Eanna

My high school social studies teacher had a theory about the function of a third party in the context of the American predominantly two-party system, since its cnadidate can't realistically expect to win. His thesis was that the third party permitted the introduction of ideas into the political discourse that would not otherwise make it to the surface within the long-established parties, due either to intra-party beauracracy or the us-vs-them mindset of binary politics; not only the introduction of these ideas, but a deomonstration of public support for them that the major parties would be foolish to ignore.

The Dems apparently are infamiliar with this theory; instead they've attempted to win back the hearts of disaffected Arizona progressives by removing the Green candidate from the official presidential ballot this fall. How sweet, and yet ineffective. So far as I know write-in candidates are still legal. Those voters who really support Nader will simply write his name in, and those who want merely to express a None of the Above vote will exercise the time-honored Arizona tradition of voting Libertarian.

Me? I'm just pissed that any party assumes they own my vote.
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