Assembly for Nader falls short for ballot.

Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard

PORTLAND - Ralph Nader's latest presidential campaign bid was dealt a serious setback Monday when a nominating convention failed to draw enough people to place his name on Oregon's November ballot.

The event, held at a downtown rock-concert venue, would have made Oregon the first state in the nation to give the longtime political insurgent ballot access as an independent candidate.

But with attendance hovering just above 700 people - 300 below the level required to conduct the `assembly of electors' - organizers said they instead would take to the streets with petitions. They would have to collect 15,306 by Aug. 24, the equivalent of an uphill marathon instead of what would have been a one-night slam-dunk.

Even so, Nader took to the stage to deliver a blistering indictment of the Bush administration and the ascendancy of corporate power since his 2000 election. He avoided criticizing presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry, but didn't spare President Bush from his sharp criticism.

`We have in the White House today a giant corporation disguised as a human being: George W. Bush,' he said.

It was the sort of message and blunt delivery he assured supporters would not be issued by most major-party candidates, underscoring the case Nader and his loyalists have been making for his return to the campaign trail despite urgings from former backers and Democrats alike to stay out.

After providing a brief history lesson on a U.S. foreign policy that seemed to make the current anti-American sentiment in occupied Iraq unavoidable, Nader assured his audience: `You're not going to hear that in a presidential campaign, except by independent candidates and Dennis Kucinich,' a reference to the remaining Democratic candidate who has run on issues and themes similar to those of Nader's.

Although he managed to fire up the crowd who stuck around, Nader's failure to attract enough people for a successful nominating convention proved a letdown for many on hand.

`I was very disappointed, based on the number of people who have come out for other things," said Jack DePue of Portland.

Just four years ago, Nader drew more than 10,000 people to Portland's Memorial Coliseum, in what would be the first in a series of arena-filling events that energized Nader's campaign as a Green Party candidate against Bush and Democratic nominee Al Gore.

Nader ended with 5 percent of the vote in Oregon, which Gore narrowly carried. But despite Gore's victory over Bush in the popular vote, states, such as Florida, that were declared for Bush gave him the Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency. And that prompted Democrats to blame Nader for taking enough left-leaning voters away from Gore to cost him the election.

DePue said he was sure many of the people who came out for Nader in 2000 are holding off this time.

`There's a lot of fear, and people are even more afraid of doing it now,' he said.

Democrats worked hard to dissuade people from helping Nader's bid for the Oregon ballot. Activists picketed the Roseland Theater, where would-be convention delegates stood in line to enter. And one-time Democratic candidate Howard Dean contacted Oregon news organizations to make the case against Nader's candidacy.

``The only way to send President Bush back to Crawford, Texas, is to vote for John Kerry because, unfortunately, a vote for Ralph Nader is the same as a vote for George Bush,'' Dean said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

One of the Democratic activists who passed out fliers urging would-be Nader supporters from backing his candidacy was Eric Koszyk. After state Elections Division officials monitoring the event put the word out that not enough people had attended to trigger the assembly of electors, Koszyk left his post on the sidewalk and joined the crowd to hear Nader's speech. He called the candidate's remark the `same old' rhetoric. But he said the lack of supporters to listen to it was bad news for Nader.

`I think it's the death knell for him,' Koszyk said. `I think it's the beginning of the end, if he can't get 1,000 people together in a room in Portland in a state where he had 77,000 votes in 2000.'

Jim Edmunson, chairman of the Democratic Party of Oregon, said he was hopeful that voters attracted to Nader's message had learned `the lesson of 2000.'

`Why anyone would support Nader in this way, in terms of his presidential bid, is beyond me,' said Edmunson, a Eugene attorney. `We're taking him seriously and doing everything we can to convince people that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush.'

Oregon Republican Party Chairman Kevin Mannix said he would welcome a Nader candidacy in Oregon. He acknowledged that such a development `certainly won't hurt President Bush,' but insisted that the main beneficiaries would be `disaffected leftists who need an alternative in this election.'

Springfield Nader supporter Patrick Charles said he rejected the idea that Nader's candidacy would help Bush and hurt Kerry. Charles said Kerry should `win by a landslide' regardless if Nader is running as well. Having the long-time consumer advocate bring attention to such concerns as public transit, worker rights, universal health care and excessive corporate might would be an important part of the debate that might not occur if Nader is sidelined, Charles said.

`He will bring truth and key issues to the election,' Charles said. `I don't think he's a spoiler."

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and this is light text and this is more light text Rick Bowmer / The Associated Press Rick Bowmer / The Associated Press Ralph Nader addresses supporters at a signature-gathering event in Portland on Monday. `I was very disappointed, based on the number of people who have come out for other things." JACK DEPUE NADER SUPPORTER FROM PORTLAND