Nader spends time in his hometown

WINSTED — Laurel City native and presidential candidate Ralph Nader spent much of the past week in Winsted, returning home after tours throughout New England and showing up for Saturday’s Fall Foliage Festival, where he gave away free books written by a host of progressive authors.

On Tuesday night, Nader appeared at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, an institution created with the help of his late brother, Shafeek, to watch the latest presidential debate with students and community members. On Wednesday morning, he appeared at Northwestern Regional High School for a live interview on National Public Radio.

In an interview with The Winsted Journal, Nader said he continues to face discrimination at the national level from the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. “We’re being kept out of the debates and they’re locking the door to tens of millions of people,� the consumer advocate said. “Every national poll has the American people wanting me by name in the debates.�

Nader said the Democratic and Republican parties “are the laughing stock of the Western world� and that the national media has been complacent in limiting dialogue in this year’s campaign. Though he acknowledged it is unlikely he will be allowed into the debates this year, Nader said the future may hold promising developments.

“In the future what should happen is we get Google or Yahoo and have a massive coalition of citizen groups — the League of Women voters, Labor Unions, environmental organizations, health organizations — all with a common interest, who want their issues discussed robustly with open debates. They need to put it on letterhead and lay out a schedule for the presidential candidates and present them with an offer that they can’t turn down. We need a huge coalition.�

Nader said his next stop, shortly after appearing in Winsted Wednesday, would be an appearance on the Fox News Channel with conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly. “He’s a shouter,� Nader said. “I have fun talking to him.�

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