A friend of mine is, inexplicably, planning to vote for Ralph Nader who is, yes, running for president again this year. This might sound like a nosy question, but I think it’s relevant (as a measure of his out-of-touch-ness with most real folks).
Is there any evidence anywhere that Ralph Nader has ever had an intimate relationship with anybody; female or male?
I was going to offer to ask my parents, who went to school with him, but checking around online, it looks like even people who went to school with him have no evidence that he ever had any kind of intimate relationship.
I did find this Onion article, however:
Maybe he is just asexual.
They do exist.
I have a biography of Nader in my book collection; when I have some time this weekend, I’ll dig it out. I seem to recall one relationship reported (although a long time ago). As I recall, he is largely asexual, and efforts to discredit him by enticing with sexual paramours always fell flat.
ETA: Again, I am trying to recall from memory, and will verify later, but I seem to recall that the “scandalous” part of his relationship was that she was divorced. As far as scandalous goes, this was nothing.
I spent an evening with him. He seemed to be cut from the same cloth as George Washington Carver. Where he was so caught up in his work that no one could relate to him on an intimate level, nor he with them.
Well he sure fucked over the country by runnining 2000.
Sex isn’t safe. At any speed.
aside, about “inexplicably” – My father was a Kucinich fan and sees Obama as middle of the road and McCain a nationalistic nutter. He feels he has to vote for someone who actually stands for something different, and with Kucinich out, he’s supporting Nader.
Supposedly, the story goes, when Nader wrote Unsafe at Any Speed detailing the failures of the Corvair, GM assigned an entire squad of detectives to dig up dirt. They were unable to come up with any scandal in his personal life.
Digging dirt, are we? See you in the Pit.
What dirt am I digging?
The scandal is that he has no personal life.
I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to have your father slapped around a little.
Oh, come on!
Carver was about as close to being an out gay man as was possible for a black man at that time. He had a constant companion and ‘roommate’ for the last 9 years of his life, Austin W. Curtis, Jr.
Maybe so, but Curtis apparently married someone named “Oreta” at some point, and had at least one daughter Synka Curtis.
I truly believe (at one point) Nader was an incredible public servant and a true progressive. He probably still is, though I’m bugged by his desire to play spoiler every four years.
But this raises an interesting question. Nader fits the paper description of what we want in our public officials. Squeaky clean, no discernable appetites for naughtiness, absolute commitment to his core principles… but I think the general consensus is that he has a snowball’s chance in hell of being elected to an office above alderman.
I think Nader is illustrative of the fact that we like our elected officials with a little bit of grittiness. Otherwise he’d be a shoo-in for any political office he aspired to.
[Moderating]
I think the basic question in the OP is permissible, though it would have been better to leave the word “inexplicably” out. Let’s keep political discussion out of this, and limit it to factual information about Nader’s orientation (or lack of it). Those who wish to discuss other aspects of Nader’s career can do so in the Pit thread Quartz has started, or begin another in GD.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I’ve had a chance to review my copy of the book, Nader: Crusader, Spoiler, Icon, by Justin Martin. Per the book, the closest to a relationship Nader was ever linked to was rumors that he was involved with Joan Claybrook (the divorcee I referenced upthread), a member of his consumer advocate organizations.
But the evidence is quite scant. At page 148, the book reports “It was noted that she blushed in his presence, echoed his manner of speaking, enthusiastically adopting his viewpoints. The two often traveled together.” Apparently, though, the only reported discussion of this was a Washington Post Magazine article from July 23, 1989, “in which a passing reference was made to ‘occasional rumors’ of a relationship with Claybrook.”
One Nader Raider, Beverly Moore, told the author, in 2001, “We always thought he was having sex with Joan Claybrook. But we never had any evidence whatsoever.”
Bill Clinton he ain’t.
“Let me make this very clear. I probably did not… have sexual relations… with that one woman, Miss Claybrook!”
I don’t know, he looks kind of testosteronish doesn’t he? Thinning head hair, thickening body hair (arms and chest, anyway), big adam’s apple etc.
And he has a pretty deep voice. I’m sure I’ve read that libido is strongly tied to testerone level.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he has a lot of will power. Maybe he’s just celebate?
Peace,
mangeorge