Politics

Strange bedfellows

by Seth Gitell

Now that Ralph Nader's campaign for president is picking up steam, everyone wants to get into the act.

The latest person to attempt to join the Nader bandwagon is none other than former Reagan adviser Jude Wanniski. A former Wall Street Journal editorial-page writer and an advocate of supply-side economics, Wanniski last appeared in the pages of the Phoenix in his capacity as an informal adviser to Pat Buchanan ("Republicanism and Its Discontents," News and Features, October 28, 1999). He has also lent his opinions to the Reverend Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. In a June 28 memo to Nader posted on his Web site, www.polyconomics.com, Wanniski explains his disappointment with Buchanan and his desire to hook up with Nader.

"Pat was sure that by playing his broken record at an ever-increasing volume, he would get into the double digits in the polls and wind up in debates," Wanniski writes. "He has thus far been a waste of time. The fact that you will be on the ballot on all 50 states for the first time, and because the political analysts will watch to see who you take votes from as we head into the backstretch, means you might be the fellow who makes it into debates, not Pat."

Wanniski, who urges Nader to embrace the flat tax and the gold standard, praises the presidential candidate for his opposition to a national missile-defense system and to allowing more skilled foreign workers into the country. Finally, Wanniski concludes with an offer to Nader.

"I've enjoyed talking to you in the past, Ralph, and would be happy to lend a hand to your effort if you are interested. You have the inflammatory rhetoric down pat," Wanniski writes cheerfully. "You only need a few good positive issues to hammer on, and I think you would surprise yourself at how much influence you would have on this sleepy system."