Looking for Mr.Nader Since Election Day, Ralph has been missing in action
by Doug Ireland [In These Times, March 5, 2001]
Where's Ralph? That's what many enthusiastic supporters of Nader's 2000 presidential campaign have been asking. Even though more people were paying attention to politics during the Florida election mess than they were during the campaign, Nader chose not to go to the Sunshine State. Nor has there been a coordinated effort to mobilize the tens of thousands of active Naderites recruited during the campaign to take their energy into the Green Party, let alone any serious attempt to enroll rank-and-file Nader voters as Greens. Indeed, Nader himself is still not a Green Party member. Nor has any organization been formed to give those Nader supporters who are not prepared to join the Greens another vehicle for independent, issues- oriented political action. So what's going on?
[...]
After discussions with a number of Nader's closest advisers, friends and staff, a clearer picture emerges. For one thing, Nader has received conflicting counsel. Some of the influential staffers from the Nader-created skein of nonprofits, particularly Public Citizen, have been reluctant to see Nader conduct a frontal assault on the Democrats just before a congressional election year.