Nader the Invader: ‘Stop watching “American Idol”‘

Hey, what took them so long? The first week of April is shaping up to be a scramble as both government officials and presidential candidates finally start talking in earnest about the housing crisis and the resulting credit crunch.

Of course the proposed plans come more than two years after the housing market started to deteriorate. It’s sort of like shoring up a dam long after a devastating flood: Some homes might be saved, but the mold has already invaded and the stench will last for years.

Ralph “The Election Invader” Nader says it’s about consumer education at bottom. And shutting off “American Idol.”

Continued: Click “Read more”The third-party presidential candidate has been calling for reform and consumer protections for years, and he is still tirelessly trumpeting them on what could be generously called his campaign “sidewalk.” In an interview with MSNBC last week, Nader claims he’s not a “spoiler” and offers this nudge-wink counterpoint instead: “There are two ways to succeed,” he says. “One is to beat them by getting more votes. … The second is to have them take our issues and run with them.”

So is anybody running with the issues? According to Nader, the candidates are barely hobbling. 

Nader says consumer protections have been virtually ignored by all three candidates, and the mortgage and credit crises are further proof that regulation and consumer education need to be a major focus: Federal and state budgets are decreasing, helping ensure that no one is policing corporate crime; consumer education has disappeared from schools; and usury laws (caps on interest rates) and “plain language laws” have gone by the wayside along with a handful of other consumer rights, he says. “Corporations have become our masters,” he says. “We have become their servants.”

And most important, according to Nader? “You’ve gotta spend more of your time away from ‘American Idol’ and spend more time on your members of Congress … so that corporations become our servants, not our masters.” 

Related:Candidates and consumer protections: Are there any?
McCain on housing crisis: Answer is — less regulation?