Why I’m Voting Third Party

I should probably preface this by pointing out that I live in a state where it’s practically impossible for a Democratic Party candidate for President to lose. The last time a Democrat lost New York was in 1984 (the actual year, not the dystopian Orwell novel) when Walter Mondale lost everything except Washington, DC and his home state of Minnesota to the B-movie actor Ronald Reagan.

So it’s entirely possible that I’m only taking this position because I don’t have to face some moral dilemma over what might happen if too many New Yorkers, including myself, voted for a third-party candidate instead of  Obama. I’d like to think that if I lived in Ohio or Florida or Virginia or some place like that I would be consistent in my principles. But I can’t really know that for sure unless I were actually in that position, and I’m just not that interested in testing that by moving out-of-state to find out.

Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein on Alternative Medicine

Jill Stein is the Green Party’s Presidential candidate, having beaten Roseanne Barr for the nomination back in July. While the party might not ever regain the popularity lost from its perceived role in costing Al Gore the 2000 election, this is definitely a turn in the right direction. The last two GP Presidential candidates were extremely embarrassing for those of us in the party who aren’t deluded cranks or spineless wimps. Cynthia McKinney (2008) was a 9/11 truther conspiracy nut. David Cobb (2004) ran on a ‘safe states’ strategy designed to promote the party while allowing John Kerry to still win enough votes to beat George W Bush’s re-election bid. The strategy failed miserably at achieving both goals.