Nader: Success or Excess?

Critics think he spreads himself too thin

By all outward appearances, Ralph Nader should now be reaching the zenith of his power. At 43, the tall, reedy, ascetic reformer has become the head of a loose organization of watchdog groups that resembles--well, a corporate conglomerate. After years of fighting Republican Presidents, he has an avowed friend in the White House (Nader umpired a Carter Softball game in Plains, Ga., during the campaign). Once the consummate outsider, Nader has now salted the Government with allies and former colleagues in regulatory posts.

Yet Nader seems to be losing rather than gaining momentum. A growing number of critics complain that he has spread himself too thin, that a certain sloppiness and frivolousness are evident in some of his campaigns and that his imperious manner is becoming increasingly abrasive. He still has his successes--this year's Government mandate that airbags must go into cars by 1984, for example.

But the victories are becoming fewer, and Nader is also suffering some galling defeats. One occurred last week, when his most coveted goal--the establishment of a federal Consumer Protection Agency --received yet another legislative setback.

Essentially, the organization would have authority to intervene on behalf of consumers before federal regulatory bodies, and to challenge those agencies' decisions in court.

Business lobbyists vigorously opposed the idea, and the bill almost died in a House committee last spring. But after a major drive by Nader and other consumerists this summer, hope was revived that a modified bill would get through the House and go to the Senate next year.

Last week, however, House Speaker Thomas ("Tip") O'Neill concluded that the votes for the measure were not there, and he postponed consideration of the bill until next year. The action was a bitter defeat for Nader, who blames in part his friend Jimmy Carter. Although the President endorsed the bill and his consumer affairs adviser, Esther Peterson, lobbied hard for it, none of the Administration heavyweights did anything to help it through the House. Says Nader: "The White House is preoccupied with foreign policy and worrying about business confidence."

Many critics--and even some supporters--believe Nader must share the blame. They say he has compounded his difficulties with Congress and business by tackling a bewilderingly diverse range of issues, not all of them worthy of serious effort. The latest case in point: a new sports consumer group called Fight to Advance the Nation's Sports, or FANS. It was formed last summer when Journalist Peter Gruenstein proposed that Nader back an agency that would fight to keep ticket prices for sporting events within reach of most fans, work against owners trading away local superstars, like Tom Seaver, and, in Gruenstein's words, "ensure that hot dogs were warmer than the beer." Lifetime Yankee Fan Nader quickly agreed to fund FANS. Says one longtime Nader associate currently in Government: "Now that's frivolous, just the latest example of misapplication of scarce resources."

FANS is only a small fiefdom in Nader's consumerism empire, which includes more than a dozen Washington-based organizations, scores of staff members and an annual budget of $1 million, raised in public donations that average about $15 per person. Among the better-known groups:

The Center for Study of Responsive Law, the original flagship Nader organization. It produced a blitz of study-group reports in the early 1970s that exposed abuses in dozens of fields, from chemical products to environmental pollution. The center is now a backwater, dealing with lesser issues.

Congress Watch, which handles most of Nader's lobbying. It operates on a budget of $145,000 and employs seven full-time lobbyists, who are backed up with an arsenal of research.

Litigation Group, which is Nader's law firm. It has a staff of eight attorneys, who have won most of the cases they have argued before the Supreme Court.

Health Research Group, one of the most effective Nader operations, which, among other things, was active in the successful battle against red dye No. 2, a widely used coloring agent.

Tax Reform Group, which serves as a think tank for progressive tax reform and lobbies both the Administration and Congress.

With all these balls in the air, Nader, who works mainly out of a small office on K Street about six blocks from the White House, has had to turn more tasks over to subordinates. They sometimes lack his ability for marshaling facts. Result: complaints have increased that some of Nader's research has become sloppy. Another difficulty is that Nader is far more effective as a propagandist than as a lobbyist; none of his organizations can begin to match the well-heeled business lobby.

Then too there is Nader's annoying holier-than-thou attitude. In an attempt to shed his dour reputation, Nader in January showed up on TV as host of the zany NBC's Saturday Night Live. In one routine he deadpanned his way through a comic turn satirizing none other than Ralph Nader. The effort backfired in one respect: though the skit was indeed amusing, Nader portrayed himself altogether too accurately as a driven zealot. Congressmen agree that Nader does his homework, but they are repelled by his insistence that his position is the only morally right one. Says Representative David Obey, Wisconsin Democrat: "Members are just fed up with being equated with evil if they vote against Nader."

Little wonder then that many of Nader's legislative goals remain unfulfilled. Besides the consignment of the Consumer Protection Agency to limbo, his effort to get Congress interested in a law that would require federal chartering of large corporations as a means of enforcing ethical behavior has gone nowhere. A bill that would make it easier for consumer cooperatives to get bank loans squeaked by the House with one vote, but is stalled in the Senate. A measure that would have helped consumers fight adverse FTC decisions was rejected by a House committee earlier this year.

Nader remains undaunted. Says he:

"If anything, I've got more people helping now than ever. Sure, we've had some disappointments. But I didn't get into this business because I thought it was easy." Unless he pulls his act together, it will not get any easier.

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