I heard a fascinating interview with Ralph Nader on NPR Saturday morning. I only heard the first half of what was apparently going to be quite a lengthy interview, but I was really struck by the amount of good sense the man talked. I was especially taken by the picture he painted of the civic culture of the small Connecticut town in which he grew up. I don’t suppose there’s a lot of hope of recapturing that, but the fact that it once existed proves it’s not impossible, at least.
This doesn’t mean I would vote for Nader for President–I assume he’s probably on the wrong side of life issues. But the interview was refreshing. I just poked around on the NPR web site looking for the audio and didn’t see it, but I’m a bit pressed for time. If anyone else finds it, please post the link.
–Maclin Horton
Although Nader had expressed pro-abortion choice rhetoric on previous occasions, nevertheless, in Nader’s most recent pronouncement on the subject that I am aware of, Nader endorses the banning of abortion at the time the unborn child becomes a fetus (namely, at approximately nine weeks). See the following excerpt of Pat Buchanan’s interview of Ralph Nader in the 6/21/04 issue of The American Conservative (at
http://www.amconmag.com/2004/2004_06_21/cover.html ):
“PB: Let me move to the social issues. Would you have voted against or in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortion?
RN: I believe in choice. I don’t think government should tell women to have children or not to have children. I am also against feticide. If doctors think it is a fetus, that should be banned. It is a medical decision.
PB: Between the woman and her doctor—
RN: And whoever else, family, clergy.”
At any rate it has long been apparent that Nader is far from passionately prochoice; it seems he is sort of “officially” on that side but would hardly be motivated to press the issue. I suspect he would endorse a state-by-state resolution, which is the historic prochoice and contemporary prolife position.