{news} CT POST- NADER RIPS LIEBERMAN IN NEW HAVEN APPEARANCE

[Green Party-CT]

      Nader rips Lieberman in New Haven appearance        KEN DIXON dixon.connpost at snet.net
Connecticut Post Online        NEW HAVEN — Consumer advocate Ralph Nader visited Connecticut Wednesday to bury U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, not to praise Democratic primary challenger Ned Lamont.   Still, the Greenwich telecom millionaire came out way ahead when Nader appeared in the library here and at a Hartford church to criticize Lieberman for putting corporate interests ahead of Connecticut taxpayers.   In particular, Nader — a Connecticut native, who lost a bid for president under his controversial Green Party candidacy in 2000 — said that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce singles out Lieberman as one of the few Democrats it will support.   "Citizens groups that have contended with the chamber's agenda and lobbyists, view this giant organization's pursuit of corporate greed and power, at the expense of peoples' economic well being, health and safety, to be without peer in Washington, D.C.," Nader told about 70 people in a library meeting room.   Nader said that Lieberman, in
 return, agrees with the chamber's attempts to expand corporate subsidies and lessen federal oversight of white-collar crime, fraud and abuse.   Nader said that Lieberman supports globalization "boondoggles" and most recently approved a law that would force class-action lawsuits to move to federal courts, rather than be tried on the state court level.   Nader, who became famous as a consumer advocate nearly 40 years ago when he uncovered systematic safety problems in the nation's auto industry, said Lieberman is "waffling" on pending asbestos liability legislation.   "The chamber also likes Sen. Lieberman for what he does not do," Nader said. "He has not met a weapons system he doesn't like, ignoring repeated, critical reports by the Government Accountability Office of the Congress."   When asked by reporters about Lamont's candidacy, Nader, who grew up in Winsted, said that he spoke with the challenger twice this year and suggested that he expand his criticism of Lieberman
 to include President Bush.   Asked to comment on Lieberman's support from organized labor in Connecticut, primarily the AFL-CIO, Nader said it might be more out of habit.   "He has endorsed NAFTA and the WTO, which organized labor fought and they still endorse Joe," Nader said, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement. "Which doesn't make sense to me."
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