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Nov. 17th, 2004 at 4:55 PM

I voted for Kerry for President, but this year I also registered as a member of the Green Party. They recently published a funny ad in the New York Times that pretty much sums up why I joined (although the first five issues they list are of much greater concern to me than the last two). The ad is on the home page of their web site right now, but I don't know how long it will be there.

I know some people say that there will never be viable alternative political parties in the US. They're probably right, but I just can't bring myself to act accordingly.

( 12 comments — Leave a comment )

vixter

Nov. 18th, 2004 12:57 am (UTC)

I voted for Kerry, but voted Green for Congress

Although if Tom Lantos had been in any danger, I probably would have
voted for him.

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mactavish

Nov. 18th, 2004 01:33 am (UTC)

Re: I voted for Kerry, but voted Green for Congress

Sometimes I feel like I have useless votes in my district, as Pete Stark wins handily election after election. My votes don't seem to help him. That said, I don't have those horrible nail-biter election nights on that front, either.

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crazed_lynn

Nov. 18th, 2004 02:17 am (UTC)

I've been registered Green for several years. I was registered Green while working for the DNC!

Candidate selection in primaries is a joke as far as I'm concerned, so I don't care that I didn't "help to decide" who would run against Bush.

I also don't care that a Green candidate has no chance at a national office and almost no chance at a state-wide office in California. Just by upping the numbers of registered voters that aren't D or R is a good thing.

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firecat

Nov. 18th, 2004 02:40 am (UTC)

I didn't know you were registered Green. Cool!

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epi_lj

Nov. 18th, 2004 03:20 am (UTC)

The logic that there will never be alternative political parties in the U.S. is self-fulfilling, and the more people decide not to act accordingly, the less inertia it has. People don't like to vote for a *complete* out-in-space, 'loser' party. However, everyone's threshold on that is different, and for every person who decides to bite the bullet and vote for an alternative party, they push it over another person's threshold for next time.

I've been voting Green Party of Canada in the last few elections, and each time they capture a little more of the mix.

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firecat

Nov. 18th, 2004 04:51 am (UTC)

Cool. Another thing I like about the Green Party is that it seems to have a presence in many countries (although I'm sure the platforms in various countries are different).

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epi_lj

Nov. 18th, 2004 11:49 am (UTC)

I know that the party that calls itself the "Green Party," in Germany is extremely strong there, but I have no idea if there's any relation whatsoever.

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sashajwolf

Nov. 18th, 2004 02:46 pm (UTC)

Yes, the German Greens are part of the same Global Green network as the US and Canadian parties and most of the European ones. You can follow the "International Links" on the US website for a complete list of the network members who attended the last global conference in 2001.

I quite often vote Green in local and European elections here in the UK.

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wild_irises

Nov. 18th, 2004 07:53 am (UTC)

I am also registered Green (although I voted for Kerry). I'm more interested in the viability of my own integrity than of the Green Party as a major third-party force. I also love their voter pamphlets!

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firecat

Nov. 18th, 2004 07:59 am (UTC)

All these people who are registered Green and I didn't know...maybe we should be louder.

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opalmirror

Nov. 18th, 2004 10:18 pm (UTC)

I switched to the Green Party after the 2000 electile dysfunction. I voted for Kerry this time, although I would have felt better voting for Kucinich if that had been a viable possibility. Explanation: I tend to exercise my vote first to oppose problems, and only secondarily to further good ideas -- so if there is an idiot to oppose I'll vote for the most-likely-to-win opponent, but otherwise I tend to vote Green.

In future elections I may change this stance and reverse the priorities, voting first for my favorite idea/candidate (winner or loser), and secondarily to block the idiot. This would place more pressure on all candidates to listen to my issues and concerns to woo my vote.

Vote. Woo!

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