Where you left your keys ...Rick's Cafe Americain

I am very much in favor of the green party movement and I do not like America’s two party system.  But the two party system in America is strongly entrenched (largely because of the way we elect our leaders) and it will be very difficult for a strong third (or fourth) party movement to emerge.  I do believe that there is a space for a third party since neither party advocates what I think a large percentage of Americans really want/believe in, which is a government that is fairly hands off on social issues and the economy (of course, this might also be why Clinton was so popular as he came close to that).  I also think that a viable green party is, unfortunately, largely impossible because of the way our electoral system is set-up, but I still strongly advocate a viable green party and, generally speaking, would support it in the hopes that it could buck the structure of our electoral system and emerge as a real party.

But this is not the year for such a stand.  Liberals—and even those who are more mainstream—are strongly united that Bush has got to go.  Nader can crow all he wants about the similarities of the two parties, but the Bush administration has marked a strong shift towards conservatism in the Republican party and democrats and liberals and greens and those who consciously would favor a third party along the lines of the one I describe in the paragraph above (as opposed to what I believe are a large percentage of people who would support that if given such a vialbe option, but don’t think enough about politics to help such a party form) are nearly universally united towards knocking Bush off this year.  Consequently, the timing for another Nader Presidential bid is awful (it was awful in the last election as well, but hindsight is 20/20—which is exactly the point). 

Nader has a point, that such an argument can often be made and that the importance building a viable third party movement is bigger than any one election, but Nader also has to recognize reality.  And that reality is that his running for President will create resentment among many people who, in another election, would consider voting for him in order to support either the idea of either a viable third party and/or a viable green party (I view a green party as more of a fourth party).  That reality will potentially hurt the movement, as Nader will probably gather fewer votes this time around. 

Hopefully, people will recognize that Nader’s run in this election is more about personal hubris than third party politics.  Thus, I hope that he run will not hurt the movement (and hopefully won’t throw the election to Bush—again) and will simply serve to marginalize Nader, who has not emerged as an ideal leader in the movement for a third party. 

I am very much in favor of the green party movement and I do not like America’s two party system.  But the two party system in America is strongly entrenched (largely because of the way we elect our leaders) and it will be very difficult for a strong third (or fourth) party movement to emerge.  I do believe that there is a space for a third party since neither party advocates what I think a large percentage of Americans really want/believe in, which is a government that is fairly hands off on social issues and the economy (of course, this might also be why Clinton was so popular as he came close to that).  I also think that a viable green party is, unfortunately, largely impossible because of the way our electoral system is set-up, but I still strongly advocate a viable green party and, generally speaking, would support it in the hopes that it could buck the structure of our electoral system and emerge as a real party.

But this is not the year for such a stand.  Liberals—and even those who are more mainstream—are strongly united that Bush has got to go.  Nader can crow all he wants about the similarities of the two parties, but the Bush administration has marked a strong shift towards conservatism in the Republican party and democrats and liberals and greens and those who consciously would favor a third party along the lines of the one I describe in the paragraph above (as opposed to what I believe are a large percentage of people who would support that if given such a vialbe option, but don’t think enough about politics to help such a party form) are nearly universally united towards knocking Bush off this year.  Consequently, the timing for another Nader Presidential bid is awful (it was awful in the last election as well, but hindsight is 20/20—which is exactly the point). 

Nader has a point, that such an argument can often be made and that the importance building a viable third party movement is bigger than any one election, but Nader also has to recognize reality.  And that reality is that his running for President will create resentment among many people who, in another election, would consider voting for him in order to support either the idea of either a viable third party and/or a viable green party (I view a green party as more of a fourth party).  That reality will potentially hurt the movement, as Nader will probably gather fewer votes this time around. 

Hopefully, people will recognize that Nader’s run in this election is more about personal hubris than third party politics.  Thus, I hope that he run will not hurt the movement (and hopefully won’t throw the election to Bush—again) and will simply serve to marginalize Nader, who has not emerged as an ideal leader in the movement for a third party.