Help for Nader

The leader of a Republican-leaning anti-tax group says his organization is ready to collect petition signatures to help Ralph Nader win a spot on Oregon’s presidential ballot by the Aug. 24 deadline.

Democrats are challenging Mr. Nader’s efforts to appear on ballots in some states. In San Francisco on Tuesday, his running mate, Peter Camejo, compared the Democratic Party to “a dictator” using fear and false rhetoric to give voters the illusion they have an open electoral system.

Drawing votes away from Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to help President Bush win Oregon is a goal of Citizens for a Sound Economy, said its leader, Russ Walker. The group was instrumental in putting together the signature drive and campaign that led to the drubbing of the state’s $800 million tax increase in a Feb. 3 special election, the Associated Press reports.