Nader opposes slots, bailout plan during visit to Annapolis

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader visited Annapolis yesterday to complain to the media about being left out of last night's presidential debate, to criticize the other candidates over the $700 billion bailout package and to decry slot machines.

The perennial presidential candidate's swing through the city came at the exact time the Board of Public Works was slicing $349 million from the Maryland budget, leaving Mr. Nader preaching to a nearly empty room at the Stanton Center, where his aides outnumbered reporters.

Undaunted, Mr. Nader laid out his platform in a harried but impassioned speech at a community center in one of Annapolis' poorest neighborhoods.

Speaking for himself and running mate Matt Gonzalez, Mr. Nader criticized local officials for neglecting consumer protections and the poor in pursuit of boosting state coffers with proceeds from slot machines.

"We oppose it because gambling is a sign of moral and economic decay," said Mr. Nader, a longtime consumer rights advocate. "Its benefits have been always exaggerated and its negatives have been under-emphasized."

Maryland voters face a November ballot referendum that authorizes 15,000 slot machines in the state, with nearly one third slated for Anne Arundel County. Part of the gambling proceeds would be used for education and other state initiatives.

Mr. Nader views the slots referendum as a taxpayer subsidy for the racing industry that also hurts the poor, breeds corruption and ignores other the crucial needs in the state.

"It's better for Marylanders to build a future than bet on a future," Mr. Nader said.

He went on to criticize a proposed nuclear power plant expansion in Calvert Cliffs, attacking U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer for his stance on the subject and calling him a corporate "shill."

Mr. Nader also expressed his support for a living wage of at least $10 an hour and expanding Medicare coverage to every American. He suggested creating a carbon tax to decrease carbon emissions instead of the cap and trade system backed by the major party candidates.

He also criticized U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain for their support of the $700 billion bailout.

Mr. Nader argues legislators gave up too much control and should have instituted punishments to investors whose decisions precipitated the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

He also proposed funding any bailout with a tax on financial derivatives, the investment instrument widely considered the culprit that spread financial misery into world markets. He prescribed saving only "prudent firms" from failure, saying "the people who gambled big are to take their own medicine."

Now 74 years old, Mr. Nader's fourth presidential campaign has drawn less attention this year than his previous bids for the White House, most notably his 2000 run as a Green Party candidate when he won 2.8 million votes nationwide.

He unsuccessfully lobbied the Commission on Presidential Debates for inclusion this year.

Mr. Nader ran as an independent this year and in 2004. He was the Green Party Candidate in 1996 and 2000.

Aside from his presidential campaigns, Mr. Nader is best known as a consumer advocate and author of the 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed," which exposed the danger of automobiles and inspired most of today's safety legislation.

He's also helped press for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Freedom of Information Act. He is a graduate of Prince University and Harvard Law School.

The Nader campaign has planned a rally for tonight in New York City's Union Station as part of a final push for recognition before Election Day.