Voted Green here in BC.

Greens if elected would inaugurate 'proportional
representation' which would end the bickering and majority
rule defeats....ProRep is well established in Europe. Few
democracies lack Pro Rep: the US and Canada.

It is the New Europe versus the Old Americans

john foster



Subject: Fwd: FW: How did we get here? Green party politics.


well, this is one viewpoint anyway.  :-(    It would be
interesting
to consider the environmental ethics of green "protest"
voting.  fyi
and fwiw.
jt

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4087163,00.html It's
sectarian
idiocy: US elections Ralph Nader's maverick candidacy is
causing
splits and recriminations among American liberals

http://www.sfbg.com/News/36/07/07oggrn.html  "The American
people
will never forgive the Green Party for electing George W.
Bush," he
said.

http://asweb.unco.edu/latina/BOOKS/gorras_blancas.htm "The
most
significant and damaging contribution of the Green Party of
New
Mexico has been to get Republicans elected. Their actions
have had a
damaging impact on people of color."

http://mhintze.tripod.com/issues/old/election2000/default.ht
m "But
most importantly, a vote for Ralph Nader is a vote for
George Bush.
The Christian Coalition, the NRA and big polluters would
just love to
see lots of liberals and moderates voting for Nader.  The
race
between Gore and Bush is far too close for right-thinking
people to
squander their votes on a candidate that cannot win.  If you
don't
care about a woman's right to choose, if you don't care
about
protecting the environment, if you don't care about sensible
controls
on guns, if you don't care about maintaining a good economy,
then go
ahead and cast your "protest" vote.  But realize that you
may be
directly responsible for 4 or more years of a George W. Bush
presidency.  Don't underestimate the damage that he could
do."

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemId=9670
"After all
these months of Nader dancing around the question of whether
a "vote
for Nader is a vote for Bush," or "if it matters which
candidate wins
the election," the Green Party's Cinderella-story
election -- in
which Ralph would get his 5 percent while Dubya loses,
barely --
finally had turned into the rottenest of Halloween pumpkins.
Bush was
president by a nose, 271-269, based on a margin in Florida
exponentially narrower than Nader's 90,000 or so votes
there, and the
Greens came home with a terribly disappointing 3 percent."

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemId=8499
Nader's Texas two-step
Greens will 'decide the election,' he warns, while appealing
to
Democrats to give him their 'wasted' votes
"If Nader has a tangible effect in close races in states
such as
Missouri, Oregon and Michigan, it will be the Democratic
Party that
loses ... along with those who believe a Bush administration
would be
disastrous on issues like abortion rights."

http://prorev.com/greenpages.htm "Each Nader person has to
decide for
himself or herself which course is better for 2004:
supporting Nader
again or converging with Democratic progressives in the
Democratic
primaries. There are no guarantees. Both courses have grave
inherent
risks. The first runs the high risk of electing Bush; the
second, of
ending up with yet another corporate puppet as the
Democratic
nominee. But apart from the Bush policy and practice of
aggressive
warmaking, the disgrace of the corporate and financial
systems since
the collapse of Enron provides progressives with their best
political
opportunity since 1932."

http://www.progressive.org/rc1100.htm "Nader or Gore? That
is the
question for many progressives on their way into the voting
booth
November 7. Green Party Presidential candidate Ralph Nader
has been
traveling the country, making his case for breaking away
from the
Democrats and holding rallies outside the debates.
Meanwhile, Barney
Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, the Congressman known in
Washington
as the left's attack dog for his devastating confrontations
with the
right, has lately been on Nader's trail, warning voters that
they'll
be sorry if they don't support Al Gore. "

http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,39294,00.html Hundt:
Nader
Should Back Gore  by Reed Hundt
"Is this what Mr. Nader prefers? Join us, Ralph, in electing
the most
visionary leader our political process perhaps has ever
produced from
one of the two major parties. Help elect Al Gore the next
president
of the United States. "

http://www.sgn.org/2000/11/03/Letters/ Gore supports us "For
those of
you who are planning on voting for the Green Party
candidate, Ralph
Nader, consider this: you might as well cast your vote for
Republican
George W Bush. The argument Nader makes that there is no
difference
between Bush and Democrat Al Gore is ludicrous. On nearly
every
issue, and certainly all that the Gay and Lesbian community
really
care about, Bush opposes us and Al Gore supports us."

http://neighbors.designcommunity.com/notes/1070.html 1)
Strategic
Voting and the Nader Trader "Many folks are highly
principled in
their voting for Ralph Nader and believe that the voting of
a lesser
evil is still evil, but you can always look at this another
way and
realize that the pathway to hell is paved with the best of
intentions.
2) Sierra Club, Petitioners ask Nader to Stop in Swing
States
"Dear Ralph: Yesterday you sent me (and many other
environmentalists)
a long letter defending your candidacy and attacking "the
servile
mentality" of those of us in the environmental community who
are
supporting Vice-President Gore.... The heart of your letter
is the
argument that "the threat to our planet articulated by Bush
and his
ilk" can now be dismissed. But you offer no evidence for
this crucial
assertion. Based on the polls today Bush is an even bet to
become the
next President, with both a Republican Senate and a
Republican House
to accompany him."

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/alan_hale/hale1.html
"I'd like
to make a special plea to the supporters of Ralph Nader and
the Green
Party. As I stated a lot earlier, I believe in many of the
same
things you believe in. Al Gore may not embody as many of
these ideals
as you might like, but I believe that he is nevertheless
responsive
to what you say and will work together with you to
accomplish many of
the things we all would like. (For example, as I pointed out
earlier
he has been championing responsible management of the
environment for
as long as almost anyone.) I am quite certain, on the other
hand,
that George Bush will not be responsive to you, and will set
back
many of your desired goals, perhaps irreparably."
        "While you may not like to admit it, in our
winner-take-all
electoral system a vote for Ralph Nader is essentially a
vote for
George Bush. Even the Bush supporters know this, and I'm
sure you're
aware that they are airing advertisements containing
excerpts of
Ralph Nader's comments criticizing Al Gore (and conveniently
neglecting those comments critical of George Bush) so that
voters
will not vote for Gore. In effect, you are being used, to
accomplish
ends quite antithetical to the ideals you believe in. Please
do not
allow this to happen. I know this may be difficult for you
to do, and
under normal circumstances it would be almost criminal for
me to ask
except that these are not normal circumstances -- but if you
truly
believe in the ideals of the Green Party, I ask you to
please vote
for Al Gore. We cannot allow ourselves to be divided and
conquered."


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