Nader Undecided on Presidential Bid
Ralph Nader Will Wait Until the End of the Year to Decide on Another Run for the White House
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Oct. 2 — Ralph Nader said Thursday he will wait until the end of the year to decide on another run for the White House. First, he wants to see how the Democrats and Republicans respond to his agenda.
The consumer activist plans to send the parties, in the next few weeks, his blueprint on the need for universal health insurance, a more progressive wage policy and an aggressive crackdown on corporate fraud and abuse.
"The highest priority is to defeat President George W. Bush and his administration, which is running this country into the ground," Nader said at a news conference.
If he runs, Nader has said it would most likely be on the Green Party ticket.
Nader won about 3 percent of the vote as the Green Party's candidate in 2000, but many voters blamed him for siphoning votes from Democrat Al Gore, paving the way for the President Bush's razor-thin victory.
Nader said such criticism is not a factor in his decision on whether to run again. He remains adamant in denying he cost the Democrats the election, saying his campaign brought out many new voters.
Asked if any Democrats had pressed him about not running or any Republicans had urged him to seek the presidency Nader said no on both counts.
This year, Nader has been an active supporter of Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, his longtime friend and political soul mate, who is considered a long shot to win his party's nomination.
Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland of Ohio announced his support for presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt on Thursday, making him the 32nd member of Congress to endorse the Missouri Democrat.
Gephardt has collected more congressional endorsements so far than any other candidate seeking the Democratic nomination.
Eight of the presidential candidates have written national Democratic officials to support a challenge of Michigan Democrats' plan to allow Internet voting in its caucuses Feb. 7.
Only Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, and Wesley Clark, the retired general who just joined the race, did not sign on to back the protest.
Some Democrats claim the challenge to Internet voting is targeted at Dean, who has raised millions over the Internet and has effectively used it to organize his supporters. Campaign aides for Dean and Clark were not available Thursday afternoon to comment.
Some Democrats in Michigan have filed a protest to the plan to include Internet voting and say it will put minority voters and low-income voters at a disadvantage.
Joel Ferguson, a black Democratic activist from Lansing, Mich., said the inclusion of Internet voting is premature and said Democrats should be extremely conscious of not favoring one group of voters over another.
Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said the state party intends to stand behind its plan, which has been known to the public for months. He said Arizona's use of Internet voting in 2000 did not hurt minority voting, and he said that while people in Michigan are being given the opportunity to vote on the Internet, no one is required to do so.
The Democratic National Committee's rules committee plans to consider the challenge to the Michigan plan once all the paperwork has been filed.
Associated Press writer Will Lester contributed to this story. |
