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When he was a Green Party presidential candidate, Ralph Nader fought to have himself included in the presidential debates. But now that’s he’s set aside his own presidential ambitions, he’s fighting a different debate-related fight.

In a posting on his personal website today, Nader called for a presidential debate in D.C.—and about D.C.:

For too long, the District of Columbia has been given lip service by the Democratic and Republican parties. The District has been exploited as a backdrop for large partisan fundraisers in its major hotels, restaurants and clubs. But the District’s human and political rights have been ignored. Earlier this month the Democratic National Convention refused to even allow both Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Mayor Vincent Gray to speak briefly to the convention on behalf of the residents of the nation’s capital.

Led by Mayor Vincent C. Gray (see the attached letter of specific endorsement), civic, labor, religious, business and educational endorsers are requesting a presidential debate to be held in the District of Columbia. A geographically and logistically convenient venue can be arranged in short order. Our presidential candidates rarely discuss the needs of the people who live in Washington, D.C. – the home of the White House and the president. For a national government to talk about supporting democracy abroad, yet suppress the full voting rights via statehood of the residents of the District of Columbia, amounts to an exercise in hypocrisy and deep disregard.

The list of sponsors of such a debate includes Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal—who along with Nader brought the idea to Gray—the League of Women Voters, DC Vote, the Statehood Green Party, and a number of churches and unions.

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the dates and sites of the three planned presidential debates almost a year ago: October 3 in Denver, Colo.; October 16 in Hempstead, N.Y.; and October 22 in Boca Raton, Fla. No matter, says Nader—just agree to the D.C. debate without routing the request through the commission, which would most likely sink it.

Recently Nader called for a “limited strike” for D.C. statehood, telling staffer at 10 organizations that they should up progressively later to work over the course of the year on behalf of the cause. Last year, he berated President Obama for support democratic causes in the Middle East but not siding strongly enough with D.C. voting rights and statehood.

Let’s be fair to Nader: there’s no chance that President Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney will agree to this. The stakes certainly aren’t high enough—is Romney even pretending he’ll get D.C.’s three electoral votes?—and it would open the door for every city, state and cause in the country to demand its own debate.

That being said, there’s nothing stopping Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Party contender Gary Johnson from agreeing to this. They’re both on the ballot here, and their performance in November can help decide if their parties are granted “major” party status or left as “minor” parties.