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Nader Makes 21 Speeches in 15 Hours, ‘Massachusetts Marathon’ Breaks Guinness Record
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Nader Makes 21 Speeches in 15 Hours, ‘Massachusetts Marathon’ Breaks Guinness Record
“Ralph Nader made 21 speeches in 15 hours, travelled 365 miles through Masachusetts in what has been dubbed the “Massachusetts Marathon”.The 74 year old independent presidential candidate dedicated the Guinness Record breaking run to childhood hero Lou Gehrig.”
For an expanded article please visit Pulse Magazine’s print edition version:
http://pulseniagara.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4480
MORE TO COME
Nader’s Massachusetts Marathon
On October 23 the Nader campaign had contacted me to let me know that Ralph Nader would be making 21 speeches throughout the state of Massachusetts during a one day period on Saturday October 25.
By doing so, Nader has also found himself in the Guinness Book of World records. This successful campaign action should garner Nader some national attention, as the mainstream media has largely ignored his campaign.
Speaking to an AP reporter, Ryan Mehta, a Nader campaign spokesperson said the “Massachusetts Marathon” aims to raise awareness because two–thirds of the nation doesn’t know Nader is running as an independent. The campaign speech record would be a bonus.
Jason Kafourey confirmed with the Guinness Records Society Thursday that Nader would have to make 15 speeches to break the record for Most Campaign Speeches in a 24 hour period.
But Nader, never one to settle for status quo, campaigned in “21 cities and towns across Massachusetts in one day,” according to correspondence from the Nader Campaign Team. He also spoke in a different municipal jurisdiction at each stop.
With events scheduled for Boston, Cambridge, Southborough, Concord, Waltham, Watertown, Newton, Somerville, Medford, Arlington, Lexington, Worcester, Auburn, Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Northampton, West Springfield, Westfield, Stockbridge and Sheffield, his organizers aimed to help him make “315 minutes of speeches,” and had travelled a total of approximately 365 miles by car.
The scheduled speeches were to be 10 minutes in length and Nader touched on issues such as single payer health care, the bloated military budget, unfair hurdles to participatory democracy, the Iraq War, and veterans’ issues, among others. Stops were held at at public locations: Farmers’ markets, coffee shops, and campuses, and included musicians, artists, and other events in advance of each appearance.
For organizers and volunteers, their greatest concern was “to keep him on schedule.”
As of 5:53 pm EDT I spoke with Mehta, and he informed me that they they had been successfully keeping a tight schedule and were only off by 12 minutes.
Later at 10:50 pm EDT I spoke with Aaron Keith, a web designer and co–owner of a Zendiko Web Studios who attended three consecutive rallies in Concord, Watertown, and at Clark University in Worcester. Numbers increased at each event from 50 in Concord, to about 220 people at Clark University. He was so motivated by his attendance at the first rally and made his way to two more.
Keith, a former Democrat and Kerry supporter in 2004, credits Ron Paul with his expanded political awareness this cycle, but believes that Paul’s staunch Libertarianism makes Ralph Nader his preferred candidate. “I like the Libertarian point of view, but I do believe government can play a positive role, and that’s where Ralph Nader comes in for me,” Keith explained.
Nader, 74, is on his third campaign run since 2000. When asked if the schedule was too much for him, he responded “When you’re seeking justice, as I have for so many years, it’s invigorating, not fatiguing,” he quipped to an AP reporter.
Nader, in a press release, announced that the marathon campaign run was dedicated to his boyhood hero, Lou Gehrig. Gehrig, known as ‘the iron man of baseball’ and “his 2130 consecutive games played provided a great example of stamina” to Nader.
Departing from his hometown of Winstead, CT. at 7:15 am, the tour officially began at 8:15 am at the Westfield, MA. Dunkin Donuts and moved on to Boston for his next engagement.
Checking in with volunteers over the course of the day, they reported that everything was going smoothly. At 11:30 pm, the campaign was only about 25 minutes away from the last designated rendezvous.
Nader completed his campaign run and finished his “Massachusetts Marathon” with a campaign house party in Sheffield, MA, completing his final speech before 1 am EDT
At 12:18 I spoke with Jason Kafoury, the Nader for President National Campaign Director, who reported that Nader was just pulling into the final Sheffield stop, a house party. At that time approximately 40 people were assembled and many more were expected to make their way to greet the exhausted but upbeat team and candidate.
An energized Kafoury said that “the Guinness Record is within our reach.” I asked him to confirm the turnout numbers based on field reports from volunteers. Each of the 21 stops ranged from 50 to 250 people. During the course of the “Marathon”, the campaign signed on volunteers, distributed literature, and raised thousands of dollars in small donations.
Kafoury should be rightfully proud as the “Marathon” was organized on short notice. As the National Campaign Director, he coordinated heroic feats with a dedicated team of volunteers, and made the campaign a success on a budget that is a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at the campaign by the Republicans and Democrats in a two and a half year election run.
Where approximately $53 million was spent on hosting Democratic National Convention, according to paperwork filed to the Federal Election Commission, the entire Nader campaign expects its receipts to total approximately $4 million.
The $53 million figure doesn’t include prospective security costs, which were expected to exceed $100 million dollars at both the RNC and DNC.
admin @ October 25, 2008
It’s too bad that Nader gets this as his press coverage. Money in politics sucks.