Ralph Nader, facing the wrath of Democrats who blame him for Al Gore’s loss in 2000, on Monday offered words of advice to party members who fear his candidacy will help re-elect President Bush.
“I urge the liberal establishment to relax and rejoice,” Nader told reporters at a news conference. “This is a campaign that strives to displace the present corporate regime of the Bush administration.”
Nader faces a daunting task in simply getting his name on the ballot in all 50 states. The consumer advocate is an independent without major party support or significant financial resources.
Nader’s first target is Texas, where he said he needs to garner more than 60,000 signatures in a 60-day period from voters who are not participating in the Democratic or Republican primaries. “It won’t be easy,” he said.
Nader ripped into Bush and the Democratic Party on Monday.
“How long is the learning curve before we recognize that political parties are the problem?” Nader said. “They’re the ones who have turned our government over to the corporations, so they can say no to universal health insurance and no to a living wage and no to environmental sanity and no to renewable energy.”
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Compiled from RedEye news services and edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Lara Weber (lweber@tribune.com)
