Ralph Nader stumped at the University of New Hampshire on Tuesday to garner student support for his independent presidential campaign.
Nader had a rough ride to get on the ballot in New Hampshire, but he was successful, and that worries many Democrats.
NHPR's Drew Wilkins has more.
Ralph Nader says he's running for president to give Americans a real choice in this election.
[Nader] ?We take our compass from the tens of millions of American people who are being pushed around, underpaid, denied healthcare, defrauded, harmed, ignored, disrespected as they go about the work of the country. The two parties are more concerned with corporate interests, variously, than they are with the people?s interests.?
He's running on a platform of universal healthcare, a living wage, electoral reform, stronger environmental regulation, and a quick, responsible withdrawal from Iraq.
Supporters admit there is little chance Nader will win in November, but they say his candidacy is important because it is broadening the debate.
Matt Cutler is the UNH campus coordinator for Nader 2004.
[Cutler] ?Nader opens up the book of all the issues, rather than just kind of keeping it closed to campaign-specific issues that get you popular and get you votes. That?s where the two major party candidates stand on things, they have, pretty much, two or three issues that they kind-of debate upon throughout the season and that?s all you really hear from them. Nader, he hits every potent issue.?
In 2000, George W. Bush beat Al Gore in New Hampshire by about 7-thousand votes.
Ralph Nader received over 22 thousand votes in the state.
Many Democrats feel Al Gore would be President had Nader not been on the ballot four years ago.
Pollsters argue that given all the variables, no one can make that claim with any certainty.
But for local activists such as Charlie Proulx of Democracy for New Hampshire, just the thought that Nader might influence this election is enough to spur him to action.
[Proulx] ?Mr. Nader?s questionable appearance on the New Hampshire ballot is undermining the effort of the Granite State Progressive community. Thousands of us have sacrificed our time and energy in the last year-and-a-half working for change. We?ve calculated our battles carefully in New Hampshire. Mr. Nader has done nothing but make out fight more difficult.
In fact, large numbers of the progressives who supported Nader in 2000 are now actively opposing his candidacy.
A new organization, ?Nader 2000 Leaders for Kerry,? has a membership list that reads like a who's-who of the left liberal establishment.
Among them is noted Boston University historian Howard Zinn.
[Zinn] ?Well, I still have enormous respect for Ralph Nader. I believe in him. He?s a heroic American figure. He?s by far the best of the people in the race. But I do believe that it is extremely important to defeat Bush, and I believe that Nader?s best contribution can be outside of the ballot box.?
Even amidst all this opposition, Ralph Nader is steadfast.
When asked if he would ever consider telling his supporters to vote for Democrat John Kerry, Nader answered with a resounding ?NO.?
[Nader] ?This is unconditional surrender, this is crazy! We are going to press forward on all fronts. We don?t believe Justice should ever take a vacation and we believe that the two-party electoral dictatorship should be broken up so people can have more voices, more choices and we don?t have Washington, our nation?s capital, turned into corporate-occupied territory.?
In 2000, Ralph Nader won 4% of the New Hampshire vote. The UNH Survey Center shows Nader is currently polling around 1% in the state.
For NHPR News, I'm Drew Wilkins.
