The Post I Really Hoped I Wouldn't Have to Write

This wasn't supposed to happen again. At the very least it shouldn't have happened before the conventions. It's that time of the election season again The third party kook of the year throws his hat into the ring. I use kook in the nicest possible way. For the most part these are or at least were at one time perfectly reasonable candidates that have decided to eschew the two major parties. Generally they claim this is a principled stance. They say that the two major parties are corrupt and that only an outside influence can save Washington. I'm fairly certain that they're delusional. Modern third party candidates seem to have been born with both a messiah and a martyr complex. They feel it is their duty to change everything and that only they can save us from the two party system. They also feel that the only way to save us is to stand alone and die (at least politically) for their cause.

Personally I find it is generally more productive to actually be in a position to effect change than to make a principled stand. Making a stand on principles has a place. In order for it to be effective there has to be someone to take up your cause for you. The whole point of a principled stand is to set yourself up for failure and, in the process, propel your ideals into power.

Nader has once again decided to run, thus dashing my hopes for a reasonable 3rd party candidate. (Not that I would've voted for them, but it would've been interesting to write about.) Nader is running on the platform (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'Get off my lawn you whippersnappers!' Now there's probably more to his platform than that but honestly I don't care that much. He can claim to be a serious candidate all he wants, and there was probably even a time when that was true, but that time has long since passed.

I'm not one of those who blames Nader for Gore losing in Florida in 2000. Had Nader not run, Gore probably would have won the state, but, if Gore had been a stronger candidate Nader wouldn't have made a difference. I am however tired of his soapbox. There are few things that annoy me more than people who adamantly refuse to help change what they complain about. Nader shows up every four years and complains about corruption and environmentalism then drops back off the radar. I'm sure he's keeping busy with charitable works and all that, but if he cares enough about the political scene in Washington he should make an effort to get there. Running for Governor, or the Senate, or the House of Representatives would be a start in taking his message out of the realm of idealism and into the realm of action.

This is the general problem third party candidates (and their staunch supporters) always seem to have. Instead of building a base of support, working their way through the lower levels of government, they try to shoot the moon and hope a base fills in underneath them. They never seem to understand that they can't overcome governmental inertia by sheer force of will. Most of these third parties aren't unreasonable; they could build that base; but no one has the patience for it. When everyone demands their specific changes immediately none of the changes get made. Compromise and patience may not be the most appealing answers, but it's the only way to make actual progress.