Ralph Nader "hasn't changed his view" that there isn't enough difference between Dems and the GOP. Nader said if he did not run for office the candidates "would not move their platforms" toward the issues of corporate control, livable wages and consumer protection. Nader: "It's a two-pary elected dictatorship." Nader said there are a series of issues the current major party candidates don't talk about- from single-payer health care to opening up the presidential debates.
Nader said if he is not on the ballot it "means he cannot challenge the rules and court rulings" that "make it difficult" for third party or independent candidates to get on state ballots. Nader also said that candidates' rights "are where civil rights were seven decades ago." Some states require large numbers of verified signatures- tens of thousands in some cases- to be gathered before a candidate is on the ballot. Vermont, requiring only 1K verified signatures, is "ahead of most of the rest" of the country in terms of allowing third party and independent candidates a shot. Nader: "Vermont is arguably the most democratic state in the country. They have a historic tradition and it lingers."
VT GOP Chair Rob Roper: "I didn't even know he was in Vermont, so I guess that says something. If Ralph Nader wants to run for president I think that is great. Let him do it" (Porter, Rutland Herald, 4/30).
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