The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Maximus:

...I don't think "the power of the existing duopoly" is going to be reduced short of signifiant constitutional changes. I further think an enormous amount of progressive energy has been wasted over the years trying to build third parties.

I agree that supporting third parties can be a waste of energy, and that making the Dems more progressive is the best strategy. I like fusion voting because it allows for doing both.

Ultimately I'd like to see proportional representation instituted in more states and localities. This is the system used in some European countries, where in essence you cast multiple votes. You can allocate all of them to one candidate, or you can split them among multiple candidates. And each district sends multiple representatives to the legislature.

This would mean that, say, a 2/3 Republican, 1/3 Democrat Congressional district would be able to send 2 Repubs and 1 Dem to Congress, instead of totally disenfranchising its Democratic voters, as happens under the current "winner-take-all" system.

It would also mean that third parties would become truly viable. A place like NYC or Berkeley could send a Green or two to Congress along with their Democrats. (We'd no doubt see some fringe rightist parties achieve electoral success as well.)

PR can be instituted without changing the Constitution. In fact I think it already exists in one or two localities in California.

The WFP almost singlehandedly got NY state's minimum wage raised recently.

I agree that their endorsement of Spano was ill-considered. But writing off the entire party for this one act seems a little precipitous.

One could as easily write off the entire Democratic party because some Democrats voted for the Iraq War, which enabled the criminal actions of the Bush administration. Where do you draw the line?

I'm voting for Eliot Spitzer on the WFP line, in order to strengthen a progressive third party and reduce the power of the existing duopoly.

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