12,000 Gather to See Nader at FleetCenter

BOSTON--Ralph Nader continued his uphill struggle as a third-party presidential candidate yesterday, appealing to a near-capacity FleetCenter crowd to help him build "a progressive political majority in this country."

The rally, which had been heavily promoted for weeks on local college campuses, attracted about 12,000 supporters and a stage full of liberal celebrities.

Organizers hoped the FleetCenter bash would solidify Nader's support among young progressives in the area, as well as attract media coverage.

Nader's principal theme was his exclusion from tomorrow's presidential debate at U-Mass Boston.

"Never again should we allow this to happen in future elections," Nader said. "Never again."

During tomorrow's debate, which begins at 9 p.m., Nader said he will join protestors outside the converted gymnasium that will serve as a studio.

The Green Party nominee will spend several pre-debate hours at Harvard, addressing the ARCO Forum and then staying to participate in a panel on the living wage, his advisers confirmed.

The presidential debate's sponsor, the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), requires that candidates have the support of at least 15 percent of those surveyed in a number of national polls.

Nader hovers around 3 percent.

He has attributed his exclusion to the Democrats and Republicans who comprise the commission.

Nader said yesterday that although their parties and candidates use different language but their essential mindset is the same.

"They really say things differently, but they don't do things differently, and they don't fight for things differently," he said.

Nader also defended his candidacy against critics who argue that by voting for him and not Democrat Al Gore '69, voters will actually help elect Republican George W. Bush as president.

"We've already started to win," Nader said. "[Our campaign] wins when it brings tens of thousands of people back into progressive political activity, and that's happening."

While indicting corporate welfare and "insane" defense spending, Nader offered an all-inclusive vision of American society, saying that political movements need to be focused on "human need and not political greed."

He proposed progressive taxation for citizens and corporations, universal health care coverage, the adoption of a living wage and the expansion of mass transit.

Best-known as a consumer advocate, Nader and the organizations he founded are credited with the creation of the Safe Water Drinking Act, the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Yesterday, Nader said repeatedly that he would work to move power from corporations to "the people."

"Get the rich off of welfare," he said. "That's where we get our money. Make them pay their taxes."

"You can start right here by getting the Boston Red Sox off of corporate welfare," Nader added. "That's $300 million should be used for community needs, not sports entertainment."

Various celebrities who appeared before Nader on the FleetCenter stage also bemoaned the banishment of their candidate--and his ideas--from the debates.

"Ralph Nader is the most principled public figure in America today, and he can't even get into the debates," said Cambridge native Jimmy Tingle, until recently a comedian on "60 Minutes II."

Funnyman Michael Moore, the noted documentary filmmaker of Roger and Me, challenged the energetic crowd, many of whom were young voters, to stick with their convictions and not vote for Gore simply to vote against Bush.

"A vote for Ralph is a political Molotov that we need to throw into a corrupt and bankrupt system," Moore said. "It's a wasted vote if you vote for more of the same, which is what you're going to get if you vote for Gore or Bush."

Despite his single-digit poll numbers, Nader expressed great hope that his campaign will make the Green Party a "daily watchdog" of the two major parties which will "move to victory in the coming elections."

If he receives more than 5 percent of the popular vote, his party would be entitled to millions of dollars worth of federal funds for a 2004 bid.

If 1 million Americans dedicated 100 hours and $100 to the Greens each year, he said, "We will move to a majority party within a few years."

Nader supporters were similarly enthusiastic.

"It's not necessarily about winning, it's about building a better movement, and this was definitely a part of that," said Thomas B. Barker, a local student.

--Daniel D. Springer contributed to the reporting of this story.