Nader Says Democrats Will Benefit From His Presidential Bid

Democrats should “stop whining and start rejoicing,” because his independent bid for the presidency will largely focus on removing President Bush from office, corporate watchdog Ralph Nader said in a news conference Friday in Los Angeles.

Five days after declaring he would embark on his fourth run for the White House, Nader insisted that Democrats could gain from his presence in the fall election if they “relax” and heed his message.

That would mean more focus on reducing the corporate domination that touches nearly all of American government, the candidate said -- from campaign contributions, to tax policy and the Pentagon budget.

Nader, who turned 70 Friday, was blamed by many Democrats in 2000 for taking votes from Democrat Al Gore in Florida and other key states, thereby tossing the election to Republican George W. Bush. Nader ran as the Green Party nominee.

The candidate, appearing at the Los Angeles Press Club, dismissed those criticisms, saying the Democrats could have done many things four years ago -- particularly returning to their roots as the party of the dispossessed -- to get Gore elected.

He said he entered the race this time because none of the viable candidates had a true progressive message.

Nader supported Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) earlier in the race but he noted that Kucinich had pledged to drop out after the Democratic National Convention in July. Nader said he would carry into the general election many of the congressman’s messages -- universal healthcare, public financing of campaigns, shifting the tax burden to corporations.

Only Kucinich has proven by his actions that he would push for real change, Nader said.

“But he is an insurgent,” Nader said. “The Democratic Party establishment is not very welcoming of insurgencies,” Nader said.

He said he would also expand the public debate to issues that have gotten no attention from other candidates, including what he said was the threat from Asian bird flu.

He said the nation’s healthcare system should research vaccines, and plan how to detect the illness early.

The candidate said that his presence on the November ballot would help any Democratic nominee.

“They work harder to get out the vote,” Nader said. “They don’t slip into sloppy slogans.”

He said his presence as a truth teller would energize the Democrats in much the same way filmmaker Michael Moore did several weeks ago when, at a rally for then-candidate Wesley K. Clark, he called President Bush a “deserter” for allegedly not fulfilling his service in the Air National Guard.

“It wasn’t the Democrats who tossed that out, but they took advantage of it,” Nader said.

The candidate said he had raised $200,000 since he entered the race Sunday. He said his immediate challenge would be submitting an estimated 1.6 million signatures to qualify for the ballot in all 50 states.