Tiffany Anderson: I am the progressive Wisconsin needs as lieutenant governor (Madison.ocm)

[u/SymbioticPatriotic]

https://madison.com/ct/tiffany-anderson-i-am-the-progressive-wisconsin-needs-as-lieutenant/article_5bd43473-ba51-5512-9eaf-23aca6622545.html

[u/SymbioticPatriotic → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for your question. You may not be aware, but there are already 161 Green Party officeholders elected to offices (mostly local, but some state offices too) across the country.

http://www.gp.org/officeholders

The only level of office the Green Party doesn't have an officeholder in is the federal level, but we have several races this November mid-term where we are competitive in that regard. In California's 'top two' ballot system (in a primary open to all parties, only the top two vote getters go to the November ballot), there are three Green Party congressional candidates that made it to the final ballot: Kenneth Mejia and Rodolfo Cortes Barragan in Los Angeles, and Laura Wells in Oakland-Berkeley.

[u/LiberalArtsAndCrafts]

You write this whole article and you only mention non specific "electoral reform" in passing?
GTFO.
If you want third parties with any real shot at winning, then you need to pass voting system reform first. If I can only vote for one person, then it's going to be someone who can actually win, to prevent someone truly awful from winning. So long as we have FPTP, you're a spoiler, and you're not even using your platform to spread knowledge of electoral reforms like STAR Voting and why they matter. This should be front and center on every single third party candidates platform, it should be mentioned in every interview you can get, you should be hosting parties where your supporters call candidates and representatives asking them about their stance on voting system reform. You should be getting volunteers to canvass asking people if they know about voting system reform and why it matters, and gathering signatures to get it passed for some local elections, you should be making signs and attending rallies for Democratic and Republican candidates to spread the word among their supporters. Thinking that in one election you'll move from getting 0-3% to getting 35%+ and somehow beat both major parties is a total pipe dream, and if you perform incredibly well, getting 5-10% of the vote, all you'll accomplish is more Republican rule, which does far FAR more harm to the environment, and civil rights, and the economic prospects of marginalized people, than the small extra boost of publicity such a failed run would achieve, and next election, everyone burned by voting for a candidate that ultimately just spoiled the election for the better major party candidate will once again abandon you to vote for Dems. So start pushing, every day, for voting system reform or I'll continue dismissing you as either actively opposing the policies you claim to champion, or just too blind to see the effect you'll have.

[u/riverwestein → u/LiberalArtsAndCrafts]

This exactly.

Greens and other third parties need to organize and work on taking what Maine has done with Ranked Choice voting to other states (STAR is also great).

We're lucky Maine decided to implement Ranked Choice statewide, and uphold it via referendum against attacks from Governor LePage. It serves as an example that alternative methods of voting can and do work without the threat of confusion at the ballot box that such systems are often attacked with.

Only by getting rid of First Past the Post do third parties have a realistic chance of competing, because our current system is built for two-party rule, and as much as I hate seeing establishment-friendly Dems winning (I used to be an unapologetic litmus-test progressive), in our current climate there's zero sense in risking spoilers and letting Republicans gain more power. It's downright dangerous with the actions and rhetoric currently sweeping the Right.

Even if establishment Dems have helped to push the Overton window to the right over the years, corporate Dems are a lot more likely to bend to progressive political will than Republicans (see Cuomo changing his stance on numerous issues in the face of Cynthia Nixon's candidacy). Republican reps will just cover their ears and insist their positions are that of the silent majority, despite everything polls show when you go issue by issue.

Also, Mandela Barnes is a good progressive. If nothing else, you're running against the wrong candidate.

[u/LiberalArtsAndCrafts → u/riverwestein]

Thank you! Also big agreement on Barnes, he's great.