Former Nader Supporters Offer Critiques of His 2004 Campaign

Pollster John Zogby, who is tracking the presidential race weekly in 16 key states, was quoted by Knight Ridder news service this week as saying that Ralph Nader “is the difference in virtually every battleground state.”

Few prominent supporters of Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign are backing him this year. The following former members of the Nader 2000 Citizens Committee, which was selected by Nader, are available for interviews:

RONNIE DUGGER
Dugger — the founding editor of the Texas Observer and author of biographies of Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan — presented Nader to the Green Party national convention that nominated him for president in 2000. Dugger said today: “Nader seems to understand but to deny that his candidacy can help Bush win.”

THEODORE LOWI
Lowi is a professor of government at Cornell University. He said today: “Michael Moore and Bill Maher were not alone when they begged Ralph Nader on bended knee before a national TV audience to withdraw his presidential candidacy. A substantial number of the most prominent and active public supporters of his 2000 candidacy were spiritually doing the same thing. I was one of those. And as one of the few political scientists who has for years been a critic of the two-party system, I saw in Nader the perfect opportunity in 2000 to change our system. He was the candidate of an existing party, guaranteeing its endurance for years to come; and 2000 was ideal because the rightward movement of the Democratic Party during the ’90s had obliterated its distinction from the Republican Party. This of course was before the true identity of George W. Bush had been revealed. Nader knows as well as the rest of us that, despite Kerry’s lackluster leadership, there is now a radical difference between the two major parties. Moreover, Nader is running as a ‘bullet candidate’; without any party affiliation, he is a mere spoiler with no future.”

SARAH RUTH VAN GELDER
Sarah van Gelder said today: “Nader’s [2004] presidential bid is not building the infrastructure for real change, nor effectively forwarding the debate.” Van Gelder, editor-in-chief of YES! magazine, is speaking for herself only. (Her opinions do not reflect those of the organization, which has not taken a position on this question.)

For more information, contact the Institute for Public Accuracy at (202) 347-0020 or (541) 484-9167.