Nader Criticizes Two-party System At U. Toledo

This story was written by Kyle Reynolds, The BG News

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader spent last night at the University of Toledo speaking with the campus and community about why the two-party system in America doesn't work.

According to Nader, Democrats and Republicans haven't done anything in the past 40 years for America, including allowing college students to be ripped off by big corporations because they are afraid to confront them.

"These are the same two parties that let our students be mercilessly gouged by these student loan companies like Sallie May," Nader said.

The American health care system also represents a big problem, Nader said, noting that both Obama and McCain oppose free Medicare.

Nader said he wants to see Americans adopt a health care system like Canada's, and called America's current system a "pay or die system."

"No one in Canada dies because they have no health insurance," Nader said.

Voting for McCain or Obama will be a vote for politics as usual, according to Nader.

If people want someone who will sit in Washington, then they should vote for McCain or Obama, but if they want someone who has demonstrated over 40 years of volunteering for the American people, they should vote for him and his running mate Matt Gonzalez, Nader said.

"With Obama and McCain you get what you pay for," Nader said. "With us you get what you vote for."

Obama and McCain don't respect the American people by not campaigning in states that they view as definite blue or red states, Nader said. Nader has campaigned in all fifty states.

This means local issues are never addressed when they make campaign stops, he said.

According to Nader, the third party's political power has been diminished in recent history because of the overwhelming power of the two parties. But third parties have been responsible for big changes in American history, such as the National Woman's Party that pushed for voting rights for women.

University of Toledo student Sean Nestor is supporting Nader because he doesn't tiptoe around the issues like McCain and Obama.

"Nader actually does his homework and goes into actual figures and in-depth solutions," Nestor said.

Rally Attendee Jessica Weinberg is supporting Nader because she said the two party system is broken.

"We are demanding more than what the two parties can offer," Weinberg said.