Virtually everyone who has ever worked with him, he took a shot at later." This from former
Nader's Raider Harrison Wellford: "There is no way you could please Ralph for any length of time." Former Raider Michael Harper: "His top agenda was to show himself to be more righteous than people in the government....
That was the message delivered to the 6th annual Claims Conference of Northern California by someone who ought to know: Tom Vacar, KTVU News consumer editor, attorney, former automotive consumer affairs director and former member of
Nader's Raiders.
But the rise of new liberal groups like
Nader's Raiders caused a sea change.
Green has displayed a steadfast commitment to political activism and consumer advocacy since the 1970s, when he was one of the most effective of
Nader's Raiders. This background reflects a principled skepticism about corporate power that is rare among politicians and that animated his creative activism as New York's Commissioner of Consumer Affairs and more recently as Public Advocate.
And a
Nader's Raiders group several years before had ripped apart the cartelization imposed on railroads and trucking by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
"You become extremely nervous about meeting new people because of the ever-present question, 'Who are you with?' When your answer fails to attach you to a recognized organization like The New York Times, or
Nader's Raiders, or the Department of Labor, both parties to the conversation often become embarrassed by your obscurity.
Although Nader has said that he would not consciously work to elect Bush over Gore, "he is not keeping his pledges," according to his onetime comrades in
Nader's Raiders for Gore.
