I’m sure we’re winning
With each election cycle the establishment parties fight harder and harder to suppress alternatives, to maintain their duopolistic dominance of our electoral system. I feel certain that their more and more extreme efforts are an indication that they can see the writing on the wall.
News is globalized these days and Americans have constant exposure to the situation in other countries: five significant electoral choices in France, six in Germany, four in England, five in Italy. Sometimes liberals win, sometimes conservatives, sometimes socialists, sometimes nationalists. Greens get to participate in governmental coalitions.
Just Humphrey and Nixon? Just Gore and Bush? Just Biden and Trump? Just, only Democrats and Republicans? In all polling done on this issue voters say they wish they had more choices. And so the Dems and Reps see the writing on the wall. And so they keep circling the wagons and getting more aggressive in their suppression efforts.
We’re currently petitioning in New Jersey to get Jill Stein onto the November ballot. It’s hard work. It’s a dreary thought that the Democrats will hire a bank of lawyers and spend thousands of dollars to try to find some technicality to challenge our petition and knock us off the ballot. But they won’t ultimately suppress the growth of our alternative party or others. We are steadfast in our goal of opening up the American electoral system. Surely a hundred years from now the U.S. electorate won’t still be suffering from the limitation of “only Dems and Reps.”
When we say this we hear, every four years like clockwork: “But this election, this year, is particularly critical.” In fact, believe me (doing this since 1996), every four years we hear: “This is the most important election of our lifetime. Why don’t you take time to build up your party (and refrain from spoiling this time)?” Every four years we have to keep pointing out that there’s a constituency for our distinctive Green program; there are voters who want to see a Green on their ballot and would just stay home if we didn’t offer a candidate; we’ve been working for decades for the implementation of Ranked Choice voting; we’re persisting and we’re enduring, we’re not going away.
If, a hundred years from now, the U.S. electorate won’t still be suffering from the limitation of “only Dems and Reps” well, no one knows if the breakthroughs toward ending the domination of the duopoly will happen soon or in the medium term or in the long term. Our job is to work consistently toward the key breakthroughs. One could take place in 2024. Or 2028 or 2032. The establishment parties are taking us more and more seriously; they’re fighting against us harder and harder. But I feel sure that we’ll win the long-term, overarching campaign to give voters more choice.
