What is campaign season if not for democrats crapping on greens and Jill Stein? it's like a time honored tradition. I actually hate it. I believe the democrats arent entitled to votes ideologically, and third parties gaining popularity is an indication that the two party system is doing something wrong. Shaming voters isn't the answer. Even in 2024. It does nothing to actually win those voters over. All it does is lead to a culture of toxicity within the dems, and polarizing those voters even more than they would be otherwise. I was more polarized and convinced of my position first and foremost by democrats trying to shame me out of it. That social crap dont work on me and is indicative of bad faith manipulation and cult like behavior. Doesnt work on a free thinker. But it does seem to work on others, and dem spaces get absolutely insufferable with the third party bashing. So here I'm going to discuss some of the common talking points I'm seeing this time around.
"The green party isn't serious"
Ok, who defines what is and isn't serious? This is just an argument bashing people about how they got no support and struggle against institutional barriers. I mean, they do do that, you know that right? it takes tens of thousands of signatures to get on the ballot and tons of effort just to get moving. And our system is set up by republicans and democrats to maintain their power and suppress competition.
"Why don't you focus on down ballot races?"
This is just a non sequitur to me. I mean, the reason third party candidates focus on the presidency is they need to to gain attention. No one cares about the down ballot stuff. Most people are driven out by the presidency and then vote down ballot. This is why presidential races and congressional races are often tied, and one of the reasons the dems forced Biden out. He was killing their down ballot chances.
Either way, this statement reeks of elitism. Like "ugh, why are you focusing on such a high profile race, focus on these little races no one cares about like the peons you are." Ugh, kindly F off.
Also, the greens, at least in PA, do focus on down ballot races too. They just never make it on the ballot given the high requirements. If you think getting on the presidential ballot is hard, imagine some nobody getting on a down ballot race no one particularly cares about.
"The greens are in league with Russia and Republicans"
So, I'm not going to deny that the greens are sometimes weaponized by republicans and even Russia to hurt the dems and achieve their political goals. And I'm not even gonna deny that the greens sometimes seem to willingly accept help from these parties. If they want to gain any support, sometimes they might feel the need to make a deal with the devil. Not justifying it, just explaining it. I do think, especially in terms of russia, the greens are too willing to accept help from them in order to gain support, and this taints them.
Still, to focus more abstractly and in terms of ideals, should we always attack a third party just because an opposing faction to our ideological goals supports them? I would say no. We should define ourselves primarily in what we're for, not against, defining ourselves as being not the bad guys but a lesser evil is the whole problem in the first place.
And while, in this era of Donald Trump, yes, we do need to be against the literal fascist, and we should be against russia (and i will say it, a huge reason i dislike the greens is their foreign policy would be disastrous to the US), ultimately, this election is special. THe stakes are too high for normal rules to apply, and I do think that doing a strategic lesser evil vote is intelligent at this time. Still, I wouldnt make a habit of it.
"But they can't win"
If youre voting third party, it's not about winning but pressuring the system to appeal to you and your concerns. When I did it, i did it to bring attention to UBI, universal healthcare, and protesting the treatment and hostility i got from dems in terms of my ideology and the above goals. When people do it in 2024, it's about palestine mostly.
If third parties are taking so much of your voter base it threatens your ability to win the election, then that's on you to appeal to them. You should be able to keep third parties to under 1% of the population. At which point further gains with them is likely a lot cause. If you lose by under a 1% margin, like in 2000 and 2016, while yes, third parties did play a role, the elephant in the room is they also struggled against the republicans as well. ANd keep in mind, republicans have their own third parties taking from them, like libertarians, and RFK Jr, and the constitution party, etc. So if you can't win because of a sub 1% of the population, that sounds like a you problem. Appeal to them or move on. Stop this weird obsession with harassing their voters on the internet. Democrats aren't owed votes. Politicians exist to serve constituents, constituents dont exist to serve politicians. If your strategy doesnt work it doesnt work. I admit, criticizing voters isnt always invalid, but the weird obsession dems have with third party voters is just too deranged for me. If the GOP wins in 2024, the dems are gonna have more going against them than the free palestine kiddies, the big problem is all the independents who are like "but things were cheaper in 2019."
Conclusion
Look, I'm voting for Harris this time. And some of it is lesser evil thinking. But part of it is the fact that yes, the greens are kind of a joke and even I cant take them seriously. Still, dems doth protest too much, and it's annoying. The greens and Jill Stein, and Cornel West, have just as much of a right to run as anyone else, and i resent people trying to suppress candidates, push them out of the race, and shame and harass their voters. I dont even LIKE stein voters this election cycle. I mean some are okay, but most of them are the deranged "free palestine" kiddies who I cant stand. But, let's face it, I fully recognize those guys as a lost cause. If Harris aint bringing them back, and they're down to like 0.6% of the population, whatever, let's just move on with or without them. We have an election to win, and theres probably 10x the number of independent voters' up for grabs, which is why dems dont seem interested in appealing to these people in the first place. THey just arent that numerous to them and there's little to no political gain to doing so. Either way, I wish they'd just own that and shut up and let them do their own things.
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