Ralph Nader: "Bernie Sanders won't take my calls."

[pnwmom]

And he accuses Bernie of lacking in social graces, which is amusing, considering.

He also notes that none of the progressive Senators want to speak to him. Gee, I wonder why. Could it have anything to do with 2000?


http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/18/ralph_nader_on_bernie_sanders_presidential

RALPH NADER: Bernie Sanders does not answer my calls. Fifteen years, he’s never answered a telephone call, never replied to a letter, never replied to a meeting that I wanted to go down and see him. I even had to write an article on this, called "Bernie, We Thought We Knew Ye!" One of the problems he’s going to face, other than his good graces in Vermont, is that he doesn’t have good political antennae. He doesn’t have political social graces. And he’s going to have to change that. A lot of his friends have told me that that’s a problem. But most progressive senators don’t really respond to any progressive group that tries to push him to do more than they want to do. I wrote nine letters to nine progressive senators, like Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and saying, "Look, you’re all lone rangers doing good things, but you’re going nowhere. So why don’t you get together into a caucus of nine, 10, 12 senators in the Senate and push a unified agenda on poverty, on labor, on the environment, on trade, on military policy? You might really get somewhere. At the least, you’ll raise these issues more prominently." Not a single response. Called up, said, "Would they respond?" Not a single response. I did finally have to go down and meet with the general counsel for Senator Warren. But by and large, that’s the problem with the left. That’s the problem of progressives. They don’t link with one another. You never see Heritage Foundation or Cato or all these right-wing groups tolerate members of Congress treating them that way who are supposed to be on their side.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Good for Bernie.

And fuck Ralph Nader.

[Ferd Berfel]

17. Zackly. My first thought too

[Siwsan]

2. Yet another reason to respect Senator Sanders

Nader needs to go away. Far, far away.

[randys1]

3. This is from May. The not taking his calls is not related to this campaign but in general

[pnwmom]

12. I have no reason to think things have changed since then, do you?

I only put this here because Bernie IS in a campaign now, so in that sense it is related to the primary.

[Punkingal]

4. Ha!

[arcane1]

5. Everyone on DU should consider that a good thing, considering how Nader is hated here.

Right?

[beam me up scottie]

8. I thought this week's meme was Nader hearts Bernie?

Now they're recycling "news" from May that contradicts that meme?

So hard to keep up.

[arcane1]

10. They evolved.

[Art_from_Ark]

25. Damn spell check!

Someone mistyped an "r" in "hates" and Spellcheck thought they meant "hearts"

[Ed Suspicious]

11. I like him a lot.

[joshcryer]

15. I'm fine with it.

Associating with has been is a loser strategy.

[NurseJackie]

6. Poor Ralphie!

[TekGryphon]

7. Quite possibly the best policy platform of Bernie's I've seen yet.

Fuck Ralph Nader.

[JI7]

9. fuck nader

[LoveIsNow]

13. Good.

He's a pariah and a national joke among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike.

He should have stuck to seat belts. I mean, if there's one thing America needs, it's a consumer advocate out there fighting to keep us from getting screwed. When he left that line for perennial candidacy, he lost any chance of my support.

[NCjack]

14. Ralph, be gracious. If Bernie wants to speak with you, he will call. Mean while, you

give Hillary and Martin some calls. You what? And they also don't want to talk to you?

[baldguy]

16. Gee wiz, I wonder why?

[winter is coming]

18. Why should anyone take Nader's calls? n/t

[Nonhlanhla]

19. Put me in the

"Good for Bernie" and "F**k Ralph Nader" camp.

[beltanefauve]

20. Ralph Nader

never misses an opportunity to bash Democrats, especially progressive Democrats.

Good on you, Bernie.

[ucrdem]

21. good

.

[oasis]

22. Nader you stopped being relevant long ago.

Btw, thanks for Bush and his Iraq war.

[Jim Lane]

23. Nader needs (yet another) history lesson.

So, according to Nader, he told the handful of good people in Congress, "Look, you’re all lone rangers doing good things, but you’re going nowhere. So why don’t you get together into a caucus...."

Hey, Ralph, that's a great idea. I wonder why nobody thought of it before.

Oh, wait. They did.

[RobertEarl]

24. They did

But faced with the establishment that has gone along with more Global Warming, more bankster crooks paying millions to speakers from government, and more lobbyists flooding congress, they could see that absent a president who would put on walking shoes and protest with them, they best decide to stay low and keep hoping for a Leftist champion to appear.

<<<< Look over there!! It's Bernie!! Let's get the show on the road!

[Warren DeMontague]

26. Good. Screw Nader.

Nader wants to talk to someone, he can talk to all the Republicans who bankrolled his 2004 run.

[Mike Nelson]

27. Nader...

...is very self-centered.

[silvershadow]

28. Thank God. nt

[Eric J in MN]

29. RE: 'why don’t you get together into a caucus'?

Bernie Sanders is the only Senator in the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

If Ralph Nader wants to persuade other Senators to join the caucus, that's fine, but Bernie Sanders is already in it.

[Douglas Carpenter]

30. I can understand that. Should he have a close relationship with Ralph Nader? I doubt that would be

helpful.

[Fawke Em]

31. So?

[pnwmom]

32. Many DUers continue to post positive things about Nader.

I thought it was interesting that Bernie and Elizabeth are giving him the deep freeze.

[SwampG8r]

40. Im calling bullshit on that claim

Show us "many duers" posti g positively about nader.
I dont believe they exist

[leftofcool]

41. I think you will find a few here:

But, Nader is of course bashing Hillary so.....................

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=992482

[SwampG8r]

42. Looks lime many were dissing

I dont see"many duers" there posting positively on nader
Maybe not the level of hatred you expect but not "many duers" posting positively
More like many duers agree stopped clock is right twice a day

[merrily]

33. Nader's been privately and publicly rude to and about Sanders, including in those letters, at least

some of which Nader has made public. Why does Nader think he's entitled to more from Sanders than he's accorded Sanders?

[anigbrowl]

34. "he doesn’t have good political antennae"

[Hekate]

35. Ralphie go home. He still really does not have a clue?

[Kalidurga]

36. It's too bad

Nader made some very bad moves politically speaking. Now, he thinks he has something relevant to say about political strategy. Seriously that is a strange thing to think for someone who has never fought for and held any kind of political office

[Blue_In_AK]

37. Ralph Nader should have stuck to consumer safety issues

at which he excelled. I'll admit I voted for him in 2000 because I knew it wouldn't make a bit of difference in Alaska - and it didn't - but his people skills seem to have been lacking in the past 15 years.

[Kalidurga]

38. I think he should have gotten into the Democratic Party

he could have pulled us a lot more to the left. I think he has some very good ideas, but they are lost by joining a party that isn't going to ever get anywhere on the political map.

[leftynyc]

39. Bernie showing very good sense

Keep ignoring him, Bernie. He has nothing to add to you or any other Democrat.

[UCmeNdc]

43. Good for Bernie

Nadar is a publicity hound. He would have linked Bernie's original beliefs to his and then if Nader crashed he would cause Bernie to have a problem also.

It is sad but Ralph Nader became too egotistical. If he really wanted to help the country in 2000 he could have thrown his support to Gore in exchange for Gore's support of his position on some issues. Work together. If only he followed his own advice.

[Sunlei]

44. If Senator Sanders happens to win, this his 'actions' the past 15 years in Gov. is what he will face

Sanders is a good person, his heart is in the right place, an excellent Senator and Americans need to finally hear his voice today.

He needs to team-up with someone like Mrs. Clinton to make it to victory as President or VP.

[MineralMan]

45. Neither would I, Ralphie...

Neither would I.

[JudyM]

46. Nader is likely supremely jealous that Bernie is having the kind of campaign Nader wanted.

Rise up the masses on issues of fairness and justice.

Bernie's doing it in a gutsier way. Both in his funding model and in risking the earlier endpoint of his campaign if he doesn't get the nom.

Nader was more driven to get publicity (maybe for himself as much as the issues) and make a point, but he was neither smart nor humble in sacrificing the election for the dems to get a piece of the vote.

His huge character/integrity deficit was demonstrated loud and clear: he had plenty of opportunity to pull out when he saw he was only polling at a very small percentage and that the race between Gore and Bush was extremely close. He had already made his point, he should've gotten the hell out of the way.

[pnwmom]

48. I think you're right. He's feeling jealous so he acts superior. n/t

[TheBlackAdder]

47. Ralph Nader brings a POX to the Democrat Party. (Mr. Anti-BIG Corp. my ass, helping Reps Win!) nt