"Turn onto politics or politics will turn on you" -Ralph Nader
I want to marry Ralph Nader. It would not be sexual, because he is nearly 70 and does not believe in cosmetic drugs (aka Viagra). I would merely be his intellectual mistress.
So while most women my age are drooling over the latest model on the Abercrombie bag, I am busy defending the love of my life against misplaced attacks that he should not be in the presidential race.
To begin, these pointed attacks have criticized Nader for being a selfish, egomaniacal man who is out to cost the Democrats the election again. In no way is Nader running to feed an immense ego.
A look into Nader's history shows that he has fought tirelessly for the common man since early adulthood. His groundbreaking book "Unsafe at Any Speed" single-handedly pushed the government to establish and enforce safety regulations for the automobile industry.
The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 lead to shatter-resistant windshields, headrests, seat belts, and collapsible steering columns - all of which have saved thousands of lives. A study conducted in 1978 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that collapsible steering columns reduced serious injuries by 38 percent and deaths by 12 percent.
Nader, at that time, held a Harvard law degree and had a promising career as a professor at the University of Hartford. If Nader were truly selfish and only concerned with his ego, he would have used his law degree and impressive intelligence to garner a large salary in a law firm somewhere. Instead Nader has continuously fought for the average American.
Now on to Nader's perceived threat to a Kerry candidacy: Without out a doubt I wholeheartedly believe George W. Bush must be evicted from the White House, and if I had my way, someone would give him a good kick in the pants on the way out. Given this, I am a tad anxious about Nader's effect on the campaign, but bear with me.
Nader's role in this race, as it was in 2000, is to invigorate the stagnant political party. We live in a country where only half of the population bothers to vote in presidential elections. While there are several reasons why this has happened in every election in our lifetimes, I believe one of the most potent issues is the disillusionment of the average American. The two-party system has only each other to compete with, no new ideas are being introduced and more and more, the Democratic party is moving towards the Republicans.
Nader, as many independent and third parties have historically done, will provide another avenue for citizens to participate in the political process. He will widen the public political discourse. Before Nader planned his candidacy he sent a letter to both the Democratic and Republican National Committees detailing 35 policy points that he asked the parties to address. Nader has said if the parties had accepted these points, he would had abstained from the race, they were unwilling to do so and thus Nader feels an obligation to the public to campaign on these issues.
To believe that Nader cost Al Gore the election in 2000 is to forget the one fact that makes many Democrats so angry today: Gore won the popular vote. According to a Democratic exit poll on the Nader for President Web site, 60 percent of Nader's 2000 voters would not have voted for Gore.
Kerry and foaming-at-the-mouth Democrats should stop worrying about Nader's candidacy and focus on Kerry's. The fact that our country's political system has become so entrenched and distorted that one can be seen as a "spoiler" is very sad indeed. Every candidate is responsible for winning his or her own votes. They should have a platform and lead a campaign that excites the American public enough to support them.
A Nader candidacy can only help the Democrats. Nader has vowed to lead more and harsher attacks against the Bush administration. The more media and public attention given to the failed and corrupt policies of Bush should help the Democrats defeat Bush. Nader's work to broaden the scope of public discourse is a long road, but one worth traveling whatever the year.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
