Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 17th 2008, 12:00am By Jerome Lindberg

"If you don't use your rights, you'll lose your rights." – Nathra Nader

In this corner, with the blinding intensity of a million flashbulbs, Democrat Barack Obama, weighing in at over 450 million dollars in campaign contributions. In this corner, lit by the video lights of all the major public and cable networks reflecting off of a pair of Tina Fey style glasses, Republican John McCain, with a combined total of 250 million dollars in campaign contributions. And, um, in this…slightly less lit other corner, with a total of 3 million in campaign contributions, Independent Ralph Nader.

I couldn't predict who would win in a boxing match between these men, but I feel reasonably confident I can predict the outcome of this election, and three-time candidate Nader will probably not be redecorating a new office in Washington this January. There are many factors in this, one of which is obviously and unfortunately the discrepancies between the candidates funding, and another is the general public's lack of knowledge in any alternative to the two major party candidates.

Did you know that there are actually SIX candidates for President!? The Greens, the Libertarians, the Constitutionals and the Independents have all decided to field candidates this election cycle, and while you may not get a chance to hear all of the candidates, you will have a chance to catch Ralph Nader today, the 17th, at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. Nader will be speaking at 7PM and holding a question and answer session after, discussing the Wall Street Bailout, the War, and the environment, just to name a few topics.

Ralph Nader has been a public figure for over forty years, fighting for consumer rights by making industry standards for safety higher, helping to create O.S.H.A., and also playing a major role in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. While he has been lambasted by critics for "costing" mainstream politicians elections, he has consistently worked outside Washington to help "Joe Six-Pack" or "Joe the Plumber's children play with safer toys, expect more from their education, and understand the importance of Civil Rights. Even though he is a Lawyer who went to both Princeton and Harvard, Nader has always claimed to fight for the common man, who accounts for, according to recent polls, 85% of America. In a lot of ways, you could say Ralph Nader was the original Maverick. It was not, as many have postulated, Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

After sitting through four excruciating (if not hilarious) debates, I'm looking forward to what Ralph has to say. And I'm glad he decided to visit Buffalo, where there is a chance that some of the lefter Democrats might understand that Barack probably has New York locked, and just may, in a fit of secretive selfish delight, close those curtains and give Ralph a pull. I don't know what good it would do, but I would eventually like to see the debates open to more than one party--I'm sorry--TWO parties, so I never fault someone for voting for a third.

Nader's running mate for 2008 is Matt Gonzalez, who served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2000 to 2003. A popular green in S.F., Gonzalez championed legislation that raised the minimum wage in San Francisco to $9.36 an hour (almost a living wage!), the highest in the nation. He also proposed a successful ballot to ban the sale of the naming rights to Candlestick Park, a ballot that had the support of the voters, but was too late to stop the sale. Now, in 2008, the city has re-named the park Candlestick, but for the past four years it has been the corporately owned "Monster Stadium."

The Nader/Gonzalez ticket has some pretty incendiary platforms, including Impeachment, a reversal of policy in the Middle East, a crackdown on corporate crime, and pro-solar-above-all-else agenda. Though another platform that I find to be a terribly good idea however, is Nader's National Initiative. His website describes the initiative: "The way it works is pretty simple. Whenever there's an issue people feel strongly about—health care, the war in Iraq, election laws—people can force a national vote on a proposal for change. Sponsors—who could be any number of citizens—simply gather; under enabling procedures, enough signatures to show that the idea has some reasonable level of support, and the matter is placed on the national agenda. In some cases, Congress, seeing that there is going to be a vote on this matter anyway, may actually get off the dime and seek to enact the law without even having to have a national vote." Not a bad idea. And one more platform that I'd like to hear more about is Nader's arguments to end Corporate Personhood.

Whether or not you like Ralph Nader, it's hard to write him off as a LaRouche, and it's hard not to listen to a voice that has so often pointed to reasonable alternatives to bad situations. With the strict formality in the debates, the recent economic tsunami, and propagandist negative advertising obscuring every real issue, it's difficult to really hear anything a Washington Politician says, even before the mainstream news puts it through the rinse cycle. Since Nader has not garnered the attention of the mainstream media in this election, the only chance you might get to hear an alternative viewpoint on major issues would be to head out to 875 Elmwood Ave for what Ralph Nader has to say on Friday at the Church. While Barack and John jokingly quip, "Well, I have to admit I agree with my opponent on this one," you can be sure Ralph Nader does not.

For people interested in attending, there is a five dollar suggested donation,and it might be a good idea to get there before 7:00 to secure seating. If you're interested in reading any of Ralph's policies or watching Nader's debate analysis, you can visit www.votenader.org