And The Green Horse Posts Up!

Wow. So, Ralph Nader has decided to launch another shot at the Presidency.

I'm not sure how I feel about Nader and the Greens at any given moment. I think everybody needs to be more environmentally aware and more concerned about labor issues than they are right now. They can either ignore it now or have the issue hit them hard later. But I always feel a little let down by the lack of any real planning on the Greens' part to make the solutions to their issues happen. I'm the kind of voter who needs a clear step by step idea of what's going to happen. Politicians rarely give that to me.

I'm NOT the kind of voter who thinks that Nader is a "spoiler." Anybody who wants to run should be allowed to present their platform. I do think it hurts the Democrat vote, but the greater purpose of building momentum for 3rd party tickets is more important. I think we'd do a lot better as a country if we didn't have such a two party stranglehold on the system (which is really more like the same party with different salad dressing choices). I also think that the more 3rd party candidates make a bid for political seats that it's valuable, because that ties into the support and money they get for the next time around. I wonder if I'll ever see a fully viable 3rd party candidate in my lifetime. I think Ross Perot actually came the closest to being viable. Michael Bloomberg may still run.

One thing a third party candidate does for certain is force their platforms into the public consciousness. That's pretty vital to shifting the center of politics. The other candidates may not full embrace the ideas of third party candidates, but they are at least forced to account for them. Which almost always causes policy to shift. That's pretty invaluable in itself.

-- Virgil