Nader backed by California nurses' union
June 14, 2000
Web posted at: 6:26 PM EDT (2226 GMT)
By Beth Fouhy/CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A California nurses' union threw its support behind Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader Wednesday, while Nader said his bid may help Democrats regain control of Congress.
| |
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader was endorsed Wednesday by the California Nurses Association
| |
The longtime consumer activist acknowledged Democratic fears that his run for the White House might hurt Vice President Al Gore's chances of winning the White House, but said a loss would refocus the party's attention on its core principles.
Wednesday's endorsement by the 31,000-member, Oakland-based California Nurses Association was the union's first for a presidential candidate.
"The only person who is running for the presidency of these United States that has taken a stand that is principled is Ralph Nader," said Kay McVay, the union's president, in comments published on the association's Web site.
This is Nader's second run for the presidency. In 1996, he mounted a largely symbolic bid that garnered only 685,000 votes -- about three-quarters of 1 percent of the electorate.
This time, Nader has campaigned more actively. Green Party staff and volunteers are hoping to get Nader's name on the ballot in all 50 states, and some Democrats have raised concerns that his anti-corporate, environmentalist positions could draw votes away from Gore in major states such as California.
"The Gore campaign, in response to press inquiries about our campaign, have responded by saying they're not losing any sleep about this campaign. To which I reply, 'Slumber on, Al, slumber on,' " Nader said.
A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup indicates that the 66-year-old Nader garnering about 6 percent of the vote -- three times that of Reform Party candidate and former GOP stalwart Pat Buchanan -- and as much as 9 percent on the West Coast, which is considered must-win territory for Gore.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Gore said he was not underestimating any threat Nader's candidacy posed to his own White House bid.
"I'm not taking a single vote for granted anywhere in this country," Gore said.
Like Buchanan, Nader has concentrated his efforts among unionized workers upset by the major parties' support for free trade agreements, particularly with China. Though the AFL-CIO has endorsed Gore, the Teamsters Union and the United Auto Workers have withheld an endorsement in the presidential race.
Nader said Wednesday's endorsement should encourage other unions to throw their support to him. "If the union's main reason for being is to expand democratic trade unions and lift their standard of living, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are not their parties," he said.
Nader had harsh words for Gore, calling him "basically a plastic person" who has lost touch with core beliefs. He said traditional Democrats should welcome the prospect of a Gore loss in November.
"If I was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, I'd be happy, because that would give the Democratic Party a four-year cold shower for reconsidering their historical traditions," he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
| 
![[CNN Money]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/fn.logo.newsnet.gif){kind=logo}
![[SI.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/si.logo.gif){kind=logo}
(
