Some Nader Love

After listening to an hour long interview with Ralph Nader on NPR, I have to admit I like the guy. I like him a lot. He’s determined, pesky, driven and tells it straight. Some money quotes from the interview:

“Most citizen groups are shut out because there are no significant hearings and if there are they restrict them to 5 minutes. The government shut down on the people. What’s left for you to decide anymore? Foreign policy, military policy, economic policy, consumer policy, environmental policy. They’ve shut you out and the commercial market ears have turned your children into Pavlonian specimens. Its amazing what we tolerate from these corporate domineers. They are supposed to be our servants, not our masters.”


“Its really so absurd that some of these wavering liberals are willing to go again and again after three years of criticizing the democrats the fourth year no matter how bad the democrats are, they will vote for them as long as the Republicans are worse. Now just think if you are a democratic nominee you know that you have got these people because they have no where to go. And when you have them you can take their vote for granted and you don’t have to give them anything in return by way of change or reform and you can just pay attention to the corporate interests that are pulling at you 24-7. You lose the tug in the opposite direction when you don’t make your vote hard to get.”


“Somebody asked me “what would you like to title your next book?” You know what I would like to title it? Excuse the rough language. “Hello Americans! Cut the Crap, No More Excuses, Take Over.” People always have excuses about why they don’t have any power. You can’t do anything about gas prices, you can’t do anything about these politicians. After a while it becomes a way of life and it becomes a rationalization of our futility and that is the biggest power that the power structure has against us, our belief that we don’t have any power.”

Turned you children into Pavlonian specimans....I love it!