CITIZEN OF THE REPUBLIC
Citizen of the republic Felix Frankfurter used to say that the highest office in a democracy was the office of citizen. The American who, I think, brings the most distinction to the office of...
...Last year, Nader exposed the exploding gas tank of the Ford Pinto and the dangerous failure rate of Firestone tires...
...The American who, I think, brings the most distinction to the office of citizen is Ralph Nader...
...The high office of Citizen of the Republic remains honorably occupied by Ralph Nader...
...Since the media have the conformist instincts of blackbirds on, a wire, nitpicking Nader has become a form of fashion...
...In this climate, I think it is important to recall Nader's remarkable record of achievements in the public interest His 1965 book on auto safety altered history...
...But recently the media have been nitpicking Nader...
...He has rejected all Government funding in order to preserve his independence...
...Unlike Bess Myerson and others, Nader has never compromised the consumer movement by accepting a corporate directorship or consultant's job...
...He still lives in a small, $90-a-month apartment...
...Nader is responsible for helping to pass the Freedom of Information law, which gives citizens greater access to Government records and helps reduce Government secrecy...
...His income from books, articles, and lectures is about $250,000 a year: He lives on about $5,000 and uses the remaining money to hire more researchers and lawyers for his staff...
...This is disproved by Nader's vigorous and valuable support for PROD, the national coalition of insurgents trying to clean up and democratize the corrupt Teamsters Union...
...An editor of The New Republic wrote a book exposing Nader for such sins as overworking his staff...
...Some of the nit-pickers claim Nader only exposes big business but ducks criticism of labor unions...
...Nader's critics suggest that he has fallen prey to the deadly sins of ambition and greed...
...Nader has never run for political office...
...But this, too, is untrue...
...Ralph Nader, in fact, may be the unlikely Zeitgeist for this age of austerity...
...Since its publication, as a result of stricter performance standards and seat belts, the number of auto accident deaths per mile driven has been almost cut in half...
...JackNewfield (Jack Newfield is a regular commentator on the CBS Radio "Spectrum " series...
...It almost seems that we are made so uneasy by a really incorruptible hero that we must invent rumors that taint or trivialize Nader...
...When the consumer protection bill lost, The Washington Post blamed Nader's aggressive support...
Vol. 43 • March 1979 • No. 3
