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The Incredible Shrinking Ralph Nader: His “Uncle Tom” Remark About Obama

November 5th, 2008
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

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Yes, Ralph Nader ran again and you can place bets now that he’ll run in 2012 or beyond, even if he has to be wheeled from appearance to appearance. This year he received a sliver of the kind of support he previously got at the ballot box, which in itself would have been enough to decrease his shrinking legacy. But, on election night 2008, he seemed determined to reduce his legacy even more.

On election night — as even GOP strategist Karl Rove expressed awe at the historical moment and Obama’s achievement — Nader framed Obama’s choice in a way that raised eyebrows. Watch the video below showing Ralph Nader with Fox News’ Shepard Smith, one of the network’s most unpredictable and watchable anchors. Watch Smith frame Nader’s role in 2000 and this year in a way that many voters now feel — and watch his response to Nader’s comment about Obama.

PERSONAL NOTE: Watching Ralph Nader now is very painful for many of us who grew up in the 1960s. I can remember driving from my parent’s house in Woodbridge, CT back to Colgate University in Hamilton, New York in a brutal snowstorm, listening to a newscast detail the latest battle of a young crusading Connecticut lawyer named Ralph Nader. Many baby boomers wanted to be just like him. When Nader ran for President in 2000 — like him or not — it was all about content. Since then, Nader seems to be all about someone who craves attention.

His legacy was already diminished by Election Day. His comments here reduce it even more. And, yet, he doesn’t seem to realize the impact of the way he framed his question, and the inappropriateness of his language.

UPDATE: Here’s some other reaction.

Here’s an account of this as it appears in the San Francisco Chronicle:

As if Ralph Nader wasn’t a big enough tool already, he went on Fox News on election night - the very night Barack Obama broke the racial barrier on the presidency - and uttered the words “Uncle Tom.” Not only that, after being called out on the words (which he initially said in a radio interview) by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith - and given a point-blank chance to apologize and take them back, Nader said he wouldn’t. It’s a stunning bit of television and a lot of people missed it. (No doubt a good portion of the Bay Area, not exactly a bastion of Fox News watchers, did). Up until he spewed out the words, the biggest shocker in this scenario was A) That anybody still cared enough to talk to a washed-up political hack like Nader and B) That Nader could actually hear Smith call him on the offensive language. Nader rarely stops his mouth moving - he’s always so caught up in his monotonous blather and meritless belief that he’s making points people want to listen to.

Give Shep Smith a lot of credit here. “Really? Ralph Nader - what was that?” And then he just fried Nader. (I love the look on his face when Nader calls him a bully - it’s that same look people should be giving Nader right about now for completely not getting it.)

TV Guide has this:

Dubious congratulations are in order: Ralph Nader became the first public figure to make an inflammatory public remark about our first African-American president, telling a Fox News affiliate that Barack Obama has to choose between being “Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations.”

Grilled by Fox’s Shepard Smith early Wednesday morning, after the election was decided, Nader declined to back down from the remark, which he made in an earlier interview on Election Day.

Hit and Run:

During the campaign, Nader suggested that Obama was “acting white” by not barnstorming the country and talking about poverty or something. But the irony is that Nader’s one of the sorriest practitioners of ethnic politics out there. “Sorry” in the sense that it never works. He’s run for president four times and each time chosen a hilariously unqualified ethnic minority running mate: Winona LaDuke (American Indian), LaDuke again, Peter Camejo (Hispanic) and Matt Gonzalez (Hispanic).

Nader’s long nightmare is over, in a sense, because I don’t think liberals can stay mad at him when they’ve won the presidency in a rout and he couldn’t stop them. But his race obsession looks even worse compared to Bob Barr. “It just illustrates the tremendous demographic changes, generational changes in this country,” Barr told me last night, discussing Obama’s win. “This really is a very different country, in some ways much better country, than it was several years ago.”

Wonkette:

He really does have some psychological attention-craving disorder, the end. The man has saved countless lives over the decades by advocating for safer automobiles, cleaner air, water, and food, worker safety regulations, and most importantly the election of George W. Bush. Now he’s just some crazy racist losing an argument to a relatively mild-mannered Fox News anchor.



This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Racism, Ralph Nader, Third Parties, Corporations, Barack Obama, Politics, 2008 Elections, Business. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 12 Comments

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    well, despite his good deeds in the past, he's always been a bit of a blowhard. now, he's a contemptible, self-righteous blowhard.
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    No, let's not be attacking the message or the messenger. Many of us ARAs have felt a far greater rage about the unyielding, worldwide animal holocaust which, despite, our extensive efforts, continues to worsen.

    We understand and concur with Nader, hardly a racist as an Arab-Amercan, that the corporate takeover of our once great nation has been
    categorical and complete. The 'little guy," animals, trees, rivers, streams and lakes suffer the brunt of the greedy machinations of the American/Global Corporate Defilers.

    We've long pased the point of civil discourse with the Machine and Big Media yet we find a way to keep it in--Nader, it seems, is sick of keeping it in. He could have taken the easy way out by groveling to Shephard Smith on the spot; he chose not to. Ironically, the Limbaugh-led jokesters call Obama a socialist whereas the opposite is the objective reality. It can be admited Ralph's use of "Uncle Tom" was not a the wisest thing to do.

    Noneteless, it is up to Obama to display the independence of action to compel an apology. Better than all of us, Ralph knows Mr. Obama, even if he wanted to , is powerless to break the vise Big Business has clamped on our country. There will be no socialism, no discernable "change."

    JP aka Johnny "Loathe The Furriers" Le Courier
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    While I Nader has never been a true contender for the White House, his visibility has made it so that he can bring his issues to a national audience.

    He has now squandered that visibility. Ralph Nader will never again be taken seriously by anyone outside his circle of friends.

    http://thepajamapundit.com/
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    No, let's not be attacking the message or the messenger.

    What's left? :-)

    Be that as it may, I understand his point. I very much hope Obama doesn't jump in the pocket of monied interests too. But Uncle Tom?? How tone deaf. How about Daddy Warbucks? And worse, he kept it up, too. He didn't or couldn't appreciate how offensive his choice of metaphores was.
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    First off, I think it'd be ridiculous to make the claim that Nader is a racist. I refuse to believe that for a second.

    However, his remark shows incredible tone-deafness. He should have retracted the part about Uncle Tom, and let the part about being a possible corporate shill stand. It's a good argument that doesn't need the racial component.
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    Well, Ric, again, it is seen as self-evident that Nader has reached the breaking point; if nothing else, that fact is discernible. When we have
    Limbaugh, Savage, Hannity plus all the lesser lights hammering us with their ceaseless madness about "redistribution," plus"complete government takeover," "destruction of the capitalist system," and the rest of their worthless flap-doodle, is there any wonder that a voice of sanity might overreact to it? When will the twinship of the Dems and Repubs be universally confirmed? Oh, that Johhny Potatoe. Whatever.

    We can never relinquish the minority voice, not with Sarah (Wolf Killer)
    Palin lurking In Juneau, waiting to set the Big Trap in 2012. Not hardly.
    Not hardly , Jack.


    Johnny "Anti-Vivisector" Director
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    Nader speaks the truth, and does not back down form his statements. Both major candidates have received shameful amounts of money from companies to fund their campaigns, and both have shown an aversion to challenge those corporations. "Abamanation" has the opportunity to do his best to fullfill the promises he has made, and if he fails, he does become "uncle tom". As for the interviewer, he appears very calm and comfortable using that phrase, maybe a normal part of his vocabulary, and likely spoken more in his lifetime, than in Nader's years. Will our new leader succumb to the money powered mongers that have controlled Washington for decades, or will he really make the change that America needs? And, why is he already talking about a second term, if he can't get it done in the next four years?
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    I was about to type in "I hope that man dies." However, it's cool that there's a racist running both green parties. It helps the Democrats and Obama. :)
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    I'm not going to apologize for Ralph, but what he said, and what you say he said, are two very different things. He did not call Obama and Uncle Tom. He made a bad metaphor using the term perjorative term Uncle Tom. That said, Malcom X used this exact metaphor many times when discussing "black leadership". For examples, see:
    http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam982_07/malc...


    Plus, really now, he's already pretty much blacklisted. He's not welcome on any talk shows, he's not covered by the mainstream media, and the Democratic party and its apologists (see comments here, for instance) call him much worse that what you say he said.

    Is he blunt? Yes. Unapologetic? Always. Racist in the David Duke brand of racist? Doubtful. Racist in the way white America has always been racist? Quite possibly, but even there I would argue that if anyone can truly see Americans for what they are, it's Ralph Nader.

    The piece you didn't see the other night was when Nader did 30 minutes on Real News Network, with Paul Jay, Tom Morris from Capital Hill Blues, and Bill Fletcher from Black Commentator, where they had an excellant discussion on race, politics, Obama, and the exact point that Nader was trying to make on the quoted radio program. Is Obama going to stand up for the poor and the downtrodden, or will he pander to the middle calss, while taking care of his corporate sponsors? Valid question? I think so!To see the segment: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/11/05-8

    Get some perspective folks.