Bernie Sanders and "Movement Politics"

[MineralMan]

36. I'm of that age, as well. I do not consider Ralph Nader to be any sort of hero.

Not in any way. He is directly responsible for Al Gore not winning the 2000 presidential election. He took money from the GOP to run against him, and cost him the election in Florida.

Further, the book that made him famous, "Unsafe at Any Speed" killed one of the most innovative automobiles of the 1960s. I actually owned a 1960 Corvair. Driven normally, it had few faults. It wasn't a sports car, and if driven to its limits, it did have a stability problem. No question about it. By the time Nader's book came out, that had been fixed by GM, and the car was just fine. But, the book killed its sales.

It also set US car manufacturing back at a time when innovative design was most needed. As a car buff, I regret the loss of the Chevy Corvair quite a great deal. Its air-cooled 6-cylinder engine had great potential, which was becoming realized just about the time it was killed by Nader's book. The car's body design was ahead of its time, as well. So, on those grounds, I also reject any hero status for Nader.

Nader sucks. His third party spoiler tactics inspired other third party candidates, including Jill Stein, who also ran as a Green Party candidate. Votes for her in 2016 cost Hillary Clinton three states that gave the election to Trump.

No hero, Ralph Nader. Not in any way!