Nader's is nothing but an opportunist who's favorite cause is Ralph Nader, and has been since day one. Even when we have agreed on a particular issue, his arguments have always been to sensationalize and bring attention to him, which has many times damaged the cause he espouses. I have been watching Nader since the mid-60's, and his act never changes.

Ralph Nader is most certainly not honest. His original claim to fame was going after GM for building the Corvair, which was, ironically, the most innovative car stodgy old GM ever put into production, and offered superior fuel economy well before it's time. Nader never bothered to mention that the VW Beatle and every Porsche built up until that time shared all of the alleged failings of the Corvair. Since that time, many more Porsches have been built than the total number of Corvairs, and there were literally millions of VW's built after Naders book 'Unsafe At Any Speed' was published. Nader may have been the originator of self-serving pseudo science, and he was certainly one of the first to use it as a tactic.

Nader is non-technical, has never owned a car, and might have been forgiven as simply being ignorant and misguided, however subsequent developments and testimony before congress revealed that he was perfectly aware his argument was disingenuous. He didn't go after VW because at the time they weren't a big enough target, and because they were popular among those he spoke to.

While Nader's funding often came from those that also supported the Democratic party, Nader never got a seat at the big table within the party, much to his long term bitterness. His pal Joan Claybrook was director of NHTSA under Carter, but that's about as close as he got. During the years after Watergate when politics took a swing to the left, fund raising for his various activities was easy, as he was widely treated with respect and admiration.

When the Democratic party moved to the right under Clinton, the most liberal within the party got left behind, and Nader found them to be easy pickings. We all know what happened in 2000, and a lot of people hoped Nader's funding sources would dry up after that. Whether they did or they didn't, he's back again.

Here's the test when you listen to Nader. Ignore all of his comments on what is wrong with "the system", and listen for his solutions. If you do this, you will be waiting for a long time, because he offers none. If it weren't for the university lecture circuit, Nader would have had to find a real job 40yrs ago. Unfortunately, there is a near endless supply of the young and inexperienced to keep frauds like Nader (on both ends of the political spectrum) in groceries forever.

oc