did, apparently, pursue voter support, however, in a quest to receive 5% of the popular vote.
However, Jonathan Chait of The American Prospect and The New Republic notes that Nader did indeed focus on swing states disproportionately during the waning days of the campaign, and by doing so jeopardized his own chances of achieving the 5% of the vote he was aiming for.
Then there was the debate within the Nader campaign over where to travel in the waning days of the campaign. Some Nader advisers urged him to spend his time in uncontested states such as New York and California. These states – where liberals and leftists could entertain the thought of voting Nader without fear of aiding Bush – offered the richest harvest of potential votes. But, Martin writes, Nader – who emerges from this account as the house radical of his own campaign – insisted on spending the final days of the campaign on a whirlwind tour of battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Florida. In other words, he chose to go where the votes were scarcest, jeopardizing his own chances of winning 5 percent of the vote, which he needed to gain federal funds in 2004.
When Nader, in a letter to environmentalists, attacked Gore for "his role as broker of environmental voters for corporate cash," and "the prototype for the bankable, Green corporate politician," and what he called a string of broken promises to the environmental movement, Sierra Club president Carl Pope sent an open letter to Nader, dated October 27, 2000, defending Al Gore's environmental record and calling Nader's strategy "irresponsible." He wrote:
You have also broken your word to your followers who signed the petitions that got you on the ballot in many states. You pledged you would not campaign as a spoiler and would avoid the swing states. Your recent campaign rhetoric and campaign schedule make it clear that you have broken this pledge ... Please accept that I, and the overwhelming majority of the environmental movement in this country, genuinely believe that your strategy is flawed, dangerous and reckless.
2004
Main article: Ralph Nader 2004 presidential campaignNader announced on December 23, 2003, that he would not seek the Green Party's nomination for president in 2004, but did not rule out running as an independent candidate.
Ralph Nader and Democratic candidate John Kerry held a widely publicized meeting early in the 2004 presidential campaign. Nader said that John Kerry wanted to work to win Nader's support and the support of Nader's voters, prompting Nader to provide Kerry more than 20 pages of issues that he felt were important. According to Nader, he asked John Kerry to choose any three of the issues and highlight them in his campaign; should Kerry meet these conditions Nader would not contest the election. On February 22, 2004, having not heard back from Kerry, Nader announced that he would run for president as an independent.
Due to concerns about a possible spoiler effect, many Democrats urged Nader to abandon his 2004 candidacy. Terry McAuliffe stated that Nader had a "distinguished career, fighting for working families", and that McAuliffe "would hate to see part of his legacy being that he got us eight years of George Bush". Theresa Amato, Nader's national campaign manager in 2000 and 2004, later alleged that McAuliffe offered to pay off Nader if he would not campaign in certain states, an allegation confirmed by Nader and undisputed by McAuliffe.
Nader received 463,655 votes, for 0.38 percent of the popular vote, placing him in third place overall.
2008
Main article: Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2008In February 2007, Nader criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton as "a panderer and a flatterer," later describing her as someone who had "no political fortitude." During a February 2008 appearance on Meet the Press, Nader announced his intention to run for president as an independent, later naming Matt Gonzalez as his running-mate. Nader was endorsed by Howard Zinn, Jesse Ventura, Justin Jeffre, Tom Morello, Val Kilmer, Rocky Anderson, James Abourezk, Patti Smith, and Jello Biafra. The Nader campaign raised $4.3 million in campaign funds, primarily from small, individual donations. Nader/Gonzalez earned 738,475 votes and a third-place finish in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Congressional Accountability Project
Nader founded the Congressional Accountability Project to "oppose corruption in the U. S. Congress."
Later activities
Nader condemned the 2011 military intervention in Libya. He branded President Barack Obama as a "war criminal" and called for his impeachment.
In June 2019, Nader, who lost his 24-year-old grandniece in the Ethiopian Airlines crash, claimed that the Boeing 737 Max "must never fly again... it's not a matter of software. It's a matter of structural design defect: the plane's engines are too much for the traditional fuselage". Nader also called for Boeing top leaders to resign and said that the Federal Aviation Administration "has been in the pockets of the Boeing company for years".
D.C. Library Renaissance Project
In 2002, Nader founded the D.C. Library Renaissance Project, which has sought to halt the development of the West End Library in Washington, D.C., alleging that it "violated affordable housing guidelines, undervalued the land, and didn't conform to the city's Comprehensive Plan." The legal obstacles presented by the Library Renaissance Project have cost the D.C. government over one million dollars in legal fees. Nader has opposed the privatized development of D.C. libraries despite community support, citing a lack of oversight and competitive bidding process.
Only the Super Rich Can Save Us
In 2009 Nader published his first work of fiction, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!. Many of the characters were fictionalized versions of real-life persons including Ted Turner and Warren Buffett. The book's principal villain, a "conservative evil genius" named Brovar Dortwist, represents Grover Norquist. According to Norquist, Nader had called him prior to the book's publication and said he "wouldn't be too unhappy, because the character was principled".
The novel met with mixed reviews with The Wall Street Journal noting that the book "reads less like a novel ... than a dream journal" with a plot that victoriously concludes with "American society thoroughly Naderized", though The Globe and Mail called it "a powerful idea by the perfect person at a fortuitous time".
Nader also branched out into fiction with the fable collection Animal Envy in 2016.
2012 debate moderator
During the 2012 United States presidential election, Nader moderated a debate for third-party candidates at Washington, D.C.'s Busboys and Poets. The debate was attended by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Gary Johnson, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party and Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode. He later moderated a similar debate in a studio appearance broadcast by Russia Today.
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Since March 2014, Nader has co-hosted the weekly Ralph Nader Radio Hour, produced at KPFK-FM in Los Angeles and distributed via the Pacifica Radio Network. The program features "interviews with some of the nation's most influential movers and shakers" and discussion of current events. Nader's co-hosts are Steve Skrovan and David Feldman.
American Museum of Tort Law
In 2015, after a decade planning, Nader founded the American Museum of Tort Law in Winsted, Connecticut. The opening ceremonies were emceed by Phil Donahue. Nader personally donated $150,000 to the establishment of the museum, which was sited on two parcels of land rezoned by the town of Winsted to host it. At the time of its opening, some expressed skepticism that a museum dedicated to tort would have much interest to the general public, though Nader responded that he was "astounded how a country can go over 200 years and not have a law museum".
Campaign for Harvard admissions reform
Nader unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Harvard University Board of Overseers in 2016 as part of an insurgent candidate slate operating under the name "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" which called for increased transparency by the university as to how it made athletic and legacy admissions decisions. In February of that year, while noting that he would not vote for him personally, he expressed support for Donald Trump making a third-party run for president, saying that such a move might help break-up the two party system.
Newspapers
Following the closure of The Winsted Journal in 2017, Nader provided the first funds for The Winsted Phoenix in 2018 and then pulled backing. The newspaper folded in 2021. A year later, Nader announced he was financially backing the creation of another newspaper in his hometown called the Winsted Citizen and provided $15,000 for the first monthly issue printed February 2023.
A month later it was reported Nader failed to provide funding as initially promised for the paper's second edition. He had agreed to cover 75% of the cost, with the newspaper covering the rest. However, the money had not been delivered by the time of the second edition's printing. Instead, at that time Nader offered to give a $8,000 loan, which the newspaper declined to accept.
In April 2022, Nader founded the print newspaper Capitol Hill Citizen. According to Politico, the publication's coverage centers on issues important to Nader, such as the growth of corporate influence on the federal government, corruption among lawmakers and the follies and failures of the mainstream political media.
Personal life
Nader, whose family was Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christian, recalled that during his childhood his family had been "embraced" by a Methodist church where he attended Sunday school. In addition to English, Nader also speaks Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and conversational Arabic.
Nader defines his ideology not as left-wing or right-wing but as a "moral empiricist". He has lived in Washington D.C. since the 1960s, but is domiciled in Connecticut, where he is registered to vote. Nader has expressed admiration for Robert La Follette, Eugene Debs, and Edmund Burke.
His siblings are Laura (a professor of social and cultural anthropology at U.C. Berkeley), Claire, and late brother Shafeek. After his older brother Shafeek died of prostate cancer in 1986, Nader developed Bell's palsy, which paralyzed the left side of his mouth for several months. He commented on his partial facial paralysis to audiences during this time with the quip that "at least my opponents can't say I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth." Nader's grandniece Samya Stumo was among the 157 people killed in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019.
Nader is a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees.
Personality and character traits
Rupert Cornwell of The Independent described Nader as an "ascetic ... bordering on self-righteous". Despite access to respectable financial assets, he lives in a modest apartment and spends $25,000 annually on personal bills, conducting most of his writing on a typewriter. According to popular accounts of his personal life, he does not own a television, relies primarily on public transportation, and over a 25-year period, until 1983, exclusively wore one of a dozen pairs of shoes he had purchased at a clearance sale in 1959. His suits, which he reports he purchases at sales and outlet stores, have been the repeated subject of public scrutiny, being variously described as "wrinkled", "rumpled", and "styleless". A newspaper story once described Nader as a "conscientious objector to fashion".
Nader has never married. Karen Croft, a writer who worked for Nader in the late 1970s at the Center for Study of Responsive Law, once asked him if he had ever considered marriage, to which he responded that he had made a choice to dedicate his life to career rather than family.
Finances
According to the mandatory fiscal disclosure report that he filed with the Federal Election Commission in 2000, Nader owned more than $3 million worth of stocks and mutual fund shares; his single largest holding was more than $1 million worth of stock in Cisco Systems, Inc. He also held between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of shares in the Magellan Fund. Nader said he owned no car and owned no real estate directly in 2000, and said that he lived on $25,000 a year, giving most of his stock earnings to many of the over four dozen non-profit organizations he had founded.
Nader owns shares in Amazon and believes the corporation should be paying shareholders a dividend. He also believes that there should be an "antitrust investigation" looking into the company's business practices.
Nader is also an Apple Inc. shareholder. In 2018, he wrote an open letter to Tim Cook criticizing Apple's $100 billion share buyback.
Media appearances
Film
In the 2005 Jim Carrey film Fun with Dick and Jane, Nader makes a cameo appearance as himself.
The Steve Skrovan documentary film An Unreasonable Man is about the life of Ralph Nader and uses both archival footage and original interviews. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
Periodicals
Nader was featured on the cover of the January 22, 1968, issue of Newsweek; the December 12, 1969, issue of Time; the June 1971 issue of Esquire; and the August 2016 issue of Pacific Standard.
Television
Nader has been a guest on multiple episodes of Saturday Night Live, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show, The O'Reilly Factor, Meet the Press, Democracy Now!, and The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2003 he appeared on Da Ali G Show and, in 2008, was interviewed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In 1988, Nader appeared on Sesame Street as "a person in your neighborhood", the episode also featuring Barbara Walters and Martina Navratilova. Nader's appearance on the show was memorable because it was the only time that the grammar of the last line of the song – "a person that you meet each day" – was questioned and changed. Nader refused to sing a line which he deemed grammatically improper, so a compromise was reached by which Nader sang the last line solo, with the modified words: "a person whom you meet each day."
Bibliography
Main article: Bibliography of Ralph NaderRecognition
- In 1967 Nader was named one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Year" by the United States Junior Chamber.
- In 1990 Nader was listed one of the "100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th century by Life magazine.
- In 1999 Time magazine named Nader one of the "100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th Century".
- In 1999 a New York University panel of journalists ranked Unsafe at Any Speed 38th among the top 100 pieces of journalism of the 20th century.
- In 2006 Nader was named one of the "100 Most Influential Americans" by The Atlantic.
- In 2008 Nader was listed among the "100 Most Influential Americans" in the Britannica Guide to 100 Most Influential Americans.
- In 2016 Nader was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.
- In 2016 Nader received that year's Gandhi Peace Award from Promoting Enduring Peace.
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bill Clinton/Al Gore | 47,401,185 | 49.2% | |
Republican | Bob Dole/Jack Kemp | 39,197,469 | 40.7% | |
Reform | Ross Perot/Pat Choate | 8,085,294 | 8.4% | |
Green | Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke | 685,297 | 0.7% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | George W. Bush/Dick Cheney | 50,456,002 | 47.9% | |
Democratic | Al Gore/Joe Lieberman | 50,999,897 | 48.4% | |
Green | Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke | 2,882,955 | 2.7% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | George W. Bush/Dick Cheney | 62,040,610 | 50.7% | |
Democratic | John Kerry/John Edwards | 59,028,444 | 48.3% | |
Reform | Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo | 465,151 | 0.4% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barack Obama/Joe Biden | 69,498,516 | 52.9% | |
Republican | John McCain/Sarah Palin | 59,948,323 | 45.7% | |
Independent | Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez | 739,034 | 0.6% |
See also
- The Case Against Free Trade
- Corporate welfare, a term coined by Nader
References
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Moynihan.
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Breaking into the traffic safety inertia was the publication in November 1965 of Unsafe At Any Speed, a book written by Ralph Nader a 32-year-old Connecticut lawyer who had served as a consultant for the Department of Labor and a Senate subcommittee in 1964–65. House Speaker John W. McCormack (D Mass.) Oct. 21, 1966, credited the final outcome of the traffic safety bill to the 'crusading spirit of one individual who believed he could do something: Ralph Nader'.
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- per 1993-2007 director Gary Ruskin's formal wording: "Its mission is to ... "Application for Member, Delegation to Green Party of the United States". February 28, 2011.
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- ^ MacGillis, Alec (November 8, 2019). "The Case Against Boeing". The New Yorker.
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- Bursztynsky, Jessica (July 23, 2019). "Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says Boeing 737 Max should never fly again". CNBC.
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- Khatchadourian, Raffi (September 28, 2009). "NADER'S BLUEPRINT". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
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- "In 'Animal Envy,' the Animals Speak for Themselves". Earth Island Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
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- "Nader bid for Harvard board comes up short". Politico. May 23, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- "Ralph Nader on Trump's 2016 presidential bid". Fox Business. August 7, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2016 – via YouTube.
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- Nader, Ralph (October 13, 2009). The Seventeen Traditions: Lessons from an American Childhood. HarperCollins. pp. 103–105.
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Nader said it felt like validation. And appropriately enough, there was a Corvair on the floor. "What's happened is that they're now marketing safety; when I started out they said safety doesn't sell and would have never mentioned the possibility of seat belts," he told The Detroit News. "They didn't even want to talk about crashes because it would reduce the fantasy of buying cars. ... It's like saying, 'You were right.' "
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- "2008 Presidential General Election Data - National, Uselectionatlas.org".
General and cited references
- An Unreasonable Man (2006). An Unreasonable Man is a documentary film about Ralph Nader that appeared at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
- Burden, Barry C. (2005). "Ralph Nader's Campaign Strategy in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election". American Politics Research. 33 (5): 672–699. doi:10.1177/1532673x04272431. S2CID 43919948.
- Ralph Nader: Up Close This film blends archival footage and scenes of Nader and his staff at work in Washington with interviews with Nader's family, friends and adversaries, as well as Nader himself. Written, directed and produced by Mark Litwak and Tiiu Lukk, 1990, color, 72 mins. Narration by Studs Terkel. Broadcast on PBS. Winner, Sinking Creek Film Festival; Best of Festival, Baltimore Int'l Film Festival; Silver Plaque, Chicago Int'l Film Festival, Silver Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival.
- Bear, Greg, Eon – the novel includes a depiction of a future group called the "Naderites" who follow Ralph Nader's humanistic teachings.
- Nader, Ralph (October 1, 2000). The Ralph Nader Reader. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1583220573.
Further reading
- Burt, Dan M. (1982). Abuse of Trust: A Report on Ralph Nader's Network. Regnery Gateway. ISBN 978-0-89526-661-3 – via archive.org.
- McCarry, Charles (1972). Citizen Nader. Saturday Review Press. ISBN 0-8415-0163-7.
- Sabin, Paul (2021). Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism. W. W. Norton. ISBN 9780393634044. OCLC 1196176432.
- Vsych, Jurgen (2008). What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?. Wroughten Books. ISBN 978-0-9749879-2-7.
- Whiteside, Thomas (1972). The Investigation of Ralph Nader: General Motors Vs. One Determined Man. New York: Arbor House. ISBN 9780877950349. OCLC 369991.
External links
- Official website
- Ralph Nader Radio Hour weekly radio program/podcast
- Nader / Gonzalez 2008 campaign website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Ralph Nader on Charlie Rose
- Ralph Nader at IMDb
- Ralph Nader collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Column archive at The Huffington Post
Articles and interviews
- Kugel, Allison (May 14, 2008). "Ralph Nader Goes to Washington ... Again". PR.com.
- "How Winstedites Kept Their Integrity," article by Nader in the September 1963 issue of The Freeman
- Ralph Nader's America: Impeach Obama, decriminalize drugs, libertarians & progressives unite! Yahoo! News, April 29, 2014
- For Nader, Defiance Is a Way of Life. Chris Hedges for Truthdig. April 12, 2015
- The Empire Files: Ralph Nader & Abby Martin on the Corporate Elections. The Real News. December 20, 2015
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Fields of study | |
Key players |
Anti-nuclear movement in the United States | |
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General | |
Organizations and groups |
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People |
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Main protest sites | |
Books |
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Films |
Gandhi Peace Award laureates | |
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1960–1979 |
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1980–1999 |
|
2000–2019 |
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- Ralph Nader
- 1934 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century Connecticut politicians
- 21st-century American historians
- 21st-century American male writers
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century Connecticut politicians
- American anti–Iraq War activists
- American anti–nuclear power activists
- American columnists
- American democracy activists
- American drug policy reform activists
- American environmentalists
- American male non-fiction writers
- American male novelists
- American non-fiction environmental writers
- American political writers
- American politicians of Lebanese descent
- American University faculty
- American writers of Lebanese descent
- Anti-consumerists
- Anti-corporate activists
- Candidates in the 1992 United States presidential election
- Candidates in the 1996 United States presidential election
- Candidates in the 2000 United States presidential election
- Candidates in the 2004 United States presidential election
- Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election
- Connecticut Greens
- Connecticut independents
- Connecticut lawyers
- Dissidents
- Consumer rights activists
- Green Party of the United States politicians
- Green Party of the United States presidential nominees
- Harvard Law School alumni
- Historians from Connecticut
- HuffPost writers and columnists
- Military personnel from Connecticut
- Novelists from Connecticut
- Organization founders
- Peace and Freedom Party politicians
- Peace and Freedom Party presidential nominees
- People from Winsted, Connecticut
- Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni
- Reform Party of the United States of America politicians
- Substack writers
- United States Army soldiers
- University of Hartford faculty