As Boston geared up for the Democratic National Convention, independent candidate Ralph Nader crashed the party with a spirited rally one week ago in the Science Center.

The event last Friday, sponsored by the Harvard Socialist Alternative, featured five speakers and culminated with a 45-minute address by Nader to a motley crowd of over 500. His speech addressed why he is running for president and what is wrong with U.S. politics.

Nader’s loudest complaint was that the creeping increase of corporate influence in government is turning the United States into a de facto dictatorship.

“The two major parties are running this country into the ground for corporate campaign contributions,” Nader said. “George W. Bush is a giant corporation disguised as a human being residing in the White House, and his administration was marinated in oil.”

Nader’s ridiculing of his incumbent opponent drew loud roars from the fiercely anti-Bush attendees, many of whom were lured inside the rally by a demonstrator on the plaza outside the Science Center, where a disgruntled old man, crowned by multi-colored balloons, yelled “Fuck Bush!” to help publicize the rally.

But in addition to criticizing the Bush administration, Nader marshaled evidence that Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., the Democratic nominee for president, does not support a liberal constituency.

“He’s for the war and wants to stay in Iraq, he toes the Sharon party line, he’s for corporate globalization, the WTO and NAFTA, and he voted for the PATRIOT Act—the greatest single assault on civil liberties in the country’s history,” Nader said.

He also faulted Harvard University for being “a processing center for giant corporations.”

Nader cited a statistic that 95 percent of the people in his Harvard Law School class are now representing corporations while only 5 percent are representing civic interests.

“Polluters have the lawyers, but people with respiratory diseases don’t have many lawyers,” Nader said.

He also criticized the system that perpetuates a two-party “duopoly,” and in the question-and-answer session following the speech, he supported an instant runoff system instead of the current indirect elections.

“The 200-year-old electoral college system ensures that winner takes all,” Nader said. “Voters go for the least-worst and demand nothing because they fear the worst.”

Nader also criticized the lack of choice in local and state elections—a trend he said has spread to the national level due to redistricting.

“Ninety-five percent of voters are in a one-party-dominated or nominally opposed district,” Nader said. “Of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, only 25 are competitive. Election implies selection!”

In addition to describing why he was running for president, Nader explained why he had chosen Peter Camejo, a member of the socially responsible investment movement, as his running mate, using anecdotes from Camejo’s past and noting what he thinks Camejo brings to the election.

“He’s Latino, and we’ve never had a Latino candidate for V.P.—he speaks Spanish beautifully,” Nader said.

During the question and answer session, Nader fielded several queries concerning his role in the election of 2000 and whether he believes his current campaign weakens that of Kerry.

“How can you sleep at night with the blood of the soldiers who died in Iraq on your hands?” an audience member shouted out.

Nader responded by stating that he is certain that Bush is self-destructing, and that those who live in states where Democrats are expected to win by a wide margin should vote Nader/Camejo.

“Bush is a one-term president,” Nader said. “Kerry is swinging and missing for four months, but Bush is swinging and socking himself.”

After Nader finished answering questions, a Nader spokesperson attempted to raise money from the crowd for the campaign—which he claims does not accept any corporate donations.

“I’m looking for a $1,000 hero,” the spokesperson said.

No such “hero” stepped forward, although two individuals came forward to donate $500 each. The Nader campaign representatives passed buckets around the crowd looking for additional donations, and autographed copies of Nader’s book, Crashing the Party, were available for $75 each at the end of the question and answer session.

—Staff writer Joshua P. Rogers can be reached at jprogers@fas.harvard.edu.