GREENS: DEMOCRATS' ENEMIES OR PARTNERS?
Rather than taking cheap shots at Ralph Nader and belittling the beliefs the efforts and beliefs of Greens, perhaps the Democratic leaders might decide to work WITH the Greens to defeat Bush in 2004. Several months ago, I proposed a Democrat-Green coalition arrangement in which the Greens would not run a presidential candidate in 2004. In exchange, Greens would be named, in the case of a Democratic victory against President Bush, to head the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Health & Human Services and/or Interior Departments. That way the two parties would work together their common desire to prevent four more years for the radical Bush administration but would go some way to ensuring that a progressive agenda would be advanced at least to a certain degree. I've yet to hear anyone else propose or even comment upon such an arrangement, which is the norm in most other western countries. Hopefully the Democrats will stop whining about 2000 and scapegoating Nader and his followers long enough to realize that getting rid of Bush is in the interests of both parties. And the country.

An example of what might be done is occuring in Vermont.Vermont Public Radio reports that "Democratic and Progressive Party leaders say they're interested in working together on certain legislative and statewide races during the 2004 election," thus assuring that two progressive-minded candidates don't split the vote.

Importantly, Vermont Progressive Party Chairwoman Martha Abbott noted Given that we've established ourselves in the last few years as a real force in Vermont politics, we certainly hope that it works both ways and that the places where the Progressive Party is strong and has strong candidates that Democrats will respect that and not run against us as well. It's very important that it be a two-way street and not a one-way street.

Hopefully, the national Democrats will realize that the Green Party isn't going to disappear between now and November 2004. If the Democrats start treating Greens as a partner to work with rather than a scapegoat to demonize (which is easier than looking in the mirror), perhaps they might unify to advance a progressive agenda in America. If the Democrats do not realize this, we might be stuck with four more years of reckless "bring it on" neo-conservativism. Or more.