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August 7, 2006
prioritize, motherfuckers.
OMFG. i have totes had it UP TO HERE with freaking green party/third party people. seriously.
deal #1: yes, in a perfect world the US would have multiple parties competing on an even playing field with major caps on spending, perhaps even public financing of campaigns across the board and severe limits to outside interests trumping voters. however, that is not how the country is currently set up to function. once you can accept that and move on, the better off everyone else will be. think of a way to make that happen that will actually change the structure of the country's political system rather then trying to force it by running in elections that you cannot win. which brings me to:
deal #2: YOU CAN'T WIN. i know us liberals generally like to keep upbeat and optimistic (trust me, i was a liberal/progressive in idaho until just recently and no matter how badly the dems got defeated each cycle i still thought we would win something in the next election). the problem is, as i said before, the system is just not set up in a way that makes 3rd party candidate viable in big races. the other two parties have too much money and structure, and third parties just get shut out of the process. an exception is in a place like vermont--but even bernie (who i admire and respect) may not be able to accomplish his big wins without the support of local and national dems. there are a few solutions i can think of right off the top of my head--like starting small with school board election, etc until you can build up enough grassroots support all over the nation and successfully change public policy thus enabling third parties to exist and be successful and limit the power of the republicans and democrats.
deal #3 : you are fucking things up for the rest of the country. i know, i know, there is the concept that if you make things rilly rilly bad maybe people will reflect on their bourgeois and piggish lives of ruining the environment and maxing out our natural resources, but seriously? there is a much more pleasant way to change things, and then? there won't be so much to fix at the end of the day. PAR EXAMPLE: the obvious: you cannot win the pennsylvania u.s. senate race. YOU CAN'T. so what happens? you take liberal votes away from bob casey, jr who, on certain issues, leaves a bad taste in many left-wingers' mouths. the santorum can win, again, and he can continue to do and say psychopathic things, many of which that have put our country on the wrong path for the last few years. things get worse and worse and the next election, you do the same thing. AND WHERE ARE YOU? you still haven't been elected, and the country is worse off then before. you haven't changed anything. in fact, the republicans used you (even though i am sure there are some of you uber-liberals who think you are using the republicans). the system has to be changed, and i am sorry, it's not going to happen by throwing rocks at its steel fortress from the outside. if bob casey jr. is elected, then yes, you might have a pro-life democrat in office, but you know what? he's still going to vote with the dems the majority of the time and he is still going to support the democratic majority leader, and the main pro-choice agenda will be preserved. and, if you lobby the dems in power while still focusing on winning local elections, you will, over time, see change happen to the system.
so! pull your greasy heads out of your asses, and get to work! and stop fucking everything up for the rest of us. i don't want to have this conversation with you again. work with those of us who still identify with the democratic party--i am ALL FOR having the green party-and any other party-play a larger role on the national scene--but not to the detriment of our nation.
Posted by Zach at August 7, 2006 3:34 PM
Comments
amusing - did you recently bump into a green party candidate canvassing your area?!
but surely you understand why so many people are fed up with the current two party system?
Posted by: marshmallow at August 7, 2006 4:50 PM
i was irritated by the article i linked and past experiences.
i was trying to communicate that i do in fact support a multiple party system. but i don't support the way the greens and others are going about trying to achieve it.
Posted by: zach at August 8, 2006 12:46 PM
The thing is why should I vote for any other candidate besides the one I think would do the best job? And if no one is voting for the 3rd party candidates, and is instead just voting for the "lesser of two evils" and being disappointed with no matter who ends up in office, because you never really liked the dem/repub anyway. I know that the whole situation right now is just making most people S.O.L., and I totally don't know when that's going to change. But I'm not going to go against doing what I think is right just to make sure that a Democrat gets into office over a Republican or vice-versa.
Posted by: Devlyn at August 8, 2006 2:09 PM
that's fine and good. but, you see, it's not about voting for the lesser of two evils. it's about STRATEGICALLY realigning the country. first we need to get people like santorum out of office, and bob casey jr, for any faults he has, is the man to do that. then we can work on going forward and paving the way for real election change. voting green right now (or anything else) is just throwing your vote away. sure you might feel good because you voted your conscience, and i suppose there's something to be said for that, but that's all you get and nothing changes. you want greens and other 3rd parties to actually stand a chance at winning major elections? then change those in power until you have people amenable to doing that, and build up the green party (and others) street cred by winning lots and lots and lots and lots of small local elections until their power is too great to ignore. the greens need to stop fucking messing with the large scale state wide and national races and build their power up from the grassroots. the only thing they do in large races is fuck over the dems, who, whether or not you agree with the party, it is the only one that's moving in the right direction currently (albeit a bit more slowly then i would like).
critical thinking often requires more energy then people actually want to put into things like this.
Posted by: Zach at August 8, 2006 2:19 PM