Nader’s Honesty Questioned
Honesty has long been one of the trademarks associated with the image of Ralph Nader. Since he first burst onto the national scene with “Unsafe at Any Speed” — a bestseller criticizing General Motors for practices allegedly unfair to car buyers — Nader has become a household word across the country as a representative of the consumer against big business.
Other widely-publicized campaigns undertaken by him have included an investigation of health standards relating to the hot dog and, most recently, the potential danger inherent in atomic energy plants and their radioactive wastes.
Throughout his career as a “consumer advocate,” Nader has attempted to project the image of being a crusader for the American public against a wide variety of dishonest practices in business and government.
Unfortunately, this image of honesty may in reality be only that — an image. If Nader’s dealings with TC can be taken as an example, then his cancelled speech appearance could give the “Raiders” cause for looking into Mr. Nader’s dealings with his own consumers.
First of all, a $3,000 price tag is a stiff one to meet for a school of TC’s size. But through the combined efforts of the Student Activities Committee, Student Senate and East Texas State University-Texarkana, enough money was offered to guarantee what planners hoped would be an informative and interesting speech for both students and the community.
So when Nader first asked to switch appearance dates from Dec. 5 to Dec. 4, thereby moving the speech from student activity period to a time conflicting with classes, the TC representatives consented out of respect for Nader’s busy schedule.
Nader’s associates then changed their minds again and asked for the speech to be reset on Dec. 5. Again, TC was agreeable.
Then came the clincher. Nader apparently found that a speaking engagement in Oregon would fit in better with his schedule than would a date in Texarkana. Despite the fact that a contract had already been signed, he backed out and offered a January date instead.
Luckily, columnist Jack Anderson was able to be secured on short notice for a Dec. 9 engagement — assuring an equally attractive presentation for the fall semester.
On the contrary, Nader’s dealings with Texarkana College will undoubtedly leave those who worked to make such an attraction possible with a little less respect for any Nader report on dishonesty. To renege on a contract and then accuse others of unfair practices makes Nader’s honesty image a little less believable.
The activities committee, Student Senate and other organizations involved in the Nader affair would do well to warn other schools considering similar projects of the difficulties involved in scheduling such an unpredictable celebrity. For them, Nader has become “Unsafe on Any Date.”