Nader says Gore has self to blame

In visit to Indianapolis, Green Party candidate denies he cost the vice president a clear-cut win.

Tim Evans / Indianapolis Star 10dec00

Don't call Ralph Nader a spoiler.

"That's ridiculous," the Green Party presidential candidate said, bristling, during a visit to Indianapolis, where he spoke Saturday night at the Radisson Hotel during the Citizens Action Coalition's annual consumer rights banquet.

But many Democrats do blame Nader for preventing Vice President Al Gore from winning a clear-cut victory in the presidential race.

Such charges, Nader said, "highlight the unfortunate state of electoral politics in our country."

"We're all entitled to run for office, and no one is entitled to any votes. You have to earn every vote," he continued.

"I've said all along that only Al Gore could beat Al Gore, and he seems to have done a pretty good job of that."

Nader said he realizes he did attract some voters who otherwise would have supported the Democratic candidate, but he has no regrets.

Based on exit polls conducted by his supporters, Nader noted that about 30 percent of those who voted for him otherwise would not have gone to the polls. The remaining 70 percent were split 2-to-1 in favor of Gore.

In Florida, where Nader received 96,915 votes, that means Gore might have gained more than 20,000 votes over Texas Gov. George W. Bush -- and a clear victory instead of a disputed defeat -- had Nader not been on the ballot.

And that is the rub for folks such as U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., who publicly complained that "Nader cost us the election."

Instead of pointing the finger of blame, Nader said, people should see the fiasco in Florida as a wake-up call.

"The behavior of the Democrat and Republican parties shows the need for a reinvigorated democracy," he said.

"We must take this opportunity to re-evaluate the way we administer our democracy."

Nader said that is one of the crusades he will pursue in the wake of his presidential bid.

He wants public financing of elections; a standardized national ballot with a binding "none of the above" option and instant runoffs; open debates; and proportional Electoral College representation instead of the winner-take-all system that is in place in most states, including Indiana.

Nader also called for a Justice Department investigation into reports of voter intimidation and obstruction in Florida and a nationwide probe of what he termed "the persistent disenfranchisement of communities of color."

"Ultimately, such injustices at the voting booth only serve to undermine the legitimacy of our democracy," he said.

Nader said he isn't surprised by developments in Florida and Washington, but he believes Bush eventually will be named president, based upon the apparent support he has in the Florida Legislature, Congress and U.S. Supreme Court.

A veteran outsider who has crusaded for environmental, consumer and individual rights over the past four decades, Nader also complained about Indiana election law, which kept his name off the state's ballots.

"You don't want to know what I think about that," he said, adding that the Indiana law is one of the six most obstructive in the United States and should be changed.

However, he does not expect much improvement, he said, because Democrats and Republicans in the legislature are conspiring to keep their grip on the ballot.

Chris Williams, CAC executive director, credited Nader with planting the seeds from which the organization sprouted.

"It is important to keep in mind," Williams said, "that Ralph's vision and leadership in the early and mid-1970s, which encouraged citizens to band together and reassert themselves, was instrumental in the formation of the Citizens Energy Coalition, which is very much alive today as the Citizens Action Coalition."