Free Republic

HARRISBURG - The tentacles of the Bonusgate scandal have spread to past presidential politics. Buried deep in the grand jury report, released last week, that led to the indictment of 12 people are details of what is described as a "massive" effort by House Democrats to oust the independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader from the ballot in 2004. * * * In light of the grand jury revelations of political work conducted with taxpayers' money, the candidates and reform advocates want a federal investigation into the ballot challenges, which they now think were the result of the criminal conspiracy that...

Dear Mr. Limbaugh, The Associated Press reports your new contract with Premiere Radio Networks will enrich you with at least $38 million a year over the next eight years. You are making this money on the public property of the American people for which you pay no rent. You, Rush Limbaugh, are on welfare. As you know, the public airwaves belong to the American people. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is supposed to be our trustee in managing this property. The people are the landlords and the radio and TV stations and affiliated companies are the tenants. The problem is...

HARRISBURG -- Grand jurors here and in Pittsburgh cataloged what they described as a culture of corruption that allowed former state Rep. Michael Veon, current Rep. Sean Ramaley and 10 current and former Democratic staffers to divert millions of dollars in state resources, including more than $1 million in illegal pay bonuses. The jurors said Mr. Veon and the staff members conspired to arrange hefty year-end pay bonuses to House employees who worked on political campaigns over a three-year period, while Mr. Ramaley is accused of working full-time on his 2004 House campaign in Beaver County while drawing a taxpayer...

WINSTED — This is the only town in America this year where you could have found, on a recent Monday evening, a presidential candidate out for a walk with a lone reporter. Eschewing entourage or fanfare, dressed in a plaid shirt and gray slacks with sensible walking shoes, renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader, a Winsted native, briskly strode past milestones of hometown memory, stopping now and then to chat with passers-by. "Hey, Ralph," one woman hailed, extending her arm in a friendly wave. Several fans approached for handshakes and in one case, a hug to embrace Winsted's most famous son,...

The Talk Shows Sunday, June 29th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa.; former Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Bob Barr, Libertarian presidential candidate.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif., Dave Freudenthal, D-Wyo., and Bill Ritter, D-Colo.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; retired Gen. Wesley Clark.THIS WEEK (ABC): Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.; Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn.; Ralph Nader, independent presidential candidate.LATE EDITION (CNN) : U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Govs. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., and Bobby Jindal, R-La.; Terry McAuliffe, campaign...

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader accused Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic Party nominee, of downplaying poverty issues, trying to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt" during his run for the White House. Nader, a thorn in the Democratic Party's side since the 2000 presidential election, has taken various shots at Obama in recent days while ramping up his latest independent run for president. ----- The Obama campaign had only a brief response, calling the remarks disappointing. Asked to clarify whether he thought Obama does try to "talk white," Nader said: "Of course. ---- Nader said he plans to...

WASHINGTON -- -- Buoyed by enthusiasm among Democrats and public concern over the economy, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has captured a sizable lead over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at the opening of the general election campaign for president, the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll has found. In a two-man race between the major party candidates, registered voters chose Obama over McCain by 49% to 37% in the national poll conducted last weekend. On a four-man ballot including independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr, voters chose Obama over McCain by an even larger margin, 48% to 33%.Obama's advantage, bigger in...

Did you see the latest CNN-Opinion Research poll? Yup, there's Ralph Nader and homeboy Matt Gonzalez at 6 percent. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, here comes Ralph V (yes, he's run five times for president.) Libertarian candidate -- ex-GOP Rep./Clinton Impeachment Czar Bob Barr -- knocks down 2 percent. The other guys? Oh, yeah, them. Barack Obama edged John McCain 47-43 when Ralph was counted. If he wasn't, Obama's lead is 49 to 46 percent. The skinny on the CNN poll: CNN dipped their wick into the elecorate June 4-5 by phone-interviewing...

Nader Calls for Bush-Cheney Impeachment May 23, 2008 1:48 PM ABC News' Yunji de Nies reports: Independent presidential hopeful Ralph Nader spoke outside the White House Friday, calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Nader said the President has, "dishonored the White House and brought a pattern of waste." "A wasteful defense is a weak defense and a weak defense, inspires waste," Nader said. Surrounded by a handful of supporters, holding signs which read "From Katrina to Iraq, Colossal Failure," and "Resign Bush-Cheney, Like Nixon-Agnew," Nader charged that the President and Vice President...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll has shown a very close race between John McCain and Barack Obama. For most of the past week, they have been essentially tied with typically 4% of voters saying they prefer some other candidate and a similar number remaining undecided. A separate survey found slightly different results when third-party candidates were mentioned by name. In a four-way race, Obama earns 42% of the vote, McCain 38%, Bob Barr 6% and Ralph Nader 4%. Given those options, 11% were undecided. Barr and Nader were mentioned as candidates of the Libertarian Party and the Green...

Is he still running?

So my home state of Pennsylvania handed Hillary Clinton a win and a reason to keep fighting to be the Democratic nominee. As I write, Terry McCauliffe is probably on CNN pleading his candidate's case, facts about her low delegate and popular vote counts be damned. But before Democratic superdelegates get too itchy to snuff the Obama campaign, they should consider the new animal that move might spawn: the Obama Republican. I know: the notion of black folks and young folks and progressive white folks abandoning the Democrats en masse if the Wife of Bill is the nominee ain't exactly...

Addressing an auditorium filled with many students expressing support for another candidate, Matt Gonzalez, running mate of presidential hopeful Ralph Nader, spoke yesterday about reasons not to vote for Barack Obama. Gonzalez, who was announced in February as Nader's vice presidential choice on the independent ticket, spent most of his time speaking to the Political Science 179 class about what he called Obama's "troubling" voting record. "I'm picking on Senator Obama ... because your professor told me this is a pretty strong Obama crowd," Gonzalez said. "It says something about a candidate that can stand in front of you and...

Former Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia is considering a third-party presidential run — a bid that could steal support from Republican John McCain and potentially offset the damage Ralph Nader"s candidacy is predicted to have on the Democratic candidate. Mr. Barr, a House Republican impeachment manager during President Clinton's administration, yesterday confirmed his interest in running as a Libertarian but said he is unwilling to talk about any "polling we may have done or may do, not at this point." "There is great deal [of] dissatisfaction with the candidates for the two major parties, particularly among conservatives, but also a...

He's been fasting for nearly three weeks, gaining little notice even from the target of his protest. But Jerry Peace Activist Rubin is willing to refrain from eating for at least another three weeks and then another three weeks after that and then. ... Well, you get the idea. His goal: Persuade Ralph Nader to drop his quadrennial bid for the presidency - or at least explain to Rubin why he's running again in 2008. Rubin, who has launched more than 30 fasts over the past 25 years, is worried that Nader will play a spoiler role, as he believes...

March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain would defeat either of his Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a general election contest that includes activist and author Ralph Nader, a new poll said. ADVERTISEMENT McCain, an Arizona senator, would receive 45 percent of the vote compared with 39 percent for Clinton, a New York senator, and 6 percent for Nader. McCain would get 44 percent to 39 percent for Obama, an Illinois senator, and 5 percent for Nader, according to polling results released today by Zogby International. In each matchup 11 percent were undecided, with McCain...

McALLEN - A student forum Saturday with vice presidential candidate Matt Gonzalez began calmly enough. But the discussion at South Texas College became heated when an attendee asked if Gonzalez's campaign with Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader was a spoiler in Democrats' efforts to retake the White House. Gonzalez, a San Francisco area lawyer and activist, defended his campaign's right to give the nation's voters another option in a heated contest, adding that the mainstream presidential candidates' voting records prove none of them represents the force of change to which they lay claim. "Don't vote for us if you don't...

So Ralph Nader is running for president again, and there is no truth to the rumor that the nominating convention will be held in his garage. Too spacious. With a few exceptions, the leftwing press were openly hostile to Nader's announcement this week, taking it very personally: "(He) remains as obstinate, prickly and egotistical as ever," said the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "Nader: Unsafe at Any Age," headlined the Louisville Courier-Journal. And The Boston Globe, while saying Nader has a "right" to run, wrote: "Nader has come to believe in his own indispensability." The left-leaning media are mad because they believe...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader selected Matt Gonzalez, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, to be his running mate. Nader, who launched his fourth White House bid last weekend, made the announcement Thursday at a news conference. The Texas-born Gonzalez ran for mayor of San Francisco as a Green Party candidate in 2003 but lost to Democrat Gavin Newsom after a surprisingly close runoff election. Gonzalez, a lawyer, has been largely inactive in city politics since then. When Nader announced his third-party campaign for the president last Sunday, he criticized the top contenders...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ralph Nader lashed out at the Democratic presidential candidates Monday after they said he could hurt their chances of taking back the White House. [snip] Many Democrats fear that Nader, who turns 74 this week, could draw votes away from whoever gets the party's nomination, potentially helping presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain win the White House in November. [snip] "He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush, and, eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about," Obama said at a town hall...

Calling Washington, D.C., "corporate-occupied territory," consumer advocate Ralph Nader launched his fifth campaign for the presidency Sunday. "I'm running for president," said Nader in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." Nader downplayed the impact he might have on the ultimate outcome of the race, saying "if Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form."

In "light" of Nader running... again, here's bit more of the great "honesty" of this liberal fanatic (though this piece was written in 2002). Ralph Nader is a hypocrite where did millionaire Nader get so much money to invest in the first place? ... Nader refused to release his income-tax returns. ... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26345Actually political wise I think it's good for the GOP that Liberal Nader runs against Liberal Obama...

SAN FRANCISCO - Progressives will hold their own Presidential debate here Sunday when former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, Democrat-turned-Green Rep. Cynthia McKinney and others on the Green Party Presidential ballot Feb. 5 will participate in what is being billed as "A Presidential Debate That Matters." The debate will be held Sunday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Herbst Theater/Veterans Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue. A NEWS CONFERENCE* is scheduled with candidates at 1 p.m., shortly before the debate begins. This is the best, and maybe only, opportunity to conduct interviews. Ex-Rep. McKinney, former Green Party presidential candidate Nader...

Barack Obama can now point to someone running to his left as evidence of his moderateness. Ralph Nader has announced that he will run for President in 2008, giving Democrats another potential headache in the fall, albeit a small one: Ralph Nader has announced plans to run again for the US presidency. The anti-establishment consumer advocate made the announcement in a televised interview on Sunday. .... "I'm running for president," Mr Nader said as he announced the move on NBC's Meet the Press. He said most Americans were disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties - who were not discussing...

Nader is running. So says MSNBC LIVE

Ah, BEHOLD the glory of polarization!  Take the right, move em left, and that makes the far left have to repel/rebel even farther out into space.  Yes, if the Goracle won’t run and save the party (let alone the planet), then who can the farthest left on the political spectrum turn to?Ralph NaderPolitico is reporting that he might announce on Sunday. One wonders how this might change Obama’s message (move it to the left, and put the general election father out of reach)?  Will it help/hurt Hillary?  Will the Paulbots hit their Paypal buttons like gerbils hitting a food bar...

WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader could be poised for another third party presidential campaign. The consumer advocate will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. Nader launched his 2004 presidential run on the show. A spokesman for Nader did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Kevin Zeese, who was Nader's spokesman during the 2004 presidential race, but is no longer working for him, said Friday that Nader has been actively talking to "lots of people on all sorts of levels" about the possibility of making another run. Zeese said he could only guess what Nader might do, but added:...

WASHINGTON — Four years after he announced a presidential run on NBC's "Meet the Press," Ralph Nader is poised to do it again. He's scheduled to appear on the program Sunday, and longtime associates say they think the consumer advocate will announce his candidacy. Having abandoned the Green Party after being its nominee in 2000, he's more likely to run as an independent again, those familiar with his thinking said. Kevin Zeese, Nader's 2004 campaign spokesman, who isn't involved in the 2008 exploratory efforts, said he thought that Nader was going to throw his hat in the ring again. "If...

Ralph Nader's exploratory committee just emailed his list: that he'll be on Meet the Press Sunday. Wonder what he's gong to talk about. From the email: As you know, we've been exploring the possibilities in recent weeks. And here's one question that keeps coming up: What's been pulled off the table by the corporatized political machines in this momentous election year? Answer: Cutting the huge, bloated and wasteful military budget, adopting a single payer Canadian-style national health insurance system, impeaching Bush/Cheney, opposing nuclear power - among many others. Who will pick up these issues and put them back on the...

Voters in her new home state of California have rejected former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in her bid for the presidency on the Green Party ticket. They voted instead — by a margin of more than 2 to 1 — for Ralph Nader in Tuesday's presidential primary. McKinney won Green Party primaries in Arkansas and Illinois and is in slightly trailing Nader in Massachusetts, according to the Green Party. The party reported there were voting irregularities Illinois, where some voters reported there were no Green Party ballots at some locations.

WASHINGTON — Ralph Nader is seeking the presidency — again. The consumer activist and political gadfly kicked off an exploratory presidential campaign Wednesday with the launch of a new Web site that promises he’ll fight “corporate greed, corporate power, corporate control” and asks people to donate $300 each.

Nader to decide soon on possible presidential run Mon Jan 21, 11:58 AM ET MONTREAL (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said on Monday he will decide soon on whether to make a another bid for the White House in 2008, eight years after playing a key role as a third party presidential candidate. "I'll decide in about a month," he said in an interview broadcast on CBC Radio's Daybreak show in Montreal. "What I'm deciding on right now is whether we can get enough volunteers, enough financial resources to overcome the huge ballot access obstacles, which you don't experience...

MUSCATINE, Iowa — Ralph Nader unleashed on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday — criticizing her for being soft on defense spending and a chum of big business — and expressed his strong support for John Edwards. In an eleventh hour effort to encourage liberal Iowans to "recognize" the former North Carolina senator by "giving him a victory," the activist and former presidential contender said in an interview that Clinton will "pander to corporate interest groups" if elected. Nader specifically accused Clinton of failing to challenge military spending because "she is a woman who doesn't want to be labeled as soft...

Nader throws support to Edwards By: David Paul Kuhn December 31, 2007 08:42 PM EST MUSCATINE, Iowa — Ralph Nader unleashed on Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday - criticizing her for being soft on defense spending and a chum of big business - and expressed his strong support for John Edwards. In an 11th hour effort to encourage liberal Iowans to "recognize" Edwards by "giving him a victory," the activist and former presidential contender said in an interview that Clinton will "pander to corporate interest groups" if elected. Nader specifically accused Clinton of failing to challenge military spending because "she is...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer advocate and 2004 independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader sued the Democratic Party on Tuesday, contending officials conspired to keep him from taking votes away from nominee John Kerry. Nader's lawsuit, filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, also named as co-defendants Kerry's campaign, the Service Employees International Union and several so-called 527 organizations such as America Coming Together, which were created to promote voter turnout on behalf of the Democratic ticket. The lawsuit also alleges that the Democratic National Committee conspired to force Nader off the ballot in several states.

This weekend, I attended and spoke at the Second Amendment Foundation’s annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, which was held at a convention center in northern Kentucky, a few miles away from Cincinnati. What I saw and heard there changed my mind about the viability of Ron Paul’s presidential candidacy; Paul is going to far outperform the expectations laid out for him. First, for some background: twenty years ago, the Second Amendment Foundation (the second-largest pro-Second Amendment group in the U.S.) began sponsoring an annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, in conjunction with other pro-gun groups, including the NRA. For a full...

Rush Limbaugh WASHINGTON – He's been the target of Fairness Doctrine advocates. He's been the target of aggressive prosecutors. He's been targeted by Customs officials. And now Rush Limbaugh, the king of radio talk-show hosts, is being targeted by activist Ralph Nader who is asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate claims General Motors "payola" is influencing him to say nice things about the U.S. automaker.

When the Democrats enlarged their tent to include leftist activists, Ralph Nader was left in the cold. At a green party convention in Reading, Pa., on July 14, Ralph Nader provoked admirers and detractors alike when he declared that he is once again "considering" a run for the presidency. This would be the 73-year-old activist's fourth third-party race. For a decade now and counting, Nader has presented himself as the outsider's outsider, as the reformer's conscience and as a sturdy crusader against a corrupt party system -- meaning, in effect, against Democrats, from whom he siphons votes (a fact amply...

The rumors have been swirling for a few weeks. He’s getting closer to making it official. Green on Blue: "Consumer advocate Ralph Nader told the Green Party’s national convention that he is considering a 2008 presidential run and accused Democrats of trying to shut smaller parties out of the political process. "No other country comes close to providing voters with such a small number of choices and making third party candidates hurdle an almost insuperable number of obstacles just to get on the ballot," Nader, the Green Party’s 2000 presidential nominee, said Saturday. Later, addressing a few hundred conventioneers who...

Consumer advocate and 2000/2004 presidential candidate Ralph Nader has not ruled out another run in 2008, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Thursday it’s too early for him to make a decision. The man who many blame as spoiling the election for Al Gore in 2000 also said a potential third party candidacy by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would not affect his decision to run. Earlier this week, Bloomberg, a lifelong Democrat until he ran for mayor in 2001, dropped his affiliation with the GOP — a move that increased speculation he is considering an independent presidential bid. Nader also...

Ralph Nader, the independent candidate blamed by many Americans for George Bush's election victory in 2000, says he is considering a run for the White House next year - even at the risk of dishing the Democrats again.

Ralph Nader says he is seriously considering running for president in 2008 because he foresees another Tweedledum-Tweedledee election that offers little real choice to voters.

Options still open for Nader June 19, 5:52 PM Still not put off by the bile directed his way by some who feel that his candidacy cost Al Gore the White House in 2000, Ralph Nader indicated he might make yet another run for president. At the Take Back America conference at the Washington Hilton on Tuesday, Yeas & Nays asked whether he had any favorite candidates for the 2008 presidential election, to which he replied, “I don’t like to say who I favor, but if my name is on the ballot - I suppose you can guess.” Nader wasn’t...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader said he is considering a presidential run in 2008 and strongly suggested today he would enter the race if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the Democratic Party nomination. "She's just another bad version of (former President) Bill Clinton," Nader told KGO radio host Ronn Owens in San Francisco. Asked to describe Clinton, a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination a year in advance of the primaries, Nader said: "Flatters, panders, coasting, front-runner, looking for a coronation, not taking on the huge waste in the military budget as a member of...

Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader on Sunday left the door open for another possible White House bid in 2008 and criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton as "a panderer and a flatterer." ..."It's really too early to say. ... I'll consider it later in the year." Nader, 72, said he did not plan to vote for Clinton... "I don't think she has the fortitude. Actually she's really a panderer and a flatterer. As she goes around the country, you'll see more of that," Nader said. ... On whether he would be encouraged to run if Clinton gets the Democratic nomination,...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Consumer champion Ralph Nader, whose candidacy in 2000 may have cost Democratic nominee Al Gore the US presidency, said he was open to a possible run for the White House in 2008. Nader, a veteran of three attempts at the White House under the Green Party and independent banners, told CNN television he had not decided yet but that he is committed to offering voters more choices than the two mainstream parties, the Democrats and Republicans. "It's really too early to say. I don't like long campaigns," said Nader, who will turn 73 this month, after being...

The widespread destruction of a defenseless Lebanon—its civilians, its life-sustaining public services, its environment—is a grim and indelible testament to your consummate cruelty and ignorance. Nearly two weeks ago when your tardy Secretary of State met with the Israeli Prime Minister, the message she carried was summarized in a large headline across page one of an Israeli newspaper, “TAKE YOUR TIME.” Yes, take your time, says George W. Bush, pulverizing fleeing refugees in cars full of families, bombing apartment buildings, hospitals and the poor huddled in large south Beirut slums. Take your time, says George W. Bush, in destroying bridges,...

The widespread destruction of a defenseless Lebanon-its civilians, its life-sustaining public services, its environment - is a grim and indelible testament to your consummate cruelty and ignorance. Nearly two weeks ago when your tardy Secretary of State met with the Israeli Prime Minister, the message she carried was summarized in a large headline across page one of an Israeli newspaper, "TAKE YOUR TIME." Yes, take your time, says George W. Bush, pulverizing fleeing refugees in cars full of families, bombing apartment buildings, hospitals and the poor huddled in large South Beirut slums. Take your time, says George W. Bush, in...

Here’s one of my favorite news story headlines that went largely unnoticed: Saddam Ends Hunger Strike After Missing One Meal. I guess Saddam couldn’t resist that prison dinner! Or maybe it was that microwave state of matter known as peach cobbler.

Friedman: The 1960's Corvair, condemned by Ralph Nader as unsafe at any speed. Since Nader's attack it is being increasingly accepted that we need government protection in the marketplace. Today there are agencies all over Washington where bureaucrats decide what's good for us. Agencies to control the prices we pay, the quality of goods we can buy, the choice of products available. It's already costing us more than $5 billion a year. Since the attack on the Corvair the government has been spending more and more money in the name of protecting the consumer. This is hardly what the 3rd...