Good morning at 6 minutes past 11. This is midday on Minnesota Public Radio John Raby sitting in for Gary. Eichten Ralph Nader's perhaps the nation's leading consumer Advocate fresh out of Harvard to get attacked. The Corvair is unsafe at any speed and Auto Safety to the Forefront winding-up is one of the top 10 most influential people in the Auto industry, according to Automotive news. He founded public Citizen and other advocacy groups has Crusade against to perform and in 1996 ran for president as the green Party's candidate. They got less than 1% of the vote. The last Tuesday. He threw his hat into the ring again and Ralph Nader is our guest in this our mid-day as we continue our series of conversations with and about the presidential candidates. Mr. Nader.Hello, mr. AP. How are you? Hi, good to talk with you again will take your calls for Ralph Nader in this hour of midday. 651-227-6010 the Twin Cities 651-227-6001 800-242-2828 1 800-242-2828 call engage with Ralph Nader about his presidential campaign is a green Party candidate was your neighbor. Why you running? Because the concentration of power and Welton in a few hands has undermined our democracy and prevented the citizenry from amassing the policy agenda that would solve a lot of problems in this country from public financing of campaigns Universal Health Insurance to transformation for an energy from fossil fuels and nuclear to renewable efforts to enforcing the consumer protection laws who's violations, especially affecting poor people are eroding whatever minimal income that they have to make ends meet and to give taxpayers more of a stake in fighting corporate welfare, subsidies guarantees bailouts giveaways that now amount to hundreds of billions of dollars a year far more than poverty welfare programs amount to just to give you a few illustrations in answer to your question. It all comes down to a stronger democracy with updated tools for voters consumers workers taxpayers and small favor investors to be able to have a voice to have remedy to help shape. The future of their country labor alone is enough for one Progressive agenda. The labor laws are incredibly weak the weakest by far in the western world. It's very difficult to form trade unions now, especially in the private sector and we have the lowest rate of Trade union membership as a percent of the overall working for us and in the last 60 years, it's under 15% and that has been that low for for about 60 years. And if you're dealing with global corporations, you better give workers an opportunity to band together so they can represent their interest against these beet hummus. That's just one item on the platform. You honestly expect you have a chance to win is very uncongenial to small start, even though throughout our history third parties have made very significant contributions and help move the agenda. And we want to build a progressive political movement build the green party bring thousands of young people are now turned off politics back into Progressive politics get more local and state candidacies where the victory can be a green party Victory quite on the first try and there are people who won on the first try and at the Hartford City Council Santa Monica, California on the green party ticket. So the the essential the purpose of the campaign is to recognize that with a winner-take-all system small starts. Hardly have a chance and we've got to break down the valid access barriers and make it difficult for new Party candidate third party candidates to even have a chance to have a chance by getting on the ballot and we have to start at the Grassroots level and build it up. Last time. I really didn't run. I just responded to people who said would I put my name on the California Ballot or on the Minnesota ballot and I didn't raise any money. I didn't run or campaign it all and we got 700000 votes Nationwide on the 21 states where I was on the ballot came in fourth. We are going to have a serious campaign. We're going to raise $5000000. We're hiring several dozen organizes full-time around the country. We're going to go for matching funds and we're going to build the agenda on strengthening Democratic tools. We've got to go back to front to the foundations of our political economy. And it's a how do we give people more Power Visa V the excesses of what Thomas Jefferson called the accessories of the moneyed interests and that my announcement last Monday here in Washington seeking denominations. The green party. I quoted associate Justice of the Supreme Court Louis Brandeis decades ago earlier in the 1920s century when he Sad quote we can have democracy or we can have the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We cannot have both and quote and I think that's really the Touchstone of the campaign to go and ask people as voters as taxpayers as workers as consumers a small saver invested. Do you want more power to participate in policy-making and in the future of the country? That's the essential question that people have to think about because without more time power and energy are democracy. We continually undermined by corporate globalization and the buying and renting of politicians in our political system. So those those of you who are interested to further we have a website. It's called vote. Nator. Com vote Mater. Calm and Our address is is nater MM the O box 18002. It's 18002 Washington DC 20036. To listen to if you've tried to find stuff as we did about the campaign on the regular Ralph Nader website or on the The Green Party website. I don't think any of it. Is there is that to keep things separate, but I have to speak with you. So let's go to Tom and Minneapolis you're on with Ralph Nader and I was wondering your views on the green party itself. Do you see this is more of a as the best possible platform for your views or as the actual platform. Are you most identify with and also the public perception of the green party seems to be almost a knee-jerk. Oh, those are those environmentalists and how you would deal with that public perception of the green party. I think has the broadest and deepest political agenda in the Progressive contacts of any party. They are obviously very committed to reducing the environment of violence and destruction from the poor areas and our country inner-city lead contamination. For example all the way to the global warming issues to the utilization of renewable energy organic agriculture Etc, but they also have very strong planks in their platform on labor on consumer protection on clean money and politics or reforming the political campaign Finance system on Direct. The Democracy initiative referendum recall which now is only in 23 or 24 States and we think should be in all states agenda and I think that'll begin to get to come across when you look at Elizabeth shampoo, sin city councilwoman in Hartford. She's very very keyed in on education housing Intercity issues in that crumbling state capitol when you see a better fit than philosophically with you then say the Reform Party split in so many ways. Otherwise diverted Did you even consider talking with the Reform Party folks is the green party and as you know, they're green parties in over 40 countries around the world and and they have good communication and you don't have a lot of the problems that folks are facing like environmental ones are international in scope and require a political response connecting parties in various countries, other than that in point out before we get too much further that you're running mate for vice presidential candidate is Winona Winona Laduke from actually from Minnesota from the white Earth Indian reservation. And the green party here is making a special effort to get 5% of the vote so they can become but they cannot be don't give them the party status that will help in funding. How do you rate your chances in Minnesota given and also given Progressive a tradition in California 1996. I tooked for Republican votes for every six Democrat vote. So obviously the appeal on the issue of people having more say you people having more voice and more remedy appeals to conserve considerable number of conservatives as well as liberals and people call themselves Progressive Winona Laduke is a great American and she has so many versatile pluses and not the least of which is that she is now an accomplished author having published recently a novel and most recently a book on the environmental and economic ravaging of Indian reservations. And that book is called all our relations out from the shop in pressing Boston, everybody beautifully written following her travels around these various reservation areas. Boat in Minnesota because of Jesse Ventura's Victory and a vote for a third party candidate. That means that there's a good deal of independent voting end in Minnesota. It also means that there a lot of non voters who voted for Jesse Ventura on the voting turnout in Minnesota and his election was about 62% and at the same time around the rest of the country. It was in the thirties 35 36% So Minnesota is a great opportunity for green party activity going to Gary in Alexandria High guy. Union of concerned scientists. I have a stupid question on global warming first to describe what you would do about that issue global warming. His website is encouraging to the extent that it says he supports he considers of the scientific issue should follow the science, but I don't know whether he has in the past of voted in Congress or against the Republican limitations on actually doing the studies and and scientific study for Ralph Nader. Are you considering McCain or where are you at right now? I think his folks have been quite conventionally Republican vote, which do not go against the policies of fossil-fuel Industries oil gas coal and the nuclear industry, but he does have a open mind attitude that he seems to be conveying around the country these days and then maybe he can be Inclined to recognize that this is an extraordinary serious problem affecting the globe. It should be a uniting problem much like an Invasion From Mars would unite everyone the global warming and its potential Devastation climate change change in terms of vegetation areas farming and on and on should unite all of us around the world. Whatever our differences maybe now, there are some people who say that the the science isn't conclusive that while there is clear evidence of a global warming evidence as to whether these are caught these warming periods are being caused by man-made activities, like fossil fuel-burning Etc. I think the predominant scientific opinion now is that there is a connection between man-made activities around the globe and the warming of the of the globe My point is that we should be doing everything that would minimize and slow down global warming. Even if we didn't believe global warming was a problem and by that, I mean that the transformation of our Energy Systems into renewable energy and efficient energy are important not only for the consumer budget because renewable energy and and and Energy Efficiency save consumers money. If they can get three times more energy from a gallon of gasoline or a gallon of heating oil. It's going to save them money that we should be doing all this conservation of energy and Energy Efficiency renewable energy for is the consumer's budget. We should be doing it for reducing the ravages on the lands like Coal Mine strip mining uranium radioactive waste dumping its We should be doing it because it increases jobs. Actually, it's more job intensive local solar energy activity. And of course as a norm is collateral benefit, it will reduce global warming. The trouble is the debate on global warming is just on global warming and is if it's a huge economic sacrifice to be more efficient. So we need to redefine productivity and efficiency in the energy area so that it has all these collateral benefits starting with the amount of money you pay for your energy needs. That's been Brent into the conversation from Minneapolis. Hi Brent around and was a little disappointed in the lack of actual campaign going on. Now that you plan to actually run a campaign was wondering how you plan to raise the funds how you can compete with, you know million dollar pancake breakfast with dads multinationals. Good point lifetime. I never did anything. I I promise everything and did everything I promised which was just a stand-in at the request of various groups in California and elsewhere this time. I'm running and we have several ways has the most Innovative way is in addition to raising funds from people. We're not taking a Pac money at all from people. We are going to have our razors that is we're going to have an events around the country people who can't contribute funds, but they all I have 24 hours in a day like everybody and if they commit a certain amount of time so in some big living room, which usually now is a form only for raising money for political and we will have played sheets were people pledge time. So at the end of the evening we can say to reporter. We had a good evening and a good discussion talked about the agenda talked about Precinct work voter turnout and the report it says, well, what did you raise and I will be able to say 3600 hours. We raised obviously, we also have to raise dollars because we want to bring in organizers as full-time staff. We're not going to pay for fancy high price consulting firms and all that that many other candidates pay for it so that those are the people who can contribute and under federal law on individual can contribute $1,000 for the primary and $1,000 for the general election election of a total of $2,000 and you can get the details on all of that by logging in the web Tour website. Vote. Nator. Com or by phoning 20229662900202296 1600. Just leave your your name and number if you'd like to be called back to say that phone number or the the website on the hour razor. Does that mean the people of pledge to do an hour of door knocking and and Say they want to place a hundred hours over the next four or five months and then they'll be a check off for what kind of work they want to work on something. They want to work on Research. So I may want to work on knocking on doors. Some may want to work on creating events. Some may want to work on local press somebody want to work on graphic arts or computer databases or whatever. There is just so much talent out there. I took one of the real deficiencies of the two-party duopoly republican-democrat is that their presiding over a political process that turns a half of the people off from even voting and they're not they're just not delivering people to the polls because of the differences in their agenda extremely minor in many areas. They're not putting forth the kinds of agenda where they give people power. I think the first question should be asked if any candidate for office is how are you Going to give us more voice more remedy more power so we can fulfill so we say the ancient Roman order Cicero's definition of freedom, which was and it's over 2,000 years ago show you how consistently valid the wisdom of the ages is he said quote freedom is participation in power and cook. And when you wake up in the morning, you see your local schools cutting back on Recreation and arts and other facilities for lack of money and then you turn the page and there's a story on how your tax dollars are going to fund a giant stadium for professional sports team. You may want to say to yourself. Don't I matter don't I count don't I have any voice don't I have a cable channel where we we can generate a discussion and learn what other people in Hartford Connecticut who defeated such a stadium did so we can do the same here. Do we have remedies in our core? System are we being shut out of the courts? Cuz it's too expensive dilatory. How are we going to make people more powerful, but maybe a lot of people would disagree with you saying things are things are actually pretty good. You've cited some examples, but overall things are good. We don't need to change the the context of the political debate. That's what I dressed right off in my statement last Monday. Let's look at it. If we take the corporate yard sticks for our economy today. They look pretty good. We've got a growing a gross domestic product. We've got booming profits for corporations, and we've got a booming stock market now turn around pick up some of the yard sticks that have a label on them called people yardsticks in spite of this booming economy profits and stock market a majority of the American workers are making less today inflation adjusted then they didn't I In 79 20% of the children in this country are growing up in poverty by far the highest percent in the Western World in the Netherlands is 3% nerd shamed Consumer Debt is skyrocketing it even even worrying Greenspan. It's a 6.2 trillion dollars Home Equity Credit Card all kinds of death. We have a crumbling Public Works You See It All Over America clinics schools Bridges mass transit Antiquated or an error in disrepair. We're not repairing America. We have had 25 straight years of growing trade deficit meaning we are consuming more than we're producing and we're exporting jobs in that area. We we have the fastest growing Industries in the 1990s the gambling industry prison construction and temporary employment firms. Not exactly the kind of If we would like to see many of us, so these and many other examples show that there is a disconnect between economic growth and progress from majority of the people and used to be in the old days when the economy grew the old phrase a rising tide lifts all boats now, it's Jeff Gates and who's the author of the ownership Solutions said recently. It's more like a rising tide lifts in all ya a Bill Gates is financial net worth is equal to the combined net worth of the bottom hundred and twenty million Americans and while that says something about the great software imitator in Redmond, Washington. It says more about Americans who've worked years and years are Century broke. Millions and millions of Americans are essentially broken turn to their net worth. So that's why we've got to get down to people yardsticks and see why the concentration of wealth and power is increasing. So rapidly that the benefits of this economic growth are being shared by the top few percent but not very well cured by the majority people in this country is 11:30 or listening to mid-day on Minnesota public radio programming on Minnesota Public Radio is supported by a professional association representing government and business on state public policy issues throughout the election season here on Minnesota Public Radio. We are talking with and about the presidential candidates all the other candidates to and Ralph Nader is our guest in this hour of midday getting a chance to hear from him here is views here is platform. He's running with Winona Laduke as the Green Party presidential candidate more conversation. In just a moment and get on the phone lines if you'd like 651-227-6000 or one 800-242-2828. Actually when someone hangs up because they're on the all that up right now back to our conversation and just a few minutes coming up in 30 seconds. Switched-on Bach is one of the recordings that popularized the Moog synthesizer and the next fresh air. We talked with the instruments Creator Robert Moog. One of the pioneers of electronic instruments will demonstrate the Moog and the Thurman which also manufactures. I'm Terry Gross join us for the next fresh air. fresh air 8 weekday evenings on Minnesota Public Radio Absolutely. Nothing sent that again news from Minnesota public radio's Marianne Sullivan. Thank you. John in the news this hour. John McCain is accusing some Christian leaders of slandering the name of religion. The GOP Presidential hopefuls has evangelist Like Pat Robertson have distorted his views. The attack is a response to Robertson calling a top McCain advisor of the get a mixed bag on Wall Street today. The blue chips are solidly higher while the tech stocks lower that represents quite a different picture from the one from last week. Closed below 10,000 Friday for the first time in more than 10 months or Democratic Congressman. Tim penny is citing personal reasons for his decision not to run for the US Senate this year and it released a written statement this morning saying that until a few days ago he had felt this was the time to return to public office on the day. Penny said, he will not end of the race for US Senate another day. If I were picked up some labor support for his race dfl her Jerry Genesis today pick up the endorsements of the 12000 member laborers union of Minnesota and the 3200 member United transportation. Genesis says the labor support will be vital for his campaign. Fire has destroyed a Minneapolis Landmark City officials. Say the historic Daniel Hall in Minneapolis is Westbank neighborhood near the University of Minnesota. Probably can't be saved city council member Joan Campbell who's Ward includes the 116 year old building says the for story structure was being renovated the 4 alarm fire that started early this morning cause the exterior walls including the front of the building to crumble Campbell says rebuilding is unlikely the tiny Northwestern Minnesota town of bajor is about to get its 15 minutes of fame Badgers expected to appear tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman a crew from the CBS show visited the town of 480 on February 2nd Badger near Roselle calls itself the mallard capital of Minnesota Late Night official told the city council the 5-minute piece. What are tonight but is subject to last-minute scheduling changes. The Timberwolves are coming off of Wendover the San Antonio Spurs as they prepare to play host to the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night, Kevin Garnett score 29 Points to lead Minnesota to a 102 298 win last night over, San Antonio. Child in the north with a chance of showers wind advisories for southwest and west central Minnesota through tonight's in the Twin Cities windy and warm with the high in the 50s. It is at 47° not the latest from The Newsroom Mary Ann Sullivan Marion 26 minutes before noon time to continue our conversation with Ralph Nader the green party presidential candidate on the ballot with Winona Laduke this note that at noon the February edition of voices of Minnesota featuring retired University of Minnesota History Professor Geneva, Southall and Northfield dancer and choreographer. Merry Easter is the Black History Month edition of voices of Minnesota, and we hope you'll be listening at noon. But now it's go back to the phone with Ralph Nader and with John from St. Paul John. Thanks for holding on. Johnny there. What's your question for Ralph Nader? Well, I've been I've been listening to Route 4 years. I'm an old hippie and I like most of what he said for years now, but I'm kind of a one of these guys that have issues that seem to be on diametrically opposed if we're left up to the system we have and one of my pet issues for a litmus test, I guess. Which is one of many is. Is it is positioned on the gun control issue? I'm a programmer and I'm interested in them. But so I was kind of curious where he's coming from. And then another thing is Is I've always thought that the libertarian party was real close to where. A lot of My Views, and I was wondering what is comparisons to that that party is Senator to the courts. They don't believe in. Health and safety regulation as far as I could determine. They think that if you're harmed you go to court and sue the person or the company that then harmed you. The sometimes I think the libertarian philosophy needs of a bit more empirical input. I mean when you look at their Opposition to all government it seems they're not quite anarchists. But I only look at her opposition all government and their leader says that the problems in this country all come from government began wondering how they how they look toward traffic lights or you know, any kind of ordinances or any kind of housing codes or any kind of Transportation safety standards. So but I do like their I do like their attitude toward the judicial record, especially since our courts are under attack now under by the torque deformers and insurance companies in auto companies who want to restrict the right of people that have their their day in court you're talking about your effort to make sure that people can get punitive damages in civil cases. But in many states laws have been passed the put a complete cap, like no matter how devastating your injury and malpractice in Virginia and a hospital could be 40 Years of Paris. You can't collect more in a million dollars some of these Insurance Executives make that in a week or or in a month just in terms of their compensation to CEOs antara antara Farm though, you're at your opponents say that you vastly underestimate the amount of money that court cost court challenges cost industry. Well, if you look at the figures that come out of the National Association of insurance Commissioners, so in any given recent year, it is released trivial the total verdicts and settlements that are transferred from hospitals companies doctor's eccentric in any recent year was under 10 billion dollars be and just to give you a framework the cost of medical malpractice alone, according to the physicians at the Harvard school public health. It don't have an axe to grind is 60 billion dollars a year with 80,000 deaths from medical malpractice. Justin hospitals not due to adverse effects of overprescribing pharmaceuticals or damaging clinics or doctors offices. So, you know, you're as the physician said in their report a problem with malpractice litigation is not that has too much is it? Is too little less than 10% of the people are injured by medical malpractice even filed a lawsuit. We really should recognize that our forefathers really focused on access to the courts in their complaints against King George the third their right to trial by jury. They thought was being restricted and damaged by King George the third me put the number to after no taxation without representation on their petition to King George the third it's for their grievances. So you look around you see the company have pretty much controlled the legislature and executive branch and environmental consumer protection areas. And the only thing left for wrongful injured people are the courts and we're not Alyssa just Society by comparison with the the 19th century the professor's Joel Rogers and Market lanterns University, Wisconsin law school done to work in this area. Say that we filed more civil suits per capita in 1818 30 then we do today and that the real booming area of civil lawsuit. Our business is suing businesses like in Silicon Valley. It's a let's get your a position on gun control in an area. I have not an area that I have worked in a but just like any citizen. I'm extremely concerned with The Accidental a misuse of firearms children adults being accidentally killed in the thousand and there's a lot of good proposals for safety locks and just in terms of manufacturing of the Firearms themselves, and it does seem to make good sense the way they do in Europe and elsewhere that if you're going to have a firearm you should be trained to use it so can be used properly and then there are the dealers who are known and Areas has been on 60 Minutes 2022 funnel weapons into a gang Warfare in two sources in the city. For example, where they know they're going to be used for a criminal a violent purposes. That's also important to to deal with. So are you are you talking here about that? You would support licensing of handguns and training for handguns or or would you get rid of handguns all together and Firearms something anybody who's been in the Army knows in the Navy in the Marines, you know, the old analogy if you've got to learn how to drive a car and get a license the same argument operates for weapons ban. I don't know enough to support to 2 to tell you that yet and one thing I'm going to do in this campaign is is talk about something things I know about I've worked about there are just thousands of issues which politicians are pressed to take an opinion of and they don't know much about these activities are Focus going to be on giving one of your for gun control against country folk giving people more voice so they can have a public debate and don't feel her frozen out of the media because they have one view or another and part of that is developing cable channels for Sirius talk and serious discussion. Let me get back to the the gun control issue just for a second if I could because there are people who are now trying to make the The deaths that occur across the country from Guns a consumer issue of consumer protection in the issue and saying that just as they did with the tobacco that perhaps the makers of guns should be held liable now that the consumer activism is raised right where you're at. I'm surprised to hear that. You hadn't thought more about that should be held liable if they produce Anarchist protected from children misuses otra. I think they should be held liable if they knowingly sell to gun dealers who are pouring these weapons into criminal activities in the cities and elsewhere, but obviously, they can't be held liable for everything that goes wrong with weapons in the country. But the tort system has very explicit long-held judicial precedent that if you knowingly set in motion a course of conduct or a product that is unreasonably Hazard or will be you. And foreseeably criminal or other waste your your health life. That's whether you produce magnet manufacturer car flammable Fabrics or asbestos or as it's now currently being discussed weapons. It's 17 minutes before noon. Ralph Nader is our guest in our continuing conversations about and with presidential candidates and Richard from sleepy eyes been waiting patiently. Thanks Richard. Mr. Nader go. I guess I guess I'd like to ask what your personal opinion and political opinion is on pollsters and pull it seems anymore of these days as if the polls are saying one thing the American public goes the other way and I really hope you take this my comment seriously because I've been watching this for quite some time now and when the pollsters are telling the American people, this is the popular candidate. This is the person that go for the American people seem to say to the pollsters you're wrong and go out and vote the opposite door speak the opposite. I was wondering what you think about that and continue up with the continued on with the Haves and the Have Nots that's a big issue out here for us book. So thank you very Go go go. Thank you supposed to become a Force all by themselves instead of being an assistance Factor right now. The way it is closed is that if you want to show up in the polls, you're liable to get more news on your campaign and you raise more money. And of course if you raise more money, you can put in more TV ads and more people learn about you and the poles will be more favorable. This is for new starts then and third-party candidates the problem with the poses many fold. When is there certain questions? They don't ask so they don't ask people questions that are outside the five or six issues that the candidates revolver. The last question about social security Medicare is that they won't ask questions on corporate crime enforcement. For example, the last very few questions dealing with consumer protection, for example, so that when the candy New Hampshire and I have the town meetings and there's a free flow of interaction between citizens and candidate it's not surprising that the candidates here questions that relate primarily to the ones that they have been emphasizing the subjective and emphasizing into what the poles have been asking about and what we need to do is broaden at the agenda to go into areas like corporate welfare corporate crime Fraud and Abuse renewable energy organic agriculture. What's happening to the family farm in America where you can't make a living with family Farmers because the prices are so low dominated by the big buyers. The big can beat Packers and Chicago excetra. These should be disgusting. They aren't what's amazing. Is it in Iowa that the small family farm issue and a giant buyers in the severe concentration of industrial agriculture in biotechnology. Was not discussed very much. So I think that we should have poles at Broad and the political agenda not repeatedly an arrow and focus it and I'm glad that a lot of people disregard the polls. I mean George W Bush was way ahead of McCain and it was obviously people who said disregard it. But what Dave disregard the poles that they didn't see McCain on TV every night. So the media has a very controlling power here in terms of weather small start candidate candidate to start with other parties in Republic and Erica will have a chance to be heard. And of course the presidential debate commission is exacerbated. This this is a commission it is not a government-commissioned. It's a private entity started by the Republican Democratic party together run by two men who have corporate clients and it is funded by the Auto industry or tobacco or beer a depressant. Example schedule in St. Louis. Next October is going to be funded by Anheuser-Busch $600,000 of proud and how is your bush dollars? We should know that we can't get on the debates third-party candidates unless we pull 15% or more before the debate will buy who well, it turns out that the presidential debate commission asked six major pulling groups. All of them are connected to the three television networks or CNN or New York Times Wall Street Journal Washington Post. It said so you have the media is it a conflict? They have no by their own agreement put their foot into the political Arena and by not covering us. Let's say they can ensure the outcome of not making to 15% Target for appearing on the presidential debates. And I think these polling groups and their media principles should remove them. From this criteria because every time they don't cover a third-party candidate they are precluding a fair outcome for that criteria 15% which I think is too high to begin with a given that will you be spending money on Advertising did I read that you won't be spending any of this campaign have to go to organizers into the backup structure for the volunteers and I doubt very much whether we would spend any money on $5,000 30 second ads and some city in America. That's not the right way to campaign except it might counter what you're saying is the lack of coverage from the the major networks. But if it's a difference between $5,000 for 30 seconds, I'd rather put it into door to door or some sort of grassroot Precinct work before the election. Thank you for having me. I read some weeks back around the time of the WTO meeting in Seattle. And this magazine called The Economist at the British business magazine, which is diametrically opposed to pretty much everything has been talking about in a very pro-business Pro. Let's use environment as much we can very very Pro free trade and they were talking about how it was their favorite candidate at the time was of course George W bush, but they liked Bradley better than Gore because unlike Gore Bradley was considered a staunch pre treater. Where is The Economist worried that Gore was going to be in was going to do too many Provisions for environmentalists and labor and this rather surprised me because the media has been depicting. Mr. Bradley is very very liberal and what they haven't mentioned anything about his, you know, being owned by the insurance industry for one thing. I was wondering if you could comment on that. Well, I think he's beginning to come around Bill Bradley to recognizing laborers concerns here, but he still for WTO. You're right. I wouldn't say is controlled by the insurance company's I say you he has heavily been under the influence of pharmaceutical industry when you was Senator because of their dominant position in New Jersey where where he came from that's another issue that hasn't been current between the major candidates because they all are for the WTO. They're all forgotten after they're not I think paying enough attention to the devastating impact on our country's health and safety standards in the coming future because under the WTO trade is supreme and any country that has lower health and safety standards and is exporting food or products to our country can say to us either Minnesota or California or the federal government. Your pesticide control standards are too severe your Auto Safety standards are too severe your loosen control standards are too severe they are restricting Imports and we're going to take you to Geneva Switzerland where the tribunals will judge you and of course these tribunals which we have to obey. The WTO is federal law the moment Congress in Clinton signed off on it 1994. At least they are close to the Press close to the citizenry. There's no public transcript to the proceedings is no independent appeal and the three trade judges sitting there is a bench could Moonlight for corporations and get away with it. There's no effective conflict of interest standard. So we've lost five out of five environmental challenges for example already and what happens when we lose. Well, we either have to repeal our law or we have to pay trade fine or some other way of setting the fines off with a country that beat us and that's that's just one autocratic impact chilling future safety proposal. Maybe maybe it's made clear for the child labor under WTO can go and international trade made by brutalize child labor abroad. This country child labor is illegal. We can't buy products from child labor factories in this country could see the legal but we're obliged to buy allow the import of products like rugs and other products that are made by minions are brutalized children in the third world. Stop you there. We have about a minute left. So it's kind of fit in one more call from Patton, Maplewood. Hi Pat. Mr. Describe him. Excuse me, his environmental policy without doors and just tell me where they're different. I seem to think they're about the same. Thanks between Al Gore and me different Al Gore gave the Auto industry and eight year pass on fuel efficiency, and I would not do that. I would continually press upgraded technology for more fuel efficient. Therefore less polluting a motor vehicle. Al Gore is taking a pass on what he wrote about in favorite in his book. That is solar energy. Renewal but hardly speaks about it and he is supported the subsidies to call to nuclear power both tax subsidies in the US government. He is not spoken out against big agribusiness on behalf of the small family Farmer for instant. Unfortunately, he has broken more of his own promises that he wrote about so eloquently in his book in 1992 any politician, I know who's written books and that's why the Sierra Club is not going to endorse him. They're going to stay on the sidelines is neutral because there's so many elements in the Sierra Club who have listed one issue after another that Al Gore has turned his back on called environment. Thanks very much for your time so much Ralph Nader presidential candidate for the green party running with Winona Laduke from the white Earth Indian reservation in northern, Minnesota. The website is vote Nader. Combinator all one word., and we will rebroadcast this program or our with Ralph Nader tonight at 9 on Minnesota Public Radio.