Green Party of New Jersey
Updated
May 09, 2008
Nader
speaks at Busch campus
Rutgers Daily Targum 10/16/2000 Page 1
By Spencer Ackerman, Staff Writer
Ralph Nader covered a host of issues, ranging from the influence of corporate campaign donations on public policy to his exclusion from the presidential debates to the similarities between the Democratic and Republican parties.
"In 1968, the minimum wage [in 1999 dollars] was $7.30 per hour. Now, it's $5.15," Nader said. "The Democrats favor raising the minimum wage $1 over two years, and the Republicans want to raise it $1 over three years. The difference between the two parties is 17 cents a year."
He said voters have to raise their "lowered expectations," especially liberal voters aligned with a Democratic Party Nader characterized as co-opting conservative issues to win elections at the expense of its base. "Those of you who may be Democrats might want to think about what it means to vote for the lesser [of two evils]," he said. "It legitimizes, and encourages [the Democrats] to get worse, because they think they've got you. Once you get taken for granted, you get taken."
Nader said the ultimate aim of his campaign was not something "that will be over on November 7," but the establishment of a "new, progressive political movement, of which the Green Party is one dimension." Nader also said the Green Party offered a home to "environmental, peace, civil rights and women's groups that have been closed out by the two-party system."
Nader said the nascent movement to which he referred would manifest itself in a final rally in Washington that he said would be attended by at least 12,000 people. "We're going to end this campaign in the heart of the beast," he said.
"It's a sign that the Green Party is a-comin'," Nader said.
