Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader: on Social Security


Ralph Nader: Candidates focus on elderly because young people don’t vote

The day after a Youth Convention gathering [that Nader attended and Bush & Gore skipped], there were no stories in the major media, no mention of Bush--the self-described education candidate who pledged to “leave no child behind”--being absent from an event that he could have turned into an advantage over Gore. Why? Because Bush & Gore’s supposedly savvy staffs had polls showing that young adults do not vote in large numbers and their interests are more universal, unlike elderly voters whose demands are more particular and insistent, such as prescription-drug benefits, preserving Social Security, and patients’ rights. Older voters have money. Older voters have influence. Younger voters tend to have neither. Then there are the less inhibited question young people tend to ask and a risk of being caught off guard or being embarrassingly out of touch. Why should the candidates deviate from the carefully constructed script and emerge from the force field erected by their political handlers?
Source: Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader, Chapter One Oct 9, 2002

  • The above quotations are from Crashing the Party:
    How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for President
    Taking on Corporate Governance in an Age of Surrender    , by Ralph Nader.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Social Security.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Ralph Nader on Social Security.
2012 Presidential contenders on Social Security:
Republicans:
Rep.Newt Gingrich(GA)
Rep.Ron Paul(TX)
Gov.Mitt Romney(MA)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA) 		Democrats:
Pres.Barack Obama(IL)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE) 		Third Parties:
Green: Gov.Gary Johnson(NM)
AmericansElect: Gov.Buddy Roemer(LA)
>Libertarian: Jill Stein(MA)
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Page last updated: Jul 04, 2012