LEXINGTON, Ky. - A longtime advocate for the ''little guy'' with his focus on the perceived evils of corporate America, Ralph Nader now has other targets in sight: the Republican and Democratic parties as he runs for president under the Green Party banner.
''Some people like to take on big guys,'' Nader said with a smile as he spoke to several hundred supporters Thursday at the University of Kentucky's Singletary Center for the Arts. ''I like to take on big guys. Big guys invigorate me. And they should invigorate you.''
His message was simple: Corporations and their lobbyists have taken over the political system and it is up to citizens to return the process to its grass-roots origin.
''You hear so many people today say, 'I'm not into politics,''' he said. ''Students, if you don't turn on to politics, politics is going to turn on you. That's a lesson you may learn the hard way.''
Nader, 66, ran for president in 1996, but appeared on fewer than one-fourth of state ballots. He did not campaign or raise money and attracted less than 1 percent of the vote.
This time around, Nader's goal is to get the party on the ballot in every state and pull more than 5 percent of the vote, which would qualify him for millions in federal campaign funds. He currently polls in single digits, along with Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan.
The Green Party currently is on the ballot in 13 states, including New York and California.
Nader promised to wage ''a campaign in every sense of the word.''
He is up against a handful of challengers for the Green Party nomination, including Jello Biafra, former lead singer of the punk rock band the Dead Kennedys.
A graduate of Princeton and Harvard, Nader is a lawyer and author who has fought to bring progress and reform in the areas of auto safety, worker rights and environmental preservation. In the late 1960s, he organized citizen action teams around the country known as ''Nader's Raiders.''
Nader said his platform will revolve around several issues, including creating a universal health care system and destroying corporate America's hold on Washington.
''The two-party system is crumbling. (Ross) Perot started that crumble,'' he said. ''They are hollowed out and don't have much basic grass-roots support. They're basically two parties with a lot of money fighting against each other with 30-second electric combat ads on television.
''The only way we are going to regain control of our political institution is to help build a progressive political movement that will break up the concentration of wealth and power - a plutocracy that reigns over our democracy,'' he added.
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