<VV> Nader and....

[ricebugg at comcast.net]

Smitty said: “In my opinion Ralph was nothing more than a lawyer who hired a bunch of people to find what he wanted to find whether it was totally true or not, and then took it to court.  By doing so he changed tort law to make somebody else responsible for all we do to ourselves, much to the satisfaction of money grubbers.”
 Smitty:  At the time of Nader’s book, he was an mostly unknown middle-aged lawyer with a desire to be of serve to his countrymen. He got the desire by following his father’s example. 
 So far as I remember, he was not involved in any of the Corvair lawsuits. None of them. Ever. So far as I can remember. Maybe some knows differently, and can provide the documentation.   
 But he knew of the Corvair lawsuits, and how GM was handling them. He asked why people were being injured and killed in Corvairs. Before the book, he wrote one or more articles in (I think) the New Yorker. His investigation led to the book, in which he indicted the Corvair in chapter 1, which everybody noticed, the VW Beetle in chapter 2, which nobody paid any attention to. The rest of the book hammers the auto industry as a whole about their design practices related to safety. Which nobody much noticed, except Congress. A pretty big exception, that one. The book’s title, hung on the Corvair by the press, was meant to apply to the entire auto industry.   
When the book came out, someone at GM, we don’t know who, not knowing who this guy was, ordered an investigation of him, in a “know your enemy” thought process. The private detectives were at best incompetent. They got the attention of various folks in NY and DC, including Sam Rubicoff (sp?), chairman of some senate committee.   He was looking for a cause to enhance his standing as a Senator. Hauled GM brass into a hearing and fried their collective butts. Thus, the Senator got his glory, and raised this otherwise mostly unknown lawyer to near cult status. 
 But the book was the tipping point, and lead to the creation of the many regulatory agencies. Maybe even the creation of the DoT and eventually the EPA. I don’t remember. Had other things on my mind at the time. 
The change in the litigation practices of our justice system (using the term loosely) came about more because the legal and political philosophies coming to the fore at the time. There was a tide change before WW2 about “original intent” or “living” Constitution in our nations law schools, which we are still debating today. Nader was part of the tidal wave. He did not create it. 
 If I remember correctly. VBG!!!
 What you say about him and his group’s efforts later on will get no negative comments from me. I have a certain affinity for Shakespeare when it comes to lawyers. 
Sure is good to still hear from you.  Stay well and Godspeed.
Historically Yours,  
                    James Rice