Early history In 1959, Nader was admitted to the bar and began practice as a lawyer in
Hartford, Connecticut, while also lecturing at the
University of Hartford and traveling to the
Soviet Union, Chile, and
Cuba, where he filed dispatches for the
Christian Science Monitor and
The Nation.
Unsafe at Any Speed Nader gained national attention with the 1965 publication of his journalistic exposé
Unsafe at Any Speed. The book, critical of the automotive industry, argued that many American automobiles were generally unsafe to operate. For the book, Nader researched case files from more than a hundred lawsuits then pending against
General Motors'
Chevrolet Corvair to support his assertions. The book became an immediate bestseller, but also prompted a backlash from General Motors (GM), which
attempted to discredit Nader. GM tapped Nader's phone in an attempt to obtain salacious information and, when that failed, GM hired prostitutes in an attempt to catch him in a compromising situation. Nader, by then working as an unpaid consultant to
United States Senator Abe Ribicoff, reported to the senator that he suspected he was being followed. Ribicoff convened an inquiry that called GM CEO James Roche who admitted, when placed under oath, that the company had hired a private detective agency to investigate Nader. Nader sued GM for
invasion of privacy, settling the case for $425,000 and using the proceeds to found the activist organization known as the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. A year following the publication of
Unsafe at Any Speed, Congress unanimously enacted the
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John William McCormack said the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was brought about by the "crusading spirit of one individual who believed he could do something: Ralph Nader".
"Nader's Raiders", Public Citizen and Center for Auto Safety In 1968, Nader recruited seven volunteer law students, dubbed "Nader's Raiders" by the Washington press corps, to evaluate the efficacy and operation of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The group's ensuing report, which criticized the body as "ineffective" and "passive" led to an
American Bar Association investigation of the FTC. Based on the results of that second study,
Richard Nixon revitalized the agency and sent it on a path of vigorous consumer protection and
antitrust enforcement for the rest of the 1970s. Nader's Raiders became involved in such issues as nuclear safety, international trade, regulation of insecticides, meat processing, pension reform, land use, and banking. He also served on its board of directors until 1980. Nader founded the
Center for Auto Safety, which for 40 years, published an annual guide on new car safety ratings, preventative maintenance and repair costs, fuel economy, insurance costs, warranty coverage, and complaints: "The Car Book".
1970s–1990s and U.S. president
Gerald Ford in 1974 By the early 1970s Nader had established himself as a household name. In a critical memo written by
Lewis Powell to the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Powell warned business representatives that Nader "has become a legend in his own time and an idol of millions of Americans". Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the
New Party, a progressive split-off from the
Democratic Party. Chief among his advocates was author
Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in
Esquire magazine in 1971. Nader declined the advances. In 1973, Ralph Nader was plaintiff in the case against acting attorney general
Robert Bork, who under orders of President
Richard Nixon had fired special prosecutor
Archibald Cox in the so-called
Saturday Night Massacre, an action that was ultimately ruled illegal by federal judge
Gerhard Gesell. In 1974, Nader received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen. In the 1970s, Nader turned his attention to environmental activism, becoming a key leader in the
antinuclear power movement, described by one observer as the "titular head of opposition to nuclear energy". The
Critical Mass Energy Project was formed by Nader in 1974 as a national
anti-nuclear umbrella group, growing to become the largest national
anti-nuclear group in the United States, with several hundred local affiliates and an estimated 200,000 supporters. The organization's main efforts were directed at lobbying activities and providing local groups with scientific and other resources to campaign against nuclear power. Nader testified in the 1994 hearings for
the nomination of
Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court, arguing against Breyer's confirmation. He criticized Breyer's record on antitrust law. In the late 1990s, Nader accused
Microsoft of being a monopoly and organized a conference featuring Microsoft's critics from the tech world. In 1999, Nader was unsuccessfully approached by
Nike to appear in an advertisement. The firm offered Nader $25,000 to say "another shameless attempt by Nike to sell shoes" while holding Air 120 sneakers. After Nader turned down the offer, the corporation hired filmmaker
Spike Lee.
Presidential campaigns 1972 Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the
New Party, a progressive split-off from the
Democratic Party in 1972. Chief among his advocates was author
Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in
Esquire magazine in 1971. Nader declined their offer to run that year; the New Party ultimately joined with the
People's Party in running
Benjamin Spock in the
1972 presidential election. Spock had hoped Nader in particular would run, getting "some of the loudest applause of the evening" when mentioning him at the
University of Alabama. Spock went on to try to recruit Nader for the party among over 100 others, and indicated he would be "delighted" to be replaced by any of them even after he accepted the nomination himself. Nader received one vote for the vice-presidential nomination at the
1972 Democratic National Convention.
1980 In the
1980 presidential election, the progressive-oriented
Citizens Party approached Nader with the prospect of running as their presidential nominee. Nader declined their offer, stating "I will never run for president". The party ended up nominating biologist
Barry Commoner instead.
1992 Nader stood in as a
write-in for "none of the above" in both the 1992
New Hampshire Democratic and Republican primaries and received 3,054 of the 170,333 Democratic votes and 3,258 of the 177,970 Republican votes cast. He was also a candidate in the 1992 Massachusetts Democratic primary.
1996 Nader was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the
Green Party ticket during the
1996 presidential election. He was not formally nominated by the
Green Party USA, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). However, many activists in the Green Party USA worked actively to campaign for Nader that year. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states, garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall), although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign, presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for
Federal Election Commission reporting requirements. The unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself. Nader received some criticism from
gay rights supporters for calling gay rights "
gonadal politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters. In July 2004, however, he publicly stated that he supported
same-sex marriage. His 1996 running mates included: Anne Goeke (nine states), Deborah Howes (Oregon),
Muriel Tillinghast (New York), Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and
Winona LaDuke (California and Texas).
2000 In the 2006 documentary
An Unreasonable Man, Nader described how he was unable to get the views of his public-interest groups heard in Washington, even by the
Clinton Administration. Nader cited this as one of the primary reasons why he decided to actively run in the
2000 election as candidate of the
Green Party, which had been formed in the wake of his 1996 campaign. speaking, protest his exclusion from the televised debates in 2000 In June 2000, The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) organized the national nominating convention that took place in Denver, Colorado, at which Green Party delegates nominated Ralph Nader and
Winona LaDuke to be their party's candidates for president and vice president. On July 9, the
Vermont Progressive Party nominated Nader, giving him ballot access in the state. On August 12, the
United Citizens Party of South Carolina chose Ralph Nader as its presidential nominee, giving him a ballot line in the state. In October 2000, at the largest Super Rally of his campaign, held in New York City's
Madison Square Garden, 15,000 people paid $20 each to hear Nader speak. Nader's campaign rejected both parties as institutions dominated by corporate interests, stating that
Al Gore and
George W. Bush were "
Tweedledee and Tweedledum". A long list of notable celebrities spoke and performed at the event including
Susan Sarandon,
Ani DiFranco,
Ben Harper,
Tim Robbins,
Michael Moore,
Eddie Vedder and
Patti Smith. The campaign also had some prominent union help: The
California Nurses Association and the
United Electrical Workers endorsed his candidacy and campaigned for him. Nader and LaDuke received 2,883,105 votes, for 2.74 percent of the popular vote (third place overall), missing the 5 percent needed to qualify the Green Party for federally distributed public funding in the next election, yet qualifying the party for ballot status in many states. Nader often openly expressed his hope for Bush's victory over Gore, saying it "would mobilize us", and that environmental and consumer regulatory agencies would fare better under Bush than Gore. When asked which of the two he would vote for if forced, Nader answered: "Bush ... If you want the parties to diverge from one another, have Bush win." As to whether he would feel regret if he caused Gore's defeat, Nader replied: "I would not—not at all. I'd rather have a provocateur than an anesthetizer in the White House." On another occasion, Nader answered this question with: "No, not at all ... There may be a cold shower for four years that would help the Democratic Party ... It doesn't matter who is in the White House." A 2003 study found that Nader's candidacy was a critical factor in Bush's victory. A 2004 study found that Nader voters had the profile of likely voters with a preference for Democratic candidates. They were therefore likely to vote for Gore over Bush in the absence of Nader's candidacy. He wrote:
2004 in February 2004 Nader announced on December 23, 2003, that he would not seek the Green Party's nomination for president in 2004, but did not rule out running as an
independent candidate. Ralph Nader and Democratic candidate
John Kerry held a widely publicized meeting early in the 2004 presidential campaign. Nader said that John Kerry wanted to work to win Nader's support and the support of Nader's voters, prompting Nader to provide Kerry more than 20 pages of issues that he felt were important. According to Nader, he asked John Kerry to choose any three of the issues and highlight them in his campaign; should Kerry meet these conditions Nader would not contest the election. On February 22, 2004, having not heard back from Kerry, Nader announced that he would run for president as an independent. Due to concerns about a possible
spoiler effect, many Democrats urged Nader to abandon his 2004 candidacy. The chairman of the
Democratic National Committee,
Terry McAuliffe, stated that Nader had a "distinguished career, fighting for working families", and that McAuliffe "would hate to see part of his legacy being that he got us eight years of George Bush".
Theresa Amato, Nader's national campaign manager in 2000 and 2004, later alleged that McAuliffe offered to pay off Nader if he would not campaign in certain states, an allegation confirmed by Nader and undisputed by McAuliffe. Nader received 463,655 votes, for 0.38 percent of the popular vote, placing him in third place overall.
2008 In February 2007, Nader criticized Democratic front-runner
Hillary Clinton as "a panderer and a flatterer", later describing her as someone who had "no political fortitude". During a February 2008 appearance on
Meet the Press, Nader announced his intention to run for president as an independent, later naming
Matt Gonzalez as his running-mate. Nader was endorsed by
Howard Zinn,
Jesse Ventura,
Justin Jeffre,
Tom Morello,
Val Kilmer,
Rocky Anderson,
James Abourezk,
Patti Smith, and
Jello Biafra. The Nader campaign raised $4.3 million in campaign funds, primarily from small, individual donations. Nader/Gonzalez earned 738,475 votes and a third-place finish in the
2008 United States presidential election.
Congressional Accountability Project Nader founded the
Congressional Accountability Project to "oppose corruption in the U. S. Congress".
Later activities Nader condemned the
2011 military intervention in Libya. He branded President
Barack Obama as a "war criminal" and called for his
impeachment. In June 2019, Nader, who lost his 24-year-old grandniece in the
Ethiopian Airlines crash, claimed that the
Boeing 737 Max "must never fly again... it's not a matter of software. It's a matter of structural design defect: the plane's engines are too much for the traditional fuselage".
D.C. Library Renaissance Project In 2002, Nader founded the D.C. Library Renaissance Project, which has sought to halt the development of the
West End Library in Washington, D.C., alleging that it "violated affordable housing guidelines, undervalued the land, and didn't conform to the city's Comprehensive Plan". The legal obstacles presented by the Library Renaissance Project have cost the D.C. government over one million dollars in legal fees. Nader has opposed the privatized development of D.C. libraries despite community support, citing a lack of oversight and competitive bidding process.
Only the Super Rich Can Save Us In 2009, Nader published his first work of fiction,
Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!. Many of the characters were fictionalized versions of real-life persons including
Ted Turner and
Warren Buffett. The book's principal villain, a "conservative evil genius" named Brovar Dortwist, represents
Grover Norquist. According to Norquist, Nader had called him prior to the book's publication and said he "wouldn't be too unhappy, because the character was principled". The novel met with mixed reviews with
The Wall Street Journal noting that the book "reads less like a novel ... than a dream journal" with a plot that victoriously concludes with "American society thoroughly Naderized", though
The Globe and Mail called it "a powerful idea by the perfect person at a fortuitous time". Nader also branched out into fiction with the
fable collection
Animal Envy in 2016.
2012 debate moderator During the
2012 United States presidential election, Nader moderated a debate for third-party candidates at Washington, D.C.'s
Busboys and Poets. The debate was attended by Green Party presidential candidate
Jill Stein, Libertarian
Gary Johnson,
Rocky Anderson of the
Justice Party and
Constitution Party candidate
Virgil Goode. He later moderated a similar debate in a studio appearance broadcast by
Russia Today.
Ralph Nader Radio Hour Since March 2014, Nader has co-hosted the weekly
Ralph Nader Radio Hour, produced at
KPFK-FM in Los Angeles and distributed via the
Pacifica Radio Network. The program features "interviews with some of the nation's most influential movers and shakers" and discussion of current events. Nader's co-hosts are Steve Skrovan and
David Feldman.
American Museum of Tort Law In 2015, after a decade planning, Nader founded the
American Museum of Tort Law in
Winsted, Connecticut. The opening ceremonies were emceed by
Phil Donahue. Nader personally donated $150,000 to the establishment of the museum, which was sited on two parcels of land rezoned by the town of Winsted to host it. At the time of its opening, some expressed skepticism that a museum dedicated to
tort would have much interest to the general public, though Nader responded that he was "astounded how a country can go over 200 years and not have a law museum".
Campaign for Harvard admissions reform Nader unsuccessfully sought a seat on the
Harvard University Board of Overseers in 2016 as part of an insurgent candidate slate operating under the name "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" which called for increased transparency by the university as to how it made
athletic and
legacy admissions decisions. In February of that year, while noting that he would not vote for him personally, he expressed support for
Donald Trump making a third-party run for president, saying that such a move might help break-up the two party system.
Newspapers Following the closure of
The Winsted Journal in 2017, Nader provided the first funds for
The Winsted Phoenix in 2018 and then pulled backing. The newspaper folded in 2021. A year later, Nader announced he was financially backing the creation of another newspaper in his hometown called the
Winsted Citizen and provided $15,000 for the first monthly issue printed February 2023. A month later it was reported Nader failed to provide funding as initially promised for the paper's second edition. He had agreed to cover 75% of the cost, with the newspaper covering the rest. However, the money had not been delivered by the time of the second edition's printing. Instead, at that time Nader offered to give a $8,000 loan, which the newspaper declined to accept. In April 2022, Nader founded the print newspaper
Capitol Hill Citizen. According to
Politico, the publication's coverage centers on issues important to Nader, such as the growth of corporate influence on the federal government, corruption among lawmakers and the follies and failures of the mainstream political media. == Personal life ==