I live in Kansas, a state where Trump won twice by about 200,000 votes. Due to the winner take all system, every Dem voter is effectively disenfranchised when it comes to the presidential vote. That's why I will probably vote for Jill Stein, even though I'd rather vote for Cornel West, because the Greens simply have a better organizing foundation.
Every progressive voter should be encouraged to vote Green in Deep Red and Blue states because we're wasting our vote otherwise, plus if the Greens get to 5% nationally they'll get matching funds. Seeing a huge shift to the Greens in several states would start to chip away at the self-reinforcing feedback loop of "the Greens can't even break 5% so there's no point in voting for them" problem.
That said, I'm pretty disappointed with Stein's campaign. They just keep following the same strategy every election hoping for different results while accusing progressives who vote Democrat of doing the same thing. How many elections over how many decades have we had a situation where third parties can't break more than 1-3%? Yet the Greens just keep promoting the fantasy that “if only people voted for us we'd win.” I'm sorry but that's just hopelessly pie-in-the-sky. If Bernie Sanders can't even get enough votes to win in the Democratic primaries, how in the hell is a third party going to have any shot? We simply don't have the numbers yet.
The biggest problem is Stein continues to alienate huge numbers of potential supporters by not being honest about her chances of winning while also running in swing states. Her playing the potential role of spoiler and not caring if she helps Trump angers tons of people who value material impacts over what sadly amounts to virtue signaling.
She could have far more success and support if she simply said she's not trying to win and is just trying to break 5%, so don't vote for her in swing states. Critically, she should focus on deep red and blue states that aren't contested and shoot for breaking 5% of the vote.
That could unify a lot of folks because there's so many states where our vote on Harris is wasted anyway (like Kansas). If she encouraged Dems and progressives to just vote for her in Deep Red and Blue states, she could potentially get 5% *and* not risk Trump winning, which means both Democrats and Greens win. That communication strategy could unify liberal and progressive voters and create an alliance that has them working together rather than in bitter opposition. Stein voters would agree to vote Harris in swing states and Democrats would agree to vote Stein in the 38 solid Red and Blue States.
Instead her strategy turns tons of people off from their campaign because it seems driven more by purity politics than sound strategy. They actively disregard the understandable concerns of people who don't want to hand the country to Trump because they voted for someone guaranteed to lose.
Material impacts matter to folks, and we want a grounded, no-nonsense strategy that unifies the left rather than tears it apart.
If Stein and Harris voters work to propose this voter strategy to everyone they know, perhaps it could catch on and the fate of the election could swing in both Green and Democrat voter's favor. I'd love to see Stein break 5% and I'd love to see Trump lose too. We're more likely to get neither if the left stays divided.
Green-Blue alliance: the time is now!
Vote Green in Red and Blue States.
Vote Blue in Swing States!
Tim Hjersted is the director and co-founder of Films For Action, an online library for people who want to change the world. He lives in Lawrence, KS.
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