Ralph Nader picks Matt Gonzalez as running mate

By Daniel Nasaw, www.guardian.co.uk,

Perennial presidential candidate and gadfly to the Democrats Ralph Nader on Thursday chose a San Francisco politician as his pick for vice president this year.

Nader, whom many Democrats fault for President George Bush's election to the White House in 2000, said Matt Gonzalez, former president of the San Francisco board of supervisors, shares his vision of an America rid of corporate influence in politics.

"I found him to be unwavering in his principles and committed to his politics with clear eloquence and humane logic," Nader said at a press conference where he made the announcement. "I wanted someone who served in government and who knows what kind of challenges our cities face and who has a record of accomplishment in areas such as election reform, criminal justice, and the creation of the highest minimum wage in the country."

Nader, 74, is a consumer advocate credited with helping popularise auto seatbelts and airbags, and for standing up for consumers against corporations for decades, initially through his group Public Citizen. He was instrumental in the founding of government agencies that protect citizens from corporate environmental pollution and workers from unsafe working conditions.

In his 2000 race, he sought to portray Bush and then Vice President Al Gore as indistinguishable on the issues while claiming for himself the liberal mantle. He won 2.74% of the national popular vote that year. Democrats believe that by siphoning liberal votes from Gore, especially in key states like Florida, Nader effectively installed Bush in the Oval Office.

Nader now as in past races rejects the notion that he'll endanger the eventual Democratic nominee.

He's probably right. Liberal anger at Nader prevented even a successful protest candidacy in 2004; he won less than 1% of the popular vote that year.

This year, Democrats are far more excited about party frontrunner Barack Obama than they ever were about Gore. Much of Nader's support in 2000 came from disaffected college students and liberals who have this year streamed into the Obama camp.

Nader's entry into the race this year has provoked disdain from the Democrats he accuses of being too soft on corporate power.

Hillary Clinton said, "it's not good for anybody, especially our country." Obama was more charitable, saying "Ralph Nader deserves enormous credit for the work he did as a consumer advocate. But his function as a perennial candidate is not putting food on the table of workers."