Who Is Ralph Nader And Why Should You Vote For Him?
Ralph and Wendy April 19, 2008 |
Ralph and Joe April 19, 2008 |
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Nader Interview Pt 1 |
Nader Interview Pt 2 |
Nader Interview Pt 3 |
Nader Interview Pt 4
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Nov. 1, 2008 |
17 Traditions: Nader's Home Town |
Ralph's still got it :-) |
So many people have become disillusioned over the past few months with Obama and McCain (and their VP choices), that many are looking for a better alternative. In our opinion a vote for Obama OR McCain is a vote for Bush, the person who has caused such terrible damage to this country. Bush, McCain and Obama are all Corporatists whose goal is to transfer as much wealth as possible from the lower and middle classes into the hands of the bankers, oil companies, health insurance companies and job exporting manufacturers who are collectively destroying this nation. Joe and I would like to share with you what we have learned about who we believe is the most experienced, principled candidate running for President. We hope you will take a few minutes to read this little page we made for the family. 
Were it not for Ralph Nader, I (Wendy) would be a widow right now. Joe's life was saved by wearing a seat belt when he was in a severe car crash. Ralph Nader was instrumental in making sure seat belts were available to car buyers starting back in the 60's. Joe and I were already on board with Ralph before we met him in April. Nonetheless it was a thrill to be able to ask him our own questions in person. He's a super nice guy, and you could see that he was genuinely concerned about each and every concern or issue raised. There is no question that anyone anywhere could ask that would stump him. Heck, he even knew about Boston Terriers, consumer-related dog issues, and of course border control, our own personal issues. He is not the dour persona you may think he is - he has a great sense of humor and this sense of humor comes from his exceedingly intelligent mind and ability to know what makes people tick. We like smart people and am not easily impressed, but Ralph is simply a walking encyclopedia. Mom always tells the story of how when Joe was young and people would come over to the house to visit, Joe would walk up to everyone and ask "do YOU know everything"? I reminded Joe of that after we met Ralph, he's FINALLY met the person who knows EVERYTHING :-) He agreed! Joe and I have been contributing to his campaign since he first announce he'd be running in February since he exemplifies what we think a great president should be. Joe can be argumentative about these things as you know, but he has never ONCE disagreed with anything Ralph has ever said - that's saying a lot!! 
We personally admire him for his honesty, integrity and dedication to this country. He can never be accused of "just promising" or "just talking the talk" in the political campaign arena, because unlike all the rest, he has a PROVEN TRACK RECORD showing he has always accomplished what he has set out to do. He still has a lot of miles left on him :-) and a lifetime of learning to offer us and our country. His list of accomplishments is a mile long (see link below), something you cannot say about any other candidate running. He has old fashion values, something that is all but lost today. He is in touch with what the commercializing of childhood is about, and despises how the kids are being taken in by big business at such an early age (video games, junk food, etc).
Did you know that volunteers have to travel to all the states to gather individual signatures from thousands of registered voters (each state has a different requirement) so that Ralph can get on the ballot in each respective state? This is a daunting task, something the dems and republicans don't have to do, but even though his volunteers have had a VERY short time to do this in, he is already on the ballot in most all of the states he has aimed for. He is a write-in in Texas, Indiana, North Carolina and Georgia - but is printed on all the other state ballots. Unfortunately, Oklahoma will not count write-in votes for their state - the only state in the US that doesn't. There is currently a lawsuit regarding this issue that Nader my join in on.
Did you also know that Ralph has personally visited each and every state (and many more than once) and spoken with the people not only about about his campaign, but about their own statewide issues? He has pretty much been in a different state each day. Do you think the other candidates have made it to EVERY state in the US? He says it's very important for him to personally travel to each state and speak individually with people so he can hear their concerns. We think that's pretty cool. He also broke the Guinness Book Of World Records last week for the number of speeches given in one day! They will be submitting the proof to Guinness so he will hopefully be the new titleholder.
Back in the 60's, Nader became an American folk hero when executives of General Motors hired private detectives to harass him and then publicly apologized before a nationally televised Senate committee hearing. 
Here's a VERY brief listing of Ralph's plans if he wins the Presidency:
Adopt single payer national health insurance See his web site for how Ralph stands on your own personal issues - there are many, many issues he discusses. Scroll down the page to the section that starts with "Affirmative Action".
Cut the huge, bloated, wasteful military budget
Immediate Strategic withdrawal from Iraq
No to nuclear power, solar energy first. Ralph is for all things "green".
Living Wage (no more piddling minimum wages that a family cannot be supported on)
Aggressive crackdown on corporate crime and corporate welfare
Open up the Presidential debates
Adopt a carbon pollution tax
Reverse U.S. policy in the Middle East
Impeach Bush/Cheney
Repeal the Taft-Hartley anti-union law
Adopt a Wall Street securities speculation tax
Put an end to ballot access obstructionism
Work to end corporate personhood Defend, Restore and Strengthen the Civil Justice System
Adopt the National Initiative
No to the "No Child Left behind" program
Ralph Nader knows that his opponent Barack Obama is a smart guy - but where he questions him (along with MANY OTHER AREAS) is in integrity - will he stand up for what is right and not allow himself to be bought by the corporations? Obama has already shown us over the past few months that the answer to this is NO. Obama recently voted FOR the telecommunications companies to be allowed to continue spying/listening-in on our private conversations (after originally being opposed to it). Yes, it's true. But Ralph on the other hand cannot and will not be bought - he has spent his whole life helping people that have been ripped off by corporations, he has fought and won all the big battles and he has done so with a great understanding of the legal process and an innate sense of what is right and wrong. He believes in privacy rights for all citizens as allowed for in our constitution. He is all about common sense and possesses the means by which to make this world a better place. He doesn't want our kids left at home watching video games while mom and dad are caught up in the rat-race just to make ends meet. If there was a decent living wage (not "minimum wage") families could spend more time with their children instead of hiring Wii to baby sit the kids! 
On the personal end of things, when asked why he never married he responds with a smile and says "who would put up with this"? He says he always knew it would not be fair to subject family to a life like his. He is married to his work for sure. He never takes a vacation and works ridiculously long hours. He has never owned a home or car and he lives on very, very little personal money. He has a good amount of money invested which is used to fund his various organizations and projects. He makes his money from speaking engagements and from the books he's written. We have seen his financial disclosure statement, so we know it's the truth.
Fun Facts: Ralph Nader appeared on Sesame Street 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." He also hosted an episode of "NBC's Saturday Night" in 1977.
Well, that's our own personal "blog" on Ralph. To get to know him for yourself, please watch the full-length movie (150 MB) about him that we have provided online for you ("An Unreasonable Man") as it will give you a very good idea what he is like. It was done independent of Ralph and includes naysayers and objective opinions so you can make up your own mind. Also check out the recent C-Span interview we have here and click on the links to see his full bio, his list of accomplishments and of course where he stands on the issues (that link takes you to his site). If all of this piques your interest, explore his own web site and join his mailing list which is a great way to keep in touch with what Ralph is up to each day. 
Lastly, do not fall into the trap of thinking your vote will be wasted if you vote for a third party candidate - it WON'T! Vote for the person you feel is right for the job and the one who best agrees with your own beliefs even if you don't vote for Ralph. Just please make sure you have looked at all the issues and how all the candidates stand on them before making your final decision (see ontheissues.org's site below for a very quick way to educate yourselves on the issues amongst the various candidates)
Thanks for giving us this opportunity to talk to about Ralph. Also, don't forget to watch the videos below.
For Justice, Wendy
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Download the full movie "An Unreasonable Man".
This is a 278 MB video file that we made, so sit back and download it for watching when you can devote 2 hours of your time to it. It is in .mp4 format so it is Apple iPod video compatible and it can also be played on your computer as long as you have Quicktime. |