Quotes By Ralph Nader

I once said to my father, when I was a boy, 'Dad we need a third political party.' He said to me, 'I'll settle for a second.'

Once you don't vote your ideals... that has serious undermining affects. It erodes the moral basis of our democracy.

The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door. That's the only difference.

When strangers start acting like neighbors... communities are reinvigorated.

The liberal intelligentsia has allowed its party to become a captive of corporate interests.

I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.

Like sex in Victorian England, the reality of Big Business today is our big dirty secret.

Your best teacher is your last mistake.

Let's not just look at it as taking votes away from Gore. Our support comes from a lot of people.

This country has far more problems than it deserves and far more solutions than it applies.

A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.

Addiction should never be treated as a crime. It has to be treated as a health problem. We do not send alcoholics to jail in this country. Over 500,000 people are in our jails who are nonviolent drug users.

The networks are not some chicken-coop manufacturing lobby whose calls nobody returns.

We must strive to become good ancestors.

Power has to be insecure to be responsive.

The 'democracy gap' in our politics and elections spells a deep sense of powerlessness by people who drop out, do not vote, or listlessly vote for the 'least worst' every four years and then wonder why after every cycle the 'least worst' gets worse.

I don't think meals have any business being deductible. I'm for separation of calories and corporations.

The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun.

The corporate lobby in Washington is basically designed to stifle all legislative activity on behalf of consumers.

For almost seventy years the life insurance industry has been a smug sacred cow feeding the public a steady line of sacred bull.

People are stunned to hear that one company has data files on 185 million Americans.

The nation is faced with one of the most corporate-orientated anti-consumer Congresses in our history.

President Reagan was elected on the promise of getting government off the backs of the people and now he demands that government wrap itself around the waists of the people.

If God hadn't meant for us to eat sugar, he wouldn't have invented dentists.

Our founders did not oust George III in order for us to crown Richard I.

Turn on to politics, or politics will turn on you.

John D. Rockefeller wanted to dominate oil, but Microsoft wants it all, you name it: cable, media, banking, car dealerships.

No presidential candidate should visit Las Vegas without condemning organized gambling.

It is fascinating to watch legislators turn away from their usual corporate grips when they hear the growing thunder of the people.

The shortcomings of America's political leaders do not stop at our borders.