Nader: ‘Creeping Tyranny’ In Boston
Ralph Nader, shunned by the presidential debate commission, scored a ticket to Tuesday night's debate - but was turned away at the door.
“It's already been decided that whether or not you have a ticket you are not welcome in the debate,” John Vezeris, a representative of the debate commission, told Nader.
The Green Party candidate, who subwayed to the debate site, received the ticket as a gift from a college student. But ticket or no, Nader couldn't get in.
“I didn't expect they would be so crude and so stupid,” Nader said after being turned away. “This is the kind of creeping tyranny that has turned away so many voters from the electoral process.”
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Nader was among a trio of third-party candidates who did their best Tuesday to keep the Republican and Democratic nominees from stealing the show.
Hours before the debate, a judge threw out a court challenge filed earlier in the day by Massachusetts Libertarians to try to force organizers to include their candidate, Harry Browne.
And Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan, meeting reporters in his Boston hotel, said it was unfair to keep his party out. After the debate, Buchanan also sharply criticized Bush's performance, saying the GOP "sent a boy to do a man's job."
“I think our democracy has been held hostage tonight,” said Simon Doolttle, 23, a Nader supporter who protested outside the debate site. “There are 14 million Americans that think Ralph Nader should be president and their opinions don't matter.”
Earlier, Nader criticized the commission's decision to limit the debate to candidates with more than 15 percent support in national polls. Only Al Gore and George W. Bush qualified to participate under that criterion.
“They have the keys. This debate commission is a private company created by the two parties,” Nader told about 1,000 supporters. “The thing is why do we as a society let them control the gateway? Why don't we have many gateways, many debates?”
As he concluded his remarks some students chanted “Let Ralph debate! Let Ralph debate!”
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