Nader Attacks Major Parties, Corporations

Green Party Presidential candidate Ralph Nader spoke on campus Friday evening, drawing a standing room-only crowd to Roone Arledge Auditorium to hear him speak on the creeping influence of corporate America and the need to revitalize America's political system.

During his 90-minute speech, Nader decried the influence of money on politics and made the case for his candidacy as an alternative to a system that he called "two separate parties morphing into one corporate party sipping wine at corporate parties."

One of the chief thrusts of Nader's speech was to attempt to dispel the idea that has hamstrung his campaign among the liberals and progressives that would be his natural base: the idea that a vote for Nader is a vote for Republican candidate George W. Bush. In response to this argument, Nader tried to portray the two major parties as increasingly similar and corporate-controlled.

"Gore and Bush are frantically racing for money from these corporate interests to fight to see who gets to live in the White House and take orders from their corporate paymasters," Nader said, adding in an interview with the Spectator that he hoped his candidacy would threaten the Democrats with the "margin of defeat" and force them to return to their progressive roots.

Nader did not mince words about the Democrats, calling President Clinton "a smooth talking snake-charmer" and Gore "the man who fluctuates every day between being the great imposter and the great pretender, Al W. Gore," adding that "if only words would have a biological effect, Al Gore would have a forked tongue and a Pinnocchio nose."

At the center of Nader's argument was the contention that the Democratic Party has left behind its traditional progressive base, abandoning issues that affect the poor and the working class. Nader sees his candidacy as a way to "tell the Democratic Party that never again will you be able to tell progressive people that they have nowhere to go on election day."

Nader touched on a number of policy points in his speech, including the need for a higher minimum wage and less expenditure on the military, but he spent most of his time enumerating and criticizing the influence of corporations.

Citing federal procedures such as the free distribution of broadcast space and the low prices given to companies mining on federal land, Nader called the government "one giant accounts receivable for these corporations" and said that the election is about "shift of power" from monied interests to the general populace.

"What happens when we have too much power in too few hands is that democracy cannot work," Nader said. "Capitalism is great for generating wealth, but it is lousy for generating justice."

The candidate also brought the issue into an academic setting, touching on the increasing involvement between corporations and academia.

"Universities are increasingly corporatized," Nader said. "Research is increasingly controlled by corporate money. Increasingly, the defiant professors are being crowded out … there's not going to be a lot of freedom of speech."

Nader ended by challenging students to get more involved in politics, warning them against "growing up corporate."

"You've got the lowest expectation level in history," Nader said. "Your expectation level is … essentially to go through life on your knees, so long as you're remunerated for it."

That appeal resonated with Nader supporter Leah Miller-Freeman, CC '03, who praised Nader for "changing the forum of what the issues are" and "dealing with college student issues."

Nader drew a large and enthusiastic crowd. Students started lining up more than two and a half hours before the event, and by the time people were let in the line stretched throughout Lerner and out into 114th Street. Once students entered the auditorium, event staffers had to scramble to find more space and chairs to fit in the crowd.

Nader supporter Chrissy Fiorentini, CC '03, said she came away happy. "I really liked the stuff especially geared to Columbia students," she said, "like 'you can either become a day trader or become involved in politics.' Most Columbia students just want to get rich."

Columbia College Republicans President Sandra Capel had a different reaction. "I found his politics a little bit scary, personally," she said. "I think he's bordering on socialism, and the fact that so many Ivy League students support him worries me."

"He's very critical of big business and I think a lot of people at Columbia go here to get the name to go into big business," she said.

Nader took on the upwardly-mobile nature of Columbia in his speech. "As part of the contented classes, you will be able to look over the misery of the world … and escape it. That is your choice," he said, but warned that following the corporate path would leave Columbians with "an empty feeling inside … the feeling of those who have missed the justice train."

The event at Columbia is part of a large swing through New York, culminating in a massive rally at Madison Square Garden this Friday, featuring celebrities including Tim Robbins, Eddie Vedder, and Ani DiFranco. Nader will return to Morningside Heights this Saturday to speak at Riverside Church.

Nader is the latest in a string of high-profile political speakers to pass through Columbia. Already this year Lerner has hosted Presidential candidates Bill Bradley and John McCain, as well as First Lady Hillary Clinton, Senator Paul Wellstone, and commentator Arianna Huffington. Currently the College Republicans and the Columbia Political Union are working to bring Senate Candidate Rick Lazio to campus.