Crashing the Party:
How to Tell the Truth
and Still Run for President
by Ralph Nader
Consumer Advocate; Author
2000 Green Party; Presidential Candidate
January 24, 2002

"You don't have the stalwart people commanding the committees in Congress, you don't have any receptivity in the White House and you don't have the levels of outrage by people around the country who supported the psychological infrastructure for members of Congress to do the right thing."

I wonder why there aren't more Commonwealth Clubs in other cities to develop civic forums the way your club has done. I like the word "commonwealth" because it involves what we own in common in the United States. The greatest wealth of this country is held in common; however concentrated private wealth might be in a few hands, the greatest wealth is in the public lands, the public airwaves, the five trillion dollars of public pension funds, the public works of our country and all of the government-funded research and development that has led to the emergence of so many industries, from aerospace to biotechnology. I think that word is going to come back into vogue. In the 80 or 90 years since it was in vogue we tend to have individuated our society to an extreme degree, which is another way of saying the powers that be like to divide and rule by over-individuating societies rather than emphasize what we own together. . .

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