The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap

The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap
by Ralph Nader

The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap
List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $1.33
You Save: $24.62 (95%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Ralph Nader
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-07
ISBN: 0060756047
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Regan Books

Book Reviews of The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap

Book Review: The American civil warrior
Summary: 5 Stars

Ralph wrote to express what he observed politically. He is a prophet with a vision.

He covered a variety topics ranging from government to corporation, consumers, foreign policy, globalization and justice. He pointed out the rights and wrongs, success and failure, use and abuse, have and have-not. American people paid the price to the reality of economic meltdown. He elaborated chapters by chapters in great details so that readers can comprehend the invisible hands working. This kind of information usually are not covered in depth as newspaper are syndicated.

He is a patriot to bring America back to the ideals of the fore-fathers. He joined the presidential race and staged a good fight. In this 2004 book, he highlighted to regulate derivative trading (p.188), too big to fail (p.192), single payer health insurance (p.210).

Are we better off if Ralph wins the Presidency? Can Americans use this book to evaluate Lincoln's famous "of the people, for the people, by the people" and motivate citizens to declare independence in this great democracy?

Last week, on January 21 2010, Supreme Court Judges vote for unlimited corporate sponsored political campaign. Why a corporation, a legal entity, unable to run for office or to vote or to jail, has such powerful giant freedom of speech against American David? Will such voice intimidate and drown out congressmen and voters? Is it evolution after a hundred year based on this "campaign finance reform"? Is it the golden rule - whoever has the most gold will dictate the rules? Do we expect a plutocracy to offer universal health care, regulation of banking, environmental protection, help to the middle class or the poor?

This book is a good state of the states address from the heart of Ralph who loves the country.

Summary of The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap

The man who shook up American politics in 2000 -- and is doingso again in 2004 -- returns to hold both parties' feet to the fire with his straight talk about Bush, corporate government, and the whole political charade.

Ralph Nader -- relentless activist, brilliant visionary -- may also be the most honest man we've got left in politics. And yet from the moment Nader declared his presidential candidacy on Meet the Press, he's faced relentless opposition, mainly from Democrats fearing that competition from an inspiring independent could dent their voting block "as it did in 2000." Even his old pals at The Nation joined in the party panic.

Now, in The Good Fight, Nader swings back harder than ever at those who "want to block the American people from having more voices and choices" and have lost touch with the concept that votes must be earned, not inherited or entitled. He takes on corporate-occupied Washington and the government's daily abuse against ordinary citizens: "Corporations are saying no to the necessities of the American people. They're saying no to health insurance for everyone, no to a living wage, no to tax reform, no to straightening out the defense budget, which is bloated and redundant, no to access to our courts." And most of all, he urges a speedy return to stronger civic motivation. If fed-up citizens don't actively join the fight for improvement, then ultimately we have no one to blame but ourselves for the inadequate checks on the erosion of our civil liberties.

In an era when politicians sell us rhetoric and then sell out our principles, Nader stands as a crucial voice of candor. The Good Fight is a call to awareness and action that will captivate readers of all political stripes and help us define what we must do to shape the brightest future for our nation.


The old analogy of apples and oranges, long used to describe things that are completely different, has been rejected by some due to the fact that apples and oranges are, scientifically speaking, extremely similar. For longtime activist, author, and occasional political candidate Ralph Nader, the Democratic and Republican parties, like apples and oranges, may offer different packaging, but are the same on the inside. In The Good Fight, Nader attacks both for their complicity in corporate America's attempts to solidify their power and wealth at the expense of the average citizen's health, job, food, environment and economic future. Still, Nader says, the biggest threat facing regular people comes from inside. "Our lack of civic motivation," he writes, "is the biggest problem facing our country today." And with that in mind, he offers a guide to the powerful institutions at work in the world as well as some advice on how to affect change. Having worked as a civic crusader for so long, Nader is able to present his indictments clearly and is especially compelling when telling the stories of common people who lose their livelihoods and sometimes their lives to corporate profiteering and who then often lose again when they or their families seek redress from a corrupt system where the politicians are in bed with the executives. Some Democrats have accused Nader of taking votes away from their candidates and handing the 2000 election to George W. Bush. Political junkies looking for counter-arguments are mostly out of luck here (John Kerry is mentioned once, Al Gore not at all, and no mention is made of any ambition to elected office) but it becomes clear in reading The Good Fight that Ralph Nader's political career is all about clearly communicating his message. And on that front, he is highly successful. --John Moe

Public Policy Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in As Seen on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 2004 (Part 1)
The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir ImageThe Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir
by Joseph Wilson
Carroll & Graf; Published: 2004-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.26
Price in other shops: $26.00
Brothers In Arms: The Epic Story of the 761St Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes ImageBrothers In Arms: The Epic Story of the 761St Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anthony Walton
Broadway; Published: 2004-05-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.87
Price in other shops: $24.95
Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency ImageWhere the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2004-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.40
Price in other shops: $24.95
Fanatics & Fools: How Politicians are Betraying the American People ImageFanatics & Fools: How Politicians are Betraying the American People
by Arianna Huffington
Miramax; Published: 2004-04-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.52
Price in other shops: $23.95
Hard News: The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media ImageHard News: The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media
by Seth Mnookin
Random House; Published: 2004-11-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops: $25.95
Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon -- The Case Against Celebrity ImageHollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon -- The Case Against Celebrity
by Andrew Breitbart, Mark Ebner
Wiley; Published: 2004-02-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.59
Price in other shops: $27.95
The Blue Ribbon Day ImageThe Blue Ribbon Day
by Katie Couric
Doubleday; Published: 2004-10-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $15.95
A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties ImageA Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties
by Tom Brokaw
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2003-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.47
Price in other shops: $13.95
What's Up Dawg?: How to Become a Superstar In the Music Business ImageWhat's Up Dawg?: How to Become a Superstar In the Music Business
by Randy Jackson, K.c. Baker
Hyperion; Published: 2004-01-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $19.95
Big Russ and Me: Father and Son--Lessons of Life ImageBig Russ and Me: Father and Son--Lessons of Life
by Tim Russert
Miramax; Published: 2004-05-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $22.95
Similar Books and other products
Cutting Corporate Welfare ImageCutting Corporate Welfare
by Ralph Nader
Seven Stories Press; Published: 2003-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.30
Price in other shops: $10.00
The Case Against Free Trade: GATT, NAFTA, and the Globalization of Corporate Power (An Earth Island Press Book) ImageThe Case Against Free Trade: GATT, NAFTA, and the Globalization of Corporate Power (An Earth Island Press Book)
North Atlantic Books; Published: 1993-09-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.36
Price in other shops: $16.95
Corporation Nation: How Corporations are Taking Over Our Lives -- and What We Can Do About It ImageCorporation Nation: How Corporations are Taking Over Our Lives -- and What We Can Do About It
by Charles Derber
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2000-04-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops: $15.95
No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America ImageNo Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America
by Ralph Nader, Wesley J. Smith
Random House; Published: 1996; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: $23.00
Civic Arousal ImageCivic Arousal
by Ralph Nader
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2004-10-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.01
Price in other shops: $4.95
An Unreasonable Man ImageAn Unreasonable Man
WELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2007-06-12; DVD
Best price: $3.84
Price in other shops: $26.95
In Pursuit of Justice ImageIn Pursuit of Justice
by Ralph Nader
Seven Stories Press; Published: 2004-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.89
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Ralph Nader Reader ImageThe Ralph Nader Reader
by Ralph Nader
Seven Stories Press; Published: 2000-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.65
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Seventeen Traditions ImageThe Seventeen Traditions
by Ralph Nader
Harper; Published: 2007-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.72
Price in other shops: $19.95
Crashing the Party: Taking on the Corporate Government in an Age of Surrender ImageCrashing the Party: Taking on the Corporate Government in an Age of Surrender
by Ralph Nader
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2002-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.09
Price in other shops: $14.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories