The Green Party is the left party most successful at gaining ballot access across the country. It is unusual for a non-duopoly formation to be on the ballot in more than 40 states. That success is indicative of its platform’sappeal to millions of people who vote for them whenever they are given the chance. There is no other party with a national reach demanding independence for Puerto Rico, the abolition of the electoral college, nuclear disarmament, constitutional protection of the right to vote, the right to health care, an Ecosocialist Green New Deal, and cutting the military budget in half.
Because its policy positions are popular, the Greens have become the scapegoats for democrats’ failure and treachery. If a democrat loses a close presidential election as in 2000 and 2016, when they were deprived of an electoral college victory, the Greens were blamed. It doesn’t matter if the loss was caused by putative democrats voting for the republican candidate or because the democrats failed in their get-out-the-vote efforts, or because their allegiance to weapons manufacturers, big pharma, big banks, and rich donors makes it impossible to respond to the popular will. Their grift only works if they pretend to be progressive and pretend not to be under the thumb of the oligarchs who run the country.
Of course, the democrats could dismiss the Green Party threat by simply supporting at least some aspects of their platform. But given the true nature of US politics, that seemingly simple act is impossible for them to carry out. Subverting the Green Party, a truly progressive party is their only option.
One wouldn’t know this of course because every four years the democrats whine and complain about a small party that should not be a problem for them at all. But their refusal to carry out even a little of what the........