John Kerry - George Bush - John Edwards - Howard Dean
Instead of The Lesser of Two Weasels
What Would Happen To America If Someone of True Integrity Was Elected?

I Don't Mean That Bush Would Fuck The Babysitter The Moment He Was Alone With Her
Or That Kerry or Edwards Would Keep Your Money If They Found Your Wallet
But Someone Who Is NOT A True Political Animal

Not Someone Who Has Been Just A Lawyer, A Senator, A Governor, An Actor or All Of The Above

Someone Who Doesn't Point With Their Thumb When They Talk
Someone Who Isn't Being Coached About The Soundbyte To Use
The Message To Stay On, The Way To Address You So You Feel No Threat and No Danger
Someone Who Doesn't Just "Want To Be The Next President of This Great Nation"
Someone Who Isn't Doing The Best Thing For Their Party
But Who Actually Might Truly Care More About The Direction The Country Goes In - And REALLY Act Accordingly
MORE Than Just "Can I Win?"

It Seems Politics and Elections In General Are Like A Full Stadium of Fans
They Divide Us Into Two Sides
US VS THEM - Doesn't Matter To Much Which Side Your On
The People Walking Away With All The Money, Power and Control Are Watching From The Skyboxes
They Are The Real Ones In Charge

But What If...

What If People Cast Their Vote For Who They REALLY Would Like To See President
Not Just Who Can Win
I Mean - How Many Times Have People Thought - I WOULD Vote For So-And-So But He Doesn't Have A Chance
If Everyone Who Thought That Way VOTED For That Person He WOULD Have A Chance
What If Everyone Who Was TRULY Curious About Real Change Did That?

What if...

Ralph Nader - Simple Biography

Ralph Nader is American's most renowned and effective crusader for the rights of consumers and the general public, a role that has repeatedly brought him into conflict with both business and government.

Ralph Nader was born in Winsted, Connecticut to Nadra and Rose Nader, Lebanese immigrants who operated a restaurant and bakery. Nader's dream of becoming a "people's lawyer" was instilled in him in adolescence by his parents, who in noisy free-for-alls, conducted family seminars on the duties of citizenship in a democracy. Mark Green, a former Nader associate, said that "When (the Naders) sat around the table growing up it was like the Kennedys. Except that the subject was not power but justice."

Following his graduation in 1951 from Gilbert School, Nader entered the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs at Princeton University.

Graduating magna cum laude in 1955, with a major in government and economics, Nader enrolled in Harvard Law School. He became an editor of the Harvard Law Review and, after graduating with honors, set up a small legal practice and traveled widely.

The young attorney became distressed by the indifference of American corporations to the global consequences of their actions, and he began to speak out against the abuse of corporate power.

He first made headlines in 1965 with his book, Unsafe at Any Speed, which lambasted the auto industry for producing unsafe vehicles. 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.

Nader is widely recognized as the founder of the consumers' rights movement. He played a key role in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Freedom of Information Act and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Ralph Nader continues to work for consumer safety and for the reform of the political system through his group Public Citizen. In 1996, he appeared on the California primary ballot as a candidate for the presidential nomination of the Green Party. He lives and maintains his offices in Washington, DC.

The Essential Nader

Ralph Nader has been called one of America's most effective social critics. He also has been called everything from Muckraker to Consumer Crusader to Public Defender. His documented criticism of government and industry has had widespread effect on public awareness and bureaucratic power. He is the "U.S.'s toughest customer" as Time magazine noted. His inspiration and example have galvanized a whole population of consumer advocates, citizen activists, and public interest lawyers who in turn have established their own organizations throughout the country.

The crusading attorney first made headlines in 1965 with his book Unsafe at Any Speed, a scathing indictment that lambasted the auto industry for producing unsafe vehicles. The book led to congressional hearings and a series of automobile safety laws passed in 1966.

Since 1966, Nader has been responsible for: at least eight major federal consumer protection laws such as the motor vehicle safety laws, Safe Drinking Water Act; the launching of federal regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environment Protection Agency (EPA), and Consumer Product Safety Administration; the recall of millions of defective motor vehicles; access to government through the Freedom of Information Act of 1974; and for many lives saved.

It is hard to keep up with Nader. Long ago he passed beyond simple concerns with seat belts and hot dogs. He has built an effective national network of citizen groups that have had a major impact in areas ranging from tax reform to nuclear energy to health and safety programs. The ultimate goal of this movement is to give all citizens more rights and remedies for resolving their grievances and for achieving a better society. As the New York Times said, "What sets Nader apart is that he has moved beyond social criticism to effective political action."

Nader's original research organization is the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Study of Responsive Law. Since 1969, the Center has produced innumerable reports on wide-ranging subjects such as the Interstate Commerce Commission, food safety, pensions, corporate welfare, and government procurement.

Other Nader inspired groups include the Aviation Consumer Action Project, Center for Auto Safety, Clean Water Action Project, Disability Rights Center, Pension Rights Center, Freedom of Information Clearinghouse, and the Congressional Accountability Project.

Nader also helped establish the PIRGs-- Public Interest Research Groups-- the student-funded and controlled organizations which function on college campuses in 23 states. Their impact alone has been tremendous. The groups have published hundreds of ground-breaking reports and guides, lobbied for laws in their state legislatures, and called the media's attention to environmental and energy problems.

The largest of the Nader organizations is Public Citizen, founded in 1971. The groups under the Public Citizen umbrella include Congress Watch, Health Research Group, Critical Mass Energy Project, Global Trade Watch, and the Litigation Group. Public Citizen's nationwide membership has grown to over 100,000.

In November 1980, Nader resigned as director of Public Citizen in order to devote his energy toward other projects. The organization is now headed by Joan Claybrook, former head of Congress Watch and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Today Nader lectures on the growing "imperialism" of multinational corporations and of a dangerous convergence of corporate and government power. With the passage of autocratic trade treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), this merger of corporate and government interests is escalating. A magazine founded by Nader in 1980, the Multinational Monitor, tracks the global intrusion of multinational corporations and their impact on developing nations, labor, and the environment.

Nader's overriding concern and vision is presently focused on empowering citizens to create a responsive government sensitive to citizens' needs. The top of Nader's agenda has been defending the U.S. civil justice system. Corporate lobbyists and certain legislators have worked on both the federal and state levels to restrain consumers' rights to seek justice in court against wrongdoers in the area of product liability, securities fraud, and medical negligence. Nader recently co-authored a book on corporate lawyers and the perils of the legal system entitled No Contest.

The Savings and Loan bailout is also a large concern of Nader's; the de-regulation of the banking industry in the early 1980s led to speculative real estate deals which taxpayers must now unfairly finance. This is one of many examples of corporate subsides taxpayers finance through a system Nader calls "corporate welfare." Nader is also an advocate of insurance reform including loss-prevention activity and insurance consumer education. He co-authored the book Winning the Insurance Game, and has been working with consumer activists in Massachusetts and California on improving the cost and coverage of automobile and health insurance in those states.

Nader seems undaunted by the de-regulatory setbacks posed by the Reagan and Bush administrations and perpetuated by Clinton. He says, "You've got to keep the pressure on, even if you lose. The essence of the citizen's movement is persistence." Nader certainly has remarkable tenacity, as well as an unshakable commitment to his mission. When asked to define himself, he always responds, "Full-time citizen, the most important office in America for anyone to achieve."

Nader's impact on the American political spectrum is enduring. As former U.S. Senator James Abourezk observed, "For the first time in U.S. history, a movement exists whose sole purpose is to keep large corporations and the government honest."

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