Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently made headlines for calling perennial Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein “predatory” and “not serious.” AOC is right.

Giving voters more choices is a good thing for democracy. But third-party politics isn’t performance art. It’s hard work — which Stein is not doing. As AOC observed: “[When] all you do is show up once every four years to speak to people who are justifiably pissed off, but you’re just showing up once every four years to do that, you’re not serious.”

To be clear: AOC was not critiquing third parties as a whole, or the idea that we need more choices in our democracy. In fact, AOC specifically cited the Working Families Party as an example of an effective third party. The organization I lead, MoveOn, supports their 365-day-a-year efforts to build power for a pro-voter, multi-party system. And I understand third parties’ power to activate voters hungry for alternatives: I myself volunteered for Ralph Nader in 2000, and that experience helped shape my lifelong commitment to people-first politics.


Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    02 months ago

    The fact that you think an op-ed piece is relevant to this discussion shows how you lack the maturity to even be a part of it.

    The Green Party is pointless. And the fact that it remains so even with people like you trying to prop it up- exemplifies that.

    We’re done here.

    • @TokenBoomer
      link
      12 months ago

      There are ways to end a discussion without belittling others and hurling insults. We live in a society after all.

        • @TokenBoomer
          link
          12 months ago

          Being right doesn’t justify animosity.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            02 months ago

            It’s funny how you accuse liberals of everything you can throw at them, call them names, and insult them on the regular- then switch at all to being a victim when it serves to make you appear to be on the high road.

            I hope you don’t think anyone buys it.

            • @TokenBoomer
              link
              12 months ago

              I’m not a victim. Just as flawed as everyone else. I do fall into emotional reactionary patterns. But I try to be aware of it, and learn. I don’t hate individuals, just the ideology.

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                English
                02 months ago

                You’ll forgive me if I refuse to look past the shit ton of removals and bans you’ve had for incivility and trolling, while you casually try and pretend to take the high road here.

                • @TokenBoomer
                  link
                  1
                  edit-2
                  2 months ago

                  Don’t look to others (hypocritical moderators) to discern the truth, decide for yourself. I’m not voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party. Her interview with Mehdi Hasan was lacking consistency . But the slander and misrepresentation of third parties greatly disturbs me. I understand the desire to elect Harris to prevent Trump, but this smear campaign is at the expense of the truth, and only serves to limit the possibility of future third parties.

                  • @[email protected]
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    02 months ago

                    When an actual third party candidate decides to spend every year between elections doing the work to earn a vote- I’ll take them seriously.

                    But I’ve yet to ever see one do anything but show up at the eleventh hour with a bunch of speak-a-lot-yet-say-nothing rhetoric that only serves to divide votes.