Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader spoke before a welcoming Brown audience in Salomon 101 Wednesday afternoon, criticizing Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and President George W. Bush and telling the capacity crowd that the United States is turning into "a one-party dictatorship."
"What we now have at a level never before seen in American history is a two-party electoral dictatorship that is moving toward a one-party dictatorship in a variety of legislative districts," Nader said.
Nader, who is running with vice presidential candidate Peter Camejo, said 95 percent of House districts have been redistricted to give one party an overwhelming advantage. He said that only four House members out of 435 running for reelection in 2000 were defeated. State legislatures were even worse, he said, and 60 percent of candidates in this fall's election are running unopposed.
"It's no election - it's a coronation," he said.
Nader criticized the current electoral system that encourages presidential candidates to avoid campaigning in "safe" states where the outcome of the race is all but decided, saying it leads to a single-party system.
"When a Democratic candidate withdraws from a Republican stronghold like Texas, the whole ticket on the party suffers - all the way down to city council - and they get weaker every four years," he said. "Now we're left with one-party districts, and it's getting worse."
Nader said his own campaign is giving a voice to voters in safe states who are missing out on the political debate.
Nader blasted the Bush administration for spending 50 percent of the federal budget on the military at a time when the U.S. has no major enemy, as the Soviet Union was during the Cold War.
"If a family spent 50 percent of its budget on non-existent enemies, depriving their children of their needs, what would we think about those parents?" he said by way of analogy.
Nader was also critical of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, saying that Kerry has become a war hawk because he knows he already has the support of anti-war voters. Kerry is taking advantage of voters who support him simply because they are against Bush, he said. He also said that the differences between the Democratic and Republican parties are rapidly disappearing and that they are now "one party with two different heads wearing different makeup."
Nader also discussed his plan for a single-payer health care system, a living family wage, environmental preservation, cracking down on corporate crime and reforming the criminal justice system.
At the question-and-answer session following the speech, Nader reiterated that the main issue of this year's election is to defeat Bush, saying his candidacy is meant to expand the opposition to Bush and does not draw support away from Kerry.
Nader also showed off his political experience and wit in his responses to students' questions and challenges.
One student, who said Nader was pulling votes away from Kerry in swing states, told the candidate, "I hope at some point you look in the mirror and realize that you serve your country, and you drop out of the race." The remark drew both applause and boos from the crowd.
Nader responded by asking the student, "Would you ask George W. Bush, who is taking about 50 million votes from John Kerry, to drop out?" The audience laughed in response.
Nader's reception at Brown was surprisingly welcoming, considering how many students had said before the lecture that they were still angry at Nader for helping Bush win the White House in the 2000 election. Audience members enthusiastically applauded Nader upon his introduction and at several points during his speech, and two-thirds of the auditorium gave him a standing ovation at the conclusion of the lecture.
Even Nader supporters were surprised at how well Nader was received.
"I was quite pleased. It was a warmer reception than what we expected," said Alden Eagle '03, a Nader-Camejo campaign volunteer who organized the event.
"I was surprised," added Nick Renzler '07, a Nader supporter who helped organize the event. "I expected there to be a little more protest and that people would be a little more forceful with their questions. I'm happy that people gave him respect."
But some who heard his speech said they weren't so happy with Nader. Seth Magaziner '06, president of the Brown Democrats, said he "was a little disappointed."
"I expected what he would say would have more substance to it," Magaziner said, adding that Nader dodged some difficult questions.
James DeBoer '05, a leader of the Brown Green Party, said Nader missed some points in his speech.
"He ignored basic realities that Kerry, although a supporter of the war (in Iraq), would probably not have initiated the war as President Bush did," DeBoer said. "He also did not mention that Kerry's environmental positions differs from that of Bush's."
Other students were more supportive of Nader's speech.
"He raised legitimate issues and he was able to show how his candidacy is relevant to the current campaign," Renzler said. When he answered the first question about withdrawal from Iraq, I think he gave a good argument and response. ... His speech was extremely successful in that I think that Nader's speech gave people a different perspective on him that they made not have had."
One student said Nader's speech had great influence on him.
"I'm a bit less of a Democrat, a bit more of an independent now," Cyprian Kibuka '08 said.
Nader even managed to gain the vote of at least one student in the audience.
"At the beginning, first I was a Bush supporter, then I was Kerry - now I'm going to vote for Nader," said Kim Stickels '08.
In 2000, Nader ran as a candidate for the Green Party, which has nominated David Cobb for this year's race. This year, Nader is running as an independent, although he is on at least seven state ballots, including Rhode Island, as the Reform Party nominee. His affiliation with the Reform Party, which nominated ultraconservative Pat Buchanan in 2000, has drawn criticism from liberals.
Nader defended his alliance with the party in a press conference before the speech. "That's the Buchanan and Perot Reform Party," he said. "The Reform Party now has got to rebuild, and all those elements have pretty much left the leadership of the party."
But David Segal, Ward 1 City Council Representative and a member of the Green Party, said that was a lie and that the Reform Party is still "very right-wing and xenophobic."
"If you look at the Reform Party Web site and look at the 2003 platform, those are new platform planks," he said.
The current platform calls for a temporary freeze on immigration and a health care system based on free-market operations, as well as support for organic farming and alternative energy sources.
