Election Year Blues as a 3rd Partier

As another election season ramps up, I once again dread the campaign literature that will soon be flooding my mailbox from the Democratic party. Why? During the last presidential election cycle, I gave more to John Kerry's campaign and the Democratic National Committee than I've given to political candidates every election prior combined. And what did I get for it? A losing candidate, a bunch of letters addressed to "Fellow Democrats" and far too many post-election pleas for money not so cleverly disguised as Democratic Membership cards.

What gives me the right to complain over any other depressed Democrat? One search of the voter rolls would have revealed that not only am I a registered Green, but I've never been a Democrat (I've always been "Decline to State").

So what's the deal? Are the Democrats so arrogant that they simply can't conceive of other liberal political parties? Or are they just so lazy that they can't be bothered to reach out honestly to fellow progressives? To all those Greens who recognized the legitimate threat of Bush and his cronies enough to work on the Kerry campaign? Let's face it – there's a war going on out there, and neither arrogance nor laziness is going to reign victorious when all is said and done.

And here's the kicker – I'm just waiting for an excuse to join the Democrat Party. (No offense, Greens, but there is an appeal to a party that has a legitimate infrastructure.) But no, instead I get Hillary Clinton abortion speeches that use the same language as Bush's, Joe Biden and his lip service on the cable news channels (while his votes betray him) and John Kerry's lackluster support of third-party-forced recounts in Ohio. Could we get just one "thank you" for David Cobb, Michael Badnarik and all their supporters who tried their darndest to fulfill the "every vote counted" promise that John Edwards made on election night?

It's time all you Democrats woke up. In a post-11/2 world, us lefties have to stick together. Stop fighting us on IRV (Instant Runoff Voting) and ballot access. You need our help. The world has become too complex a place to sustain a two party system, and as long as the neo-cons are in power, America needs all the help it can get. If you really believe in what your party stands for, you'll respect our differences while working with us towards common goals. (It wouldn't kill the supposedly non-partisan MoveOn.org to promote or endorse a Green candidate every once in a while.) Here's an easy idea for starters – how about some letters addressed to "Fellow Citizens"?

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