From: Mike Feinstein Newsgroups: alt.politics.greens Subject: PRESS: Nader's crusade to White Hse Date: Thu, 04 Jul 1996 02:18:35 -0700 (PDT) /* Written 1:11 AM Jul 4, 1996 by mfeinstein in igc:grns.usa.forum */ /* ---------- "PRESS: Nader's crusade to White Hse" ---------- */ Copyright 1996 The Detroit News, Inc. The Detroit News June 30, 1996, Sunday SECTION: Business; LENGTH: 1073 words HEADLINE: Nader's consumer crusade leads him to White House door BYLINE: By Richard Willing / Detroit News Washington Bureau DATELINE: WASHINGTON BODY: WASHINGTON -- The door opens and Ralph Nader -- you remember him -- comes shambling through. The 62-year-old consumer advocate is wearing corduroy pants and a baby blue flannel shirt that looks like a pajama top -- and the same steely half-smile that struck fear into the hearts of the captains of the auto industry 30 years ago. This time, he's a candidate not just for scourge of American corporatism, but for the consumer economy's biggest prize -- the presidency itself. "I'm not like the other (candidates)," Nader says, draping his lanky 6-feet, 3-inch frame over a chair in the conference room he has borrowed for this interview. "They're two different heads, with different types of makeup, on the same body." In the world of look-alike, sound-alike candidates, Ralph Nader sticks out like a Volvo in a Cadillac dealership. But his race for the presidency is a logical outgrowth, as Nader sees it, of years of battle with auto, lumber, insurance, airline and food-processing industries. Once upon a time, he says, he and other lone warriors were able to make things happen -- the National Highway Traffic Safety Act of 1966, the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967, the Drinking Water Act of 1974. That's no longer possible, he explains, because America's politics are now a "fully owned and operated subsidiary" of America's corporations. "In this town you don't have a chance to have a chance anymore," Nader says. At least one politician is taking notice. President Bill Clinton's campaign is said to be polling furiously in California to learn whether Nader's strength in the nation's largest state could tip the balance toward Republican challenger Bob Dole. In recent public polls Nader consistently has drawn 8 percent, all of it from Clinton. And Clinton's veto of tort reform legislation last month may be partly due to Nader's opposition to the measure. Nader thinks lawsuits are the consumer's last resort, and some Nader groups are funded in part by trial lawyers. The Nader for President campaign is quixotic and quirky and fully in keeping with its standard-bearer's rumpled image. Nader's not a member of the party that has drafted him -- the Europe-based, environment-focused Green Party. He's taking no contributions, buying no ads and hasn't even registered with the Federal Election Commission. He figures he'll make only a few campaign trips -- he's made none so far -- grabbing the summer discount fares and staying with friends. He can't tell you how many other state ballots he'll appear on (six so far, with at least 15 more, including Michigan, a possibility). But Nader does have a platform, and it's built around what he calls his "new democracy tool box." * The option to vote "none of the above" in any election. If "none of the above" wins a majority, the election is re-run with new candidates. * Term limits -- 12 years and out for all legislative offices. * Free advertising air time and complete public financing of political campaigns. * Rollback of congressional pay to 1988 levels. According to Nader, taking big money out of politics is the key. "Where's Dole most vulnerable? On the fact that he's in the pocket of the corporations," Nader says. "So why doesn't Clinton attack him on that point, other than a little bit with (the) tobacco industry? Because he's right in there with him." As evidence, Nader looks no further than the transportation industry. Under Clinton, he says, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been overly forgiving of car manufacturers -- a "consulting firm for the auto industry." In allowing states to waive the 55-mile-per-hour federal speed limit, Nader says, Clinton showed his true colors. "(Clinton) is chronically cowardly as a politician when it comes to corporate power," Nader says. The auto industry, of course, is where Nader came in. His book Unsafe At Any Speed, written in 1965, accused GM of putting the Chevrolet Corvair on the road even though the company knew of its tendency to flip over. The company dispatched private investigators to look into, among other things, Nader's love life. They dint fnd on. Baelor ade remns weded o hi wrk). The ensuing publicity helped lead to the passage of the National Highway Traffic Safety Act ad he cratio f NTSA n 1966. Nader's lawsuit against General Motors led to a $ 480,000 settlement which he used to finance the first of many dozen public interest lobbies he has founded. Nader lived through heady times -- in the early 1970s the Gallup Poll found he was one of the world's 10 most admired men -- and the inevitable eclipse. He now runs only one lobby himself -- the Center for the Study of Responsive Law -- and picks his issues with perhaps more care. "He may be a little mellower, but it's all in the eyes of the beholder," says Clarence Ditlow, director of the Nader-founded Center for Auto Safety and a friend of 25 years. "He still works as hard as he ever worked. He still gets as outraged as ever at consumer abuse. "He's just a little more patient with people who don't have his (seven-day-a-week) work style." Nader has not mellowed that much. The auto industry, he says, still has a long way to go to stem vehicle rollover and side-impact crashes, improve seat integrity, fuel tank placement and truck brakes and other safety elements. Asked if he is concerned that his candidacy might cost Clinton the election, Nader says, "Clinton's too unprincipled to lose to Dole. "Whatever it takes to win, he's willing to do it." Ralph Nader Title: Director, Center for the Study of Responsive Law Home: Washington, D.C. Born: Feb. 27, 1934, in Winsted, Conn. Marital Status: Single Parents: Nadra and Rose Bouziane Nader, Lebanese immigrants who ran a restaurant. Education: Princeton University, bachelor of arts magna cum laude, 1955; Harvard University Law School, L.B. with istncion 158 Current issues: Consumer choice under managed health care systems; requiring "a-national" corporations to show civic responsibility in job creation and environmental care. Hobbies: Reading, hiking, following baseball (New York Yankees). Quote: "There's not a whit of difference between Reagan, Bush and Clinton on banking, Federal Reserve, insurance, Treasury and Commerce policy, military budgets, intelligence budgets, arms exports and most regulatory agencies."