Why is There Even a Green Party?

[Oneironaut]

This is something I’ve never understood - What is the point of having a party that:

A - Never wins elections
B - Actually hurts their agenda by stealing votes away from Democratic candidates, giving anti-environmentalists a greater chance of winning?

Wouldn’t they have more success running as Democrats instead? I don’t get it.

[brooklynite]

1. For a handful of people, politics is a crusade, not a strategy...

[Fullduplexxx]

2. To water down the dem vote

[world wide wally]

3. All they ever seem to run for is President.

People can't figure out this is another Republican scam?

[Garrett78]

20. There are nearly 150 Green Party officeholders, to say nothing of all those who ran and lost.

Sorry, but the notion that The Green Party is a Republican scam is utterly absurd.

[Demsrule86]

4. There is a Green Party to help elect Republicans...buy dividing the Progressive vote. The

slimeballs like Stein...take all sorts of funding from the GOP and maybe the Russians...and fool a bunch of folks who should know better. They should change their name...Green -my Ass...they are nothing of the sort.

[shanny]

5. Because democracy.

[tonedevil]

6. The first...

correct answer in this thread.

[Orrex]

11. If by "correct answer" you mean "non-answer," then you're spot on.

Because that non-answer completely misses the point of the question.

[shanny]

21. I beg to differ.

Green Party voters don't think the Democrats represent their views, so they have their own party. They may be wrong in that, but they are entitled to their opinion, and their vote. Because democracy.

[Oneironaut]

9. Im not saying they shouldnt be allowed. Im questioning why they dont join the Democratic Party.

As in, if your existence actually makes it harder for your agenda to come to fruition, why exist? Why not put candidates in Democratic primaries instead?

[infidel621]

12. Can't/don't want to

because they don't tow the party line on every issue.

[MrScorpio]

7. What's funny is, that in Europe, govts are parliamentary and the Greens join into LW coalitions...

While here in America, all they do is piss on Democrats and try to steal our votes and giving GOPrs bigger margins.

Hence, why in America, they're completely fucking useless.

[hunter]

19. To the "democracy" reply above, this is the correct answer.

We don't have a parliamentary system like Europe.

Here in the U.S.A. responsible "green" activism can only exist as coalitions and other political relationships WITHIN the Democratic party.

[shanny]

22. Funny thing is, the Democratic Party has spent a lot of time and effort

spurning the ("effing retarded" quoth Rahm) voters of the further left (I won't say "far left" because they aren't). The last election was a case in point: Tim Kaine--really? Way to reach out to the further left and mend party divisions.

Further left voters don't seem to think they are being heard, so they try to Talk Louder. Seems fair to me.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Third party splitters in paperless evoting allow votes to be shifted from dems

To greens in tight races. Rove used this a lot.

[NCTraveler]

10. There has to be and it's importance can't be diminished.

It is a bit easy to say this today as the Democratic Party has gone left to the point that any leftward opposition is marginalized. There is no room for a solid party to the left of the Democrats in this country. That only occurred because there is a green party. I love that the Democratic Party has fairly and by way of policy positions marginalized the Greens into a state of almost non-existence.

That is also why the Greens of today carry a lot of baggage and only show support from those of highly questionable character.

[Blue_Tires]

13. The real question is why are the Greens

spending infinitely more time and effort attacking/tearing down fellow Dems than they are Donald Trump? Why did they *completely* abandon their environmental platform, which used to be their reason for being?

Once we get the answers for those questions, we'll know everything...

[Scurrilous]

14. To trick hippies.

[Lil Missy]

15. To make sure a Republican wins. n/t

[NurseJackie]

16. Vanity. As a vehicle for a prideful and judgemental crusade...

... on a national level, their only "power" is as a spoiler that ONLY benefits the candidate and party that is (supposedly) the exact opposite of what they claim to want.

NO WONDER THE GOP GIVES THEM SO MUCH MONEY!!!

[dalton99a]

17. Green definitely complements red in this case

makes things more festive, ya know

[Binkie The Clown]

18. It's a refuge for snobs who think they are too good for us mere mortals. nt

[L. Coyote]

23. Because Republicans keep pumping just enough money into it.

I only have one question, Why is it even necessary to explain that?

[snooper2]

24. Because they think it is hip and don't want to be associated with the Socialist Party of USA

Which doesn't make sense..if you are going to go full socialist do it don't go half-ass...