The US Green Party

[Jason]

They were on the ballot in most states. What is your opinion of them? They seemed more progressive than the two political parties. But of course, obviously a vote for them is a protest vote that makes no difference.

[Ostrinski]

I voted Green

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Bourgeois is bourgeois

[Let's Get Free]

Im going with another user on here and writing in Hugo Chavez.

[Prometeo liberado]

They refuse to call themselves socialist. They wish to manage capital and its effects on the ecology as well as vacillate on the question of Zionism. Any of this strike you as a worthwhile endeavor?

[the Left™]

Bourgeois is bourgeois

i always thought this attitude was completely useless. I mean lets be honest a legitimate multiparty political system would be a HUGE step towards political mobilization of a substantive left alternative.

[Ostrinski]

The Green Party is a bourgeois party but so are most Leninist parties lol

[TheGodlessUtopian]

i always thought this attitude was completely useless. I mean lets be honest a legitimate multiparty political system would be a HUGE step towards political mobilization of a substantive left alternative.

How so? Have other countries where such a system reigns had better modern left movements because of it?

[NGNM85]

Bourgeois is bourgeois

So, then, by your reasoning; we shouldn't worry ourselves with trivialities like gay rights, reproductive rights, or civil rights, in general, or things like labor unions, or the evironment. Brilliant.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

So, then, by your reasoning; we shouldn't worry ourselves with trivialities like gay rights, reproductive rights, or civil rights, in general, or things like labor unions, or the evironment. Brilliant.

The green Party is a bourgeois party, enough said. No one here is talking about anything relating to rights.

[Red Banana]

I don't really care of they openly call themselves Socialists, as long as the platform is left. Let's be honest people, in the US, calling themselves Socialists would amount to political suicide. People just don't like the word.

If you asked the average American worker "How would you like your community owning the factory you work at (or whatever other place you work) and you and your co workers democratically running it?" most would say they would like it, but if you asked "how would you like it if your workplace was socialized?" most would say they'd hate it because over the decades the corporate media has trained the general public to hate certain key words, like "socialism".

The fact is the Green Party is the only widely recognized party that has a clearly left oriented platform. Sure it's not a revolutionary openly socialist party, but it's the best most of us can get.

[Prometeo liberado]

I don't really care of they openly call themselves Socialists, as long as the platform is left. Let's be honest people, in the US, calling themselves Socialists would amount to political suicide. People just don't like the word.

If you asked the average American worker "How would you like your community owning the factory you work at (or whatever other place you work) and you and your co workers democratically running it?" most would say they would like it, but if you asked "how would you like it if your workplace was socialized?" most would say they'd hate it because over the decades the corporate media has trained the general public to hate certain key words, like "socialism".

The fact is the Green Party is the only widely recognized party that has a clearly left oriented platform. Sure it's not a revolutionary openly socialist party, but it's the best most of us can get.

If your standards are always kept low then you deserve to walk hunched over. I for one refuse to live looking like Quasimodo and feeling like Kunta Kinte'. You have a right to expect, no, demand something better and using that old "well this is America" bullshit won't get you anywhere. In fact what the fuck are all of us doing here if that type of thinking is true? I ain't buying it and you shouldn't be selling it.

[NGNM85]

The green Party is a bourgeois party, enough said.

...if the question being asked is; 'Is the Green party a 'Bourgeois party'?" Then; yes. If not, then; no.

No one here is talking about anything relating to rights.

No, you're just too thick to make the connection. There are differences, in some cases minor, in some cases substantial, policy differences, between the 'bourgois' parties. That's just an obvious, empirical fact, which, to be fair, you haven't disputed. What you said was; 'bourgeois is bourgeois.' The point being that there is simply no point in differentiating between bourgois parties, that there is no meaningful qualitative difference that we should care about. Therefore; there's no reason why we should prefer a candidates, or policies that protect gay rights, or reproductive rights, etc., etc., over ones that limit gay rights, or reproductive rights, etc. Provided we accept this proposition; we would also, inevitably, conclude that the Civil Rights movement, etc., was all a colossal waste of time, and energy.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

All bourgeois candidates are essentially the same.They defend the same interests with only minor differences in social-policies. You can prefer whatever candidate you want but the base line result will remain unchanged: capitalism will still function and oppression will still reign. And the civil rights movement didn't abolish racism so it still had a lot of work to do before it concluded; a premature end while still stuck with reformist leadership.

[NGNM85]

I don't really care of they openly call themselves Socialists, as long as the platform is left. Let's be honest people, in the US, calling themselves Socialists would amount to political suicide. People just don't like the word.

If you asked the average American worker "How would you like your community owning the factory you work at (or whatever other place you work) and you and your co workers democratically running it?" most would say they would like it, but if you asked "how would you like it if your workplace was socialized?" most would say they'd hate it because over the decades the corporate media has trained the general public to hate certain key words, like "socialism".

The fact is the Green Party is the only widely recognized party that has a clearly left oriented platform. Sure it's not a revolutionary openly socialist party, but it's the best most of us can get.

Half credit. The Green party is one of the furthest Left, or most Left parties in American politics. (Although, to be fair, you aren't the only one who struggles with this concept.)

No; it isn't the best we can presently get, because the Green Party hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell of winning anything. They don't have any seats in congress, they haven't a single governorship, and they have zero seats in any of the state legislatures. None.

[NGNM85]

All bourgeois candidates are essentially the same.They defend the same interests with only minor differences in social-policies. You can prefer whatever candidate you want but the base line result will remain unchanged: capitalism will still function and oppression will still reign. And the civil rights movement didn't abolish racism so it still had a lot of work to do before it concluded; a premature end while still stuck with reformist leadership.

Alright; so my characterization of your position is completely correct. Fuck abortion, fuck gay rights, fuck the welfare state, fuck the unions; it's all irrelevent. That's exactly what I thought you were saying; and I reiterate my contention that that is total bullshit, for reasons that should be (but probably aren't) painfully obvious.

I never claimed the Civil Rights movement abolished racism. I implied that the Civil Rights movement has acheieved many great things, and that any Radical worth their salt should recognize that, and support that.

[the Left™]

How so? Have other countries where such a system reigns had better modern left movements because of it?

Yes actually. Indian democracy uses a multiparty plurality system. They also have one of the largest communist parties in the world, and other 3rd parties with some vitality because the INC is seen as very corrupt(also Indira Gandhi's political legacy didnt help). Once Indian politics became more open and the INC wasnt viewed as the "one major party", which dominated much of indian political history, coalition parties were made the like the BJP coalition(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayaprakash_Narayan)

[TheGodlessUtopian]

The concepts you are coming at are completely irrelevant to the conversation at hand.Never have I said anything about labor, woman rights and queer rights and so on.I make a comment about how the Green Party is bourgeois and you go ape-shit and drag in this whole tirade about rights.Weird.

Have fun barking in the dark.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Yes actually. Indian democracy uses a multiparty plurality system. They also have one of the largest communist parties in the world, and other 3rd parties with some vitality because the INC is seen as very corrupt(also Indira Gandhi's political legacy didnt help). Once Indian politics became more open and the INC wasnt viewed as the "one major party", which dominated much of indian political history, coalition parties were made the like the BJP coalition(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayaprakash_Narayan)

This is still talking in electoral politics, however; reformism and social-democracy. Has this system enhanced peoples grassroots movements or the Naxalite movement?

[Red Banana]

If your standards are always kept low then you deserve to walk hunched over. I for one refuse to live looking like Quasimodo and feeling like Kunta Kinte'. You have a right to expect, no, demand something better and using that old "well this is America" bullshit won't get you anywhere. In fact what the fuck are all of us doing here if that type of thinking is true? I ain't buying it and you shouldn't be selling it.

Look, I don't know what the ballot looks like in your state, but in mine Jill Stein and the Green Party are the only left of center option I've seen yet. Now I don't expect her or any other third party candidate to win, but it doesn't matter, it's just a protest vote.

Besides, I don't care who you vote for, they can be the most revolutionary leftie in the world, voting and elections won't bring about socialism so there's no reason to get all frustrated about who's the best candidate to lose an election for the executive position of the worlds leading capitalist imperialist state.

What it boils down to is this: of the options presented before me, Jill Stein and the Green Party are the best I've got. If there are better parties and better candidates on the ballot where you live, by all means vote for them, I probably would too, but unfortunately that's just not what my situation is now.

But I will also let this be known, the Green Party has gained more ground nationally than any other left of center party in recent years. And if it's success continues it could prove to be a useful tool for those of us on the left, at least when it comes to electoral politics. There are a lot of Socialists out there who just don't know it yet.