Nader in Town, Bashing Both Bush and Kerry
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
In his latest bid for the third-party vote, the Independent Party candidate, Ralph Nader, denounced the Republican National Convention as a “corporate orgy,” urged the House of Representative to impeach the president, and described the choice between President Bush and his opponent, Senator Kerry, as “a choice between president flop and senator flip-flop.”
While visiting New York yesterday for a series of press conferences and fund-raisers, Mr. Nader’s effort to run again for president suffered a setback with announcements from officials in Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas that the 70-year-old consumer advocate had failed to qualify for the November ballot. Mr. Nader said he plans to appeal each decision.
Calling Mr. Bush a “leading candidate for impeachment,” Mr. Nader posed in front of a banner proclaiming “Impeach Bush/Cheney” outside the New York Stock Exchange, where he said his most important campaign issue is the fight against “corporate domination.” The Bush campaign did not return a call seeking comment.
Earlier in the day, at a press conference in Midtown, Mr. Nader was also dismissive of Mr. Kerry’s suitability for the nation’s highest office. “He is surrounded by consultants who are losers,” Mr. Nader said.
Asked by a reporter how Mr. Kerry can liven up his campaign, Mr. Nader recommended the senator “stand up for people having a living wage and health insurance, and, second, have an exit strategy from Iraq.”
A spokeswoman for the Kerry campaign, Juanita Scarlett, defended Mr. Kerry’s economic plan and noted: “He has a plan to address global terrorism.” She declined to respond directly to Mr. Nader’s advice.
One of the few campaign issues Mr. Nader seemed uneager to talk about was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Over the summer, Mr. Nader was criticized by the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, and the editorial page of the Washington Post, for describing the White House and Congress as “puppets of Israel” during a meeting with Muslim Americans.
While Mr. Nader reiterated his position yesterday, he shrugged when asked by The New York Sun whether he would use his presidential run to promote his views on the conflict. “Corporate domination is the most important issue,” Mr. Nader said.
