The Orbis

Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: Entertainment

Nader, 1970s

Few people in American society can claim to provoke as much controversy within one political faction as Ralph Nader has among the left. A few decades ago, he was an established hero of progressive causes, advocating such radical concepts as corporate and government accountability and an educated, active populace. He was consistently listed among the most popular and influential political figures of the 1970s. In that era, people spoke of "drafting" him as a presidential candidate, but he steadfastly refused to enter primaries, saying he hoped to create better citizens and, in turn, better candidates. However, he has clearly given up on this earlier dream; his recent break with the Democratic Party and his decision to run independently has infuriated many on the left who once admired him. Many liberals blame him for the Democrats' losses in the 2000 and 2004 presidential races.

In the midst of this finger-pointing, Nader's legacy as a social crusader has been almost entirely forgotten. In 2006, for example, Atlantic Monthly named Ralph Nader No. 96 on their list of the 100 most influential Americans, summarizing his legacy by saying, "He made the cars we drive safer. Thirty years later, he made George W. Bush president." Such an account minimizes his earlier reputation as a reformer and gives primacy to more recent events. Could it be that his recent controversial strategies will preclude his earlier activism? For now, at least, the collective progressive memory of Nader seems to have been erased, and nobody can remember quite why they actually liked the guy in the first place.

Henriette Mantel and Steven Skrovan, friends of Ralph's and former "Nader's Raiders," hope to restore his earlier legacy. They directed and produced an engrossing new documentary that examines his mixed and controversial history, going so far as to paint his story in terms of a Shakespearean tragedy. The movie offers a funny, fascinating and thought-provoking account of one of the most eccentric Americans in recent history.

The first hour of the film centers on the glory days of the 1960s and '70s, documenting Nader's famous exploits as the "Consumer Crusader" who graced magazine covers (once in full-on knight's armor) and hosted "Saturday Night Live" wearing an airbag. It all started in 1965, when his book "Unsafe at Any Speed" tackled the monolithic auto industry's lack of safety precautions. A panicked General Motors attempted to sabotage his reputation and he subsequently settled a landmark suit against them, which became the seed money for his later consumer advocacy projects. These included groups of "radical nerd" college students known as Nader's Raiders whom he sent to investigate various government agencies and corporations. The Raiders published detailed reports of the FTC, FDA, ICC, FAA and many others. They were also successful in stirring up agitation. In one instance, they inspired citizens in the Van Nuys, Calif., neighborhood, whose children had a high incidence of leukemia because of the paint a local GM plant used on its cars, to protest this tragedy. In the '60s and '70s, Nader was consistently listed among the most famous and well-respected men in the country. One aide even claims that Nader "probably got more mail than the Beatles," which leads to the obvious joke that he must have been even more popular than Jesus.

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