dump dem

[Dan Scanlan <coolhanduke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From the Nader-Cal-News (nader-cal-news@xxxxxxxxxx) forum...

On Dec 18, 2004, at 10:41 PM, Bob B. wrote:

> Why do you keep sending out these articles about Democrats.  Who cares
> about Democrats?
>
> Bob B.
> Salt Lake City, UT

Dear Bob,

       You're point is well taken -- and normally we'd agree with you. But in
the last election, we saw far too many Green Party leaders and
rank-and-file Greens -- as well as self-proclaimed "progressives" in
general (including a large number of well-known liberal and progressive
activists and commentators) -- supporting the view that it is somehow
the role of Greens, other third-party supporters, and independent
voters to support/help/vote for Democrats in order to attempt to
prevent Republican victories.

       We strenuously disagree with this viewpoint, and feel it misconstrues
the role that Greens, other third parties, and independent voters can
and should play in our seriously flawed electoral system, not to
mention in the multi-party system we are supposedly striving (or should
be) to create. Thus, we feel it important to make abundantly clear --
perhaps to the point of redundancy -- that the Democrats are the
*cause* rather than the solution to the country's problems, and
impediments to the type of change that Greens, independents, and other
third-party supporters claim to seek.

       We apologize to those NCN subscribers who already know this.
Unfortunately, the weakest link in the chain is always the
least-informed/most-confused person. In the interest of strengthening
our reform efforts, we feel it is important to refute the ubiquitous
Democratic and mainstream media propaganda that would have people
believe that the Democrats are anything but a political liability to
the country, and especially to those who claim to want fundamental
change.

       We ask our subscribers who have already come to this same conclusion
to pass these articles on to those who haven't yet grasped the larger
picture of electoral and political reform, and to their more
open-minded Democratic friends, who may begin to understand that their
party is a sinking ship that continues to drag the rest of us down with
it. The sooner we can free ourselves from the mindset that the
Democrats are the only option we have, the sooner new options can be
created.

       The Green Party *can* be such an option -- but only if the majority of
its members understand the role of third-parties and independents in
reforming American politics. If not, we and the country will continue
to suffer from a political "Groundhog Day" (the Bill Murray movie)
syndrome, in which we continue to do the same things over and over
again and achieve the same results. Voting Democratic is like that.
We've tried it a bunch of times, and the result is always the same. The
Democrats may reform themselves, and they may not, but we don't really
care -- we're building and supporting alternative parties no matter
what they do or don't do.

       Real change requires *altering* one's usual choices or pattern of
behavior; you don't lose weight by eating the same amounts of the same
foods and doing the same amount of exercise that led you to become
overweight in the first place. Anyone who thought that the Democrats --
and John "Gore II" Kerry -- represented change weren't looking at the
big picture. Keep your eyes on the prize, and don't believe the
Democratic and mainstream media hype.

       Best wishes in the new year,

NCN