DES MOINES (AP) — Third party presidential candidate Ralph Nader said Friday the government missed a historic chance to rein in greed and excess on Wall Street when it approved a financial bailout package.

Speaking at a Statehouse news conference, Nader said Congress could have pushed for reforms but instead caved into Wall Street.

“Washington had Wall Street over the barrel two weeks ago and they could have gotten all these reforms because Wall Street wanted $700 billion,” Nader said. “Instead, Wall Street stuffed Washington into a barrel and rolled them, so we have to wait until next year.”

Nader spoke in Des Moines before holding a rally later in the day at Iowa State University in Ames.

He largely focused on corporate greed and argued that the financial rescue package could have included measures to tighten regulation of the financial industry as a requirement of a bailout. Because that didn’t happen, Nader said the chance for real reform was lost.

Even worse, he said, the bailout so far hasn’t worked.

“Criminal prosecution of these corporate executives is in order and disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains is very necessary,” said Nader. “People give Wall Street a long leash, but this level of criminality is truly outrageous.”

This is Nader’s third-straight campaign for the presidency. In Iowa, he will be listed on ballots as the candidate of the Iowa Peace and Freedom Party.

On Friday, he stuck by the anti-corporate power theme that has marked his political career, noting that the financial turmoil is evidence that his focus remains key to the country’s future.

“Pension funds, mutual funds, investors are being swindled day after day and we need to give more authority to shareholders,” said Nader. “They would never let their bosses get away with this. They would have thrown them out a long time ago, but the system is rigged vertically against them.”

Nader argued that the government could go a long way toward solving the nation’s housing crisis by coming to the aid of homeowners facing foreclosure.

“Homeowners should be allowed to rent their homes on a rent-to-own basis so they can stay in their homes,” he said.

Nader dismissed arguments that he’s become largely irrelevant to the nation’s political debate, serving primarily as a spoiler draining a handful of votes away from Democrats.

Nader said he’s on the ballot in 45 states and the District of Columbia, and his polling shows he is drawing support from as much as 5 percent of the electorate. That means millions of voters are backing his candidacy, Nader said.

In addition, Nader said he won’t pander for votes, and he used his opposition to subsidizing corn-based ethanol as an example.

“I oppose the subsidy for corn ethanol,” said Nader. “I won’t come to Iowa and pander.”