Free Republic

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state Green Party is hoping to enlist a new candidate to run against Sen. Chris Dodd in 2010. Friday, the party urged Winsted-native Ralph Nader, the 76-year-old frequent presidential candidate, to jump into the race. Nader has experience running in national elections, having run for president three times. Nader was in West Hartford on Friday for a book signing. At the same time, supporters are urging him to get into what they called one of the hottest political races in the country. “If enough people, hundreds and hundreds of people urge Ralph Nader to run,...

Consumer advocate and former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader says President Barack Obama is “a serious disappointment.” “He’s a frightened man,” Nader told Yahoo Tech Ticker. “He doesn’t like to take on corporate power, that’s quite clear in the first nine months… he’s a harmony-ideology type, which is not what you want for a strong president.” One of Nader’s primary complaints is that Obama, unlike most of his recent predecessors, has not taken a strong stand on consumer protection. “Let’s face it, consumers pay the final bill,” Nader says. “You’d think the president would give some attention to it....

Ralph Nader will be in South Carolina this Tuesday, October 6, 2009. He will be speaking on health care reform and single payer. When: Tuesday October 6, 2009 11 a.m. Where: Presbyterian College Belk Auditorium 503 South Broad St. Clinton, South Carolina 29325 For more information contact: Matthew Zawiksy at 716.479.2351 E-mail: zawisky@gmail.com

Ralph Nader has been many things: lawyer, consumer-rights bulldog, political activist and perennial third-party presidential candidate. He has now added a new title to his business card: fiction writer. His latest book, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!, is a 700-page populist fantasy in which a small group of billionaires and media moguls — led by Warren Buffett and including Ted Turner, George Soros, Bill Cosby, Yoko Ono and Phil Donahue — pool their massive resources to reform the U.S. With the help of a $15 billion war chest and a p.r. campaign starring a talking parrot, the group successfully...

Becton College [of Fairleigh Dickinson University] and the SGA [Student Gov't Assn.] proudly present a Special Hot Topics Event Ralph Nader on “Health Insurance and Health Care: The Battle in Washington” When: Tuesday, September 15, 7:00 p.m. Where: Lenfell Hall, the Mansion, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison (NJ) campus. RSVP required: By Thursday, September 10 to mmcmahon@fdu.edu [You could also try telephoning direct to 973-443-8750.] Important Note: Doors close promptly at 6:50. No admission after that time.

Dr. Howard Dean’s fans come out for the big Democratic summer shindig As Tom Andrews, the director of the leading national antiwar coalition, began his speech at the Maine Democrats’ big outdoor summer shindig in Falmouth, John Baldacci signaled his bodyguard/driver to move the large, dark SUV up the driveway. The vehicle soon hid in the trees, its engine quietly humming. At first, the governor seemed to be paying attention as Andrews, the former First District congressman, launched into rousing tales of how the country, under President George W. Bush, had gone "from peace and prosperity to war and recession."...

Yesterday, perennial presidential candidate Ralph Nader made a rather explosive claim about Terry McAuliffe, the former head of the DNC who is now running for Governor in Virginia. His charge? That in 2004-- just four years after Nader had played the spoiler role in the contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush by drawing tens of thousands of Florida votes away from the Democratic candidate--McAuliffe approached Nader with a proposition as to how to avoid a repeat: He said McAuliffe, who was the Democratic National Committee chairman at the time, had offered Nader's campaign an unspecified amount of money,...

WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer advocate Ralph Nader today issued the following statement on GM's bankruptcy filing: Today's bankruptcy declaration in federal court by General Motors is an avoidable, crude weapon of mass devastation for workers, dealers, auto suppliers, small businesses and their depleted communities. For GM's voiceless owners -- the common shareholders -- it is a wipeout. The proximate cause of the bankruptcy was supposed to be the inability of GM and the government's auto task force to reach an accommodation with GM's bondholders. But late last week, the bondholder problem was moving toward rapid resolution, and was...

Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader went public Thursday with an allegation that Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe offered him campaign money to stay off the ballot in key states during the 2004 elections. “Terry McAuliffe is slipperier than an eel in olive oil,” Nader said in an interview. He said McAuliffe, who was the Democratic National Committee chairman at the time, had offered Nader’s campaign an unspecified amount of money, believed to be party funds, to spend in 31 states in exchange for an agreement to withdraw from 19 battleground states where he could potentially hurt Democrat John Kerry. The...

What public purposes animate the government's planned rescue of General Motors Corp?Millions of people in communities across the country depend on the government getting the GM rescue right. That's why it is startling -- and mistaken -- for the future of GM to rest with a small, largely unaccountable, ad hoc task force made up of a handful of Wall Street expats. A congressional abdication of authority of historic proportions has left the executive branch with nearly complete discretion over how to handle GM and Chrysler's restructuring. President Barack Obama has further delegated authority, giving effective control to this task...

Yesterday morning, eight doctors, lawyers and other activists stood up to Senator Max Baucus. And the private health insurance industry. And the corporate liberals in Congress. The eight activists demanded that single payer - everybody in, nobody out, free choice of doctor and hospital - be put on the table. And as a result they were arrested. And charged with a so-called "disruption of Congress." The Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Democracy Now and National Public Radio all carried stories about the protest. C-Span carried it live. And it was widely disseminated on the Internet. Baucus crafted a hearing...

Obama Taps Ralph Nader to Run GM, Nader Joins UAW by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace · 2 Comments (2009-03-30) — President Barack Obama today tapped consumer advocate and career presidential candidate Ralph Nader to replace fired General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner. Mr. Nader immediately announced he would join the United Autoworkers Union (UAW). “The federal government has no intention of running a car company,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s why I’m bringing in Ralph Nader, who had a major influence on GM during the final years of its heyday.” Other than replacing the CEO and much of the board, and personally...

See link for Nader's demand that Limbaugh "rent" the airwaves.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is an open letter to Rush Limbaugh from Ralph Nader: Rush Limbaugh The Rush Limbaugh Show 2 Penn Plaza New York, NY 10121 Dear Mr. Limbaugh, The Associated Press reports your new contract with Premiere Radio Networks will enrich you with at least $38 million a year over the next eight years. You are making this money on the public property of the American people for which you pay no rent. You, Rush Limbaugh, are on welfare. As you know, the public airwaves belong to the American people. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)...

Before Inauguration Day, the 111th Congress should pass a forward-looking resolution censuring President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for executive aggrandizements or abuses that have reduced Congress to vassalage and shredded the rule of law. The resolution should express a congressional intent to prevent repetitions by the President-elect Barack Obama or his successors. The objective is not Bush-Cheney bashing, but to restore a republican form of government in which "We the People" are sovereign, and the president is checked and publicly scrutinized by Congress and the courts. The Bush-Cheney duumvirate won an undeclared war against the Constitution. Most troublesome,...

I don't know how I missed this - it looks like it was election night and Nader was given chance after chance to back off and say he should not have used the phrase "Uncle Tom"

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader apologized for using the phrase “Uncle Tom” in reference to president-elect Barack Obama. “It was totally inappropriate,” Nader admitted. “The Uncle Tom of literary fame was a noble, hard-working man. Obama is nothing like that.”

November 3, 2008 Open letter to Senator Barack Obama Dear Senator Obama: In your nearly two-year presidential campaign, the words "hope and change," "change and hope" have been your trademark declarations. Yet there is an asymmetry between those objectives and your political character that succumbs to contrary centers of power that want not "hope and change" but the continuation of the power-entrenched status quo. Far more than Senator McCain, you have received enormous, unprecedented contributions from corporate interests, Wall Street interests and, most interestingly, big corporate law firm attorneys. Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy...

"My advice to Obama is to try and organise his people, because from day one he's going to be a prisoner of the giant corporations, who control the government he presides over. There will be a lot of economic crisis, wars in Iraq and on the Afghanistan-Pakistani border, and growing unemployment. So he doesn't have much room to maneuver, unless he builds more political energy among the people. Does he have a personality for that? No, he doesn't have a challenging personality, he has an accommodating personality to power and that doesn't spell very good news for the American people....

Ralph Nader asks if Barack Hussein Obama is going to be Uncle Sam or Uncle Tom in his reign as President of the United States. Shepard Smith takes exception to Nader’s remarks.

Here is video of Fox News' Shepherd Smith confronting Ralph Nader for saying on radio earlier today that Barack Obama now must choose between being an "Uncle Sam" who serves the neediest people of America or whether he will choose to be an "Uncle Tom" for corporations. As you will see, Nader does not regret using that choice of words one bit. He is an idiot for saying such a thing, and Shepherd Smith is over the top too. . . . . (Watch Video)

I just heard an ad listening to coast-2-coast for Ralph Nader. I am not sure whether it was a national ad or just in Virginia.

BOSTON—Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader says he now holds the world record for most campaign speeches in a single day. Nader, 74, who is on the ballot in 45 states but is polling in single digits, said he delivered at least 255 minutes of speeches in 21 Massachusetts communities on Saturday. Nader said that was enough to get him into the Guinness Book of World Records. Guinness officials said Nader needed to give at least 150 minutes of speeches, with each speech lasting at least 10 minutes. And each time, there must be at least 10 people watching who didn't...

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader says he now holds the world record for most campaign speeches in a single day. Nader, who is on the ballot in 45 states but is polling in single digits, said he delivered at least 255 minutes of speeches in 21 Massachusetts communities on Saturday. Nader said that was enough to get him listed with Guinness World Records. Beginning at 8:15 a.m. Saturday in Westfield, Mass., Nader used several settings for his speeches, including a deli, a farmer's market and a library. Each time, he stayed anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour.

Title: Nader Schools Palin! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02zpXmFEUaY&feature=related WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT COWARD RALPH NADER SAY THIS TO THE REAL GOV. PALIN! Then we would see who the one getting schooled is, I betcha.

In a historic national presidential campaign that has shunted third-party candidates from the spotlight, San Franciscans may have forgotten that one of their own is making a bid for the vice presidency. Former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, running with independent candidate for president Ralph Nader, was in the Bay Area on Friday as the pair continue their national campaign, having made the ballot in 45 states. "It's been quite an experience," the 43-year-old Gonzalez reflected. Gonzalez said he has been impressed by the support their campaign has received, including in economically depressed areas in parts of Ohio and Michigan....

Watch tonight (Thursday, October 23) at 9pm ET Check your local listings for the channel. Chuck Baldwin will have an opportunity to share his views in a debate scheduled for Thursday, October 23, at 9:00 PM ET in Washington DC. Baldwin, along with other third party candidates will show voters they don’t have to settle for the socialist policies of Obama or McCain. Chuck will detail his vision for a return to Constitutional government in a 90 minute forum. This was the press release on the debate: WASHINGTON, DC- Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-TX) choice for President is among those invited...

So where is Ralph Nader? of all years when there is so much corruption on the rat side, worse than normal, where is our glorious man of righteous thinking and ideals? where is the uproar over the 1/2 billion spent by husseins' campaign, and where is the uproar over WHERE this money came from... Why aren't the banking and mortgage connections and the contributions hussein rec'd from Wall street robber barons under scrutiny by Nader?.. my opinion?.....they're out there but the drivebys won't cover them because its not in their marching orders.....

FUNNY!

Resigned to his exclusion from participating, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on Tuesday asked the Commission on Presidential Debates for a seat in the audience instead. “In a spirit of fairness, since you won’t allow us in the debates or release the secret polls that you rely on to figure out which candidates meet your threshold of 15 percent national support, I would like to ask that you allow me, and the three other third-party presidential candidates who are on the majority of state ballots, the common courtesy to at least have a seat at the debates among the audience,”...

In a study released today, October 10, the Gallup organization reported that third-party candidates do not appear to be a factor in the Presidential election. In Presidential elections, about 1% of voters will select a candidate other than the two major-party candidates, including a few who vote for the perennial Disney Party favorite, Mickey Mouse, some who write in “none of the above,” and scattered votes for minor parties virtually unknown outside of a local area. The Gallup results indicate that third-party voting in this election will not be substantially above that norm.

Chris Dodd, the populist hero? Chris Dodd, the protector of taxpayers? Chris Dodd, the Sheriff of Wall Street? Puh-leeze. How about Chris Dodd, the guy who helped steer us into this mess in the first place? Or Chris Dodd, the guy who spent a career passing laws friendly to banks and taking gobs of their money whenever election time rolled around? [snip] But Dodd's record is marked by votes to loosen controls over the banking and securities industries that his Senate Banking Committee was supposed to be overseeing. Most notably, Dodd voted to repeal the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, therefore allowing...

Bob Barr Implodes: Two weeks ago the Libertarian nominee pulled out of a press conference Ron Paul had called with the four leading third-party candidates (Barr, Baldwin, Nader, McKinney) to highlight their common ground. Barr decided to hold a press conference of his own down the hall. He also sent Paul a snide note — transmitted to Barr's e-mail list as well — suggesting that Paul ought to replace the hapless Wayne Allyn Root as Barr's running mate. This ploy could hardly have been more ham-handed: If Barr wanted to appear generous, he should have offered Paul, obviously by far...

SAN FRANCISCO — The financial-markets bailout bill that the House rejected Monday should be "scrapped forever" and replaced with mortgage aid for struggling homeowners and prosecution of Wall Street robber barons, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader said Tuesday. Nader began a daylong Bay Area blitz with a news conference outside the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco with running mate and former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as well as "peace mom" activist Cindy Sheehan, an independent congressional candidate challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Federal Reserve is "a secret government within a government, it is out of control, it...

Civil rights activist Peter Miguel Camejo, an advocate of third party politics, died early today at his home in Walnut Creek, according to Ralph Nader, who notified The Bee in an e-mailed tribute. ...Camejo was a third party candidate for state and national office. He was Nader's running mate in the 2004 presidential election, and attempted three gubernatorial runs in California for the Green Party. In 2002 he garnered 5.3 percent of the vote. In the 2003 recall election, he debated Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis.

There will be a record number of presidential candidates before the voters on the general election ballot in Florida. Secretary of State Kurt Browning has certified 13 candidates, including U.S. Sen. John McCain and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, for the Nov. 4 election; with space on the ballot to write-in another. County supervisors of elections are expected to complete their ballots early next week, as they have to be ready to mail overseas by Sept. 20. The ballot also includes perennial candidates James Harris of Florida’s Socialist Workers Party and Ralph Nader, now of the Ecology Party of Florida, along...

<p>The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.</p>

link only.http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDgHGLpSnR4V9L_yGzr2USAwY4BQD933E5BO2

Rep. Ron Paul, the former Republican presidential candidate who excited a multitude of young voters during the primaries, announced a “major” news conference in Washington Wednesday. With a range of third-party candidates at his side – including the Libertarian Party’s Bob Barr, independent candidate Ralph Nader, the Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin and the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney – it’s unlikely that Paul will pick just one to support. But his spokesman said to expect “something of an endorsement,” with “a real effect on this fall’s election.”

In 1985, Barack Obama traveled halfway across the country to take a job that he didn't fully understand. But, while he knew little about his new vocation--community organizer--it still had a romantic ring, at least to his 24-year-old ears. With his old classmates from Columbia, he had talked frequently about political change. Now, he was moving to Chicago to put that talk into action. His 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, recounts his idealistic effusions: "Change won't come from the top, I would say. Change will come from a mobilized grass roots. That's what I'll do. I'll organize black folks....

The dance continues. Nader seeks a diverse and fierce ticket. In an election environment where diversity is playing a key role in attracting voters, perpetual presidential contender Ralph Nader said he's decided on dancer Jose Fantastico as his running mate. Fantastico will be the first Hispanic and the only openly gay vice presidential candidate in history. "Oh my God! I feel like Sally Field," Fantastico said at a press conference. "You like me! You really, really like me!" Fantastico said he brings a lot to the ticket. His style sense is listed as a major asset to Nader, who has...

This amusing story comes from Ballot Access News: Section 192.031 of the Texas election code says that political parties must certify their presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the November ballot no later than 70 days before the general election. It says, “A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president placed on the ballot if before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party’s state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of the name’s of the party’s nominees for president and vice-president.” This...

DENVER -- The Ralph Nader for President campaign in Colorado revved up to start its demonstration march at the onset of the Democratic National Convention. All six supporters were ready to go, leaflets in hand, their 15-foot-tall brown beer-bottle protest balloon was inflated and tied down on the trailer behind the 18-year-old silver Ford F-150 pickup. Then disaster struck -- the generator powering the air-pump that kept the balloon afloat died. Out of gas. The giant balloon shriveled and went limp. One of the Naderites sprinted off for the nearest gas station. "We're trying to draw attention to our rally...

Consumer activist Ralph Nader has found an unconventional way to get on Oregon's ballot this year: He will be the presidential nominee of a brand-new party.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," August 20, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: CAVUTO: Ralph Nader says he has figured out something, that Barack Obama is desperate, and he is so worried he is going to lose, he is going to go for Hillary Clinton as his running mate. No one says that. Ralph Nader does. Ralph is here to explain. Mr. Nader, good to have you. Thank you for coming. RALPH NADER, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pretty good, Neil. • Video: Watch Neil's interview...

Count Ralph Nader as unimpressed by the crop of supposed finalists to be Barack Obama’s running mate. “I don’t think he’s that dumb,” said Nader, commenting on widespread speculation that Obama’s choices are down to Sens. Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, or Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. The smart pick, according to Nader, is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Nader phoned into Politico Tuesday afternoon to offer his prediction that a surprise nod to Clinton is actually what Obama has in store—never mind the talk of mistrust between the Clintons and Obama. “He just has to swallow hard and do what JFK did” in...

Nader plans rallies for conventionsBy Sam Youngman Posted: 08/12/08 01:40 PM [ET] Perennial also-ran Ralph Nader is planning to hold a rally at both the Democratic and Republican conventions aimed at securing him a place in this year’s presidential debates. Nader’s “Super Rallies” are scheduled for Aug. 27 in Denver, where the Democrats are gathering, and Sept. 4 in Minneapolis during the Republican convention. The Nader campaign said in a release that it is expecting 5,000-7,000 people at the rally in Denver. The campaign is asking attendees to contribute $10 for an advance ticket and $12 at the door. Many...

WASHINGTON – Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is quietly making headway in his third bid for president. He clinched a major victory last Saturday by getting on the California ballot as the nominee of the Peace and Freedom Party. In 2004, Nader was on the ballot in only 34 states, and that did not include California. With the major-party candidates in a close race, Nader could have an impact, perhaps as dramatic as in 2000, when the then-Green Party nominee received more than 97,000 votes in Florida, which Democratic nominee Al Gore lost by 537 votes to George W. Bush....

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is again slamming Barack Obama. ABC News reports Nader says Obama will not make the kind of African-American president that he and other civil rights supporters had hoped for. "People who have fought the civil rights battle... would often talk about, 'look what would happen if we had an African-American president'... it doesn't look like it's going to be what we all thought it would be," Nadar said. Nader also says he lost respect for Obama because the senator opposed the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Nader told the Rocky Mountain News...

HARRISBURG - Ralph Nader has landed a spot on the Pennsylvania presidential ballot again. The question is, can he keep it this time? Nader, an independent who was knocked off the ballot by Democratic challenges in 2004, submitted nearly 55,000 signatures to the Department of State yesterday. That's more than twice the number needed. The department counted and reviewed 24,665 signatures, the number needed for third-party candidates to place their names on the fall ballot, spokeswoman Leslie Amoros said. In 2004, a group of Democratic voters challenged Nader's petition and Commonwealth Court ruled that a majority of the signatures were...