Another reformed Naderite urges his fellow Greens to recognize the greater goal: ousting Bush.

Greens need to think about what they are doing. We are in a different situation now than in 2000. We are not faced with an unknown entity. We know exactly how the Bush administration runs things, and we need to stop them. In key states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, the Green vote could play a key role. Do you want to feel good because you voted for Ralph Nader or do you want to see somebody other than Bush in the White House?

Sure, if a Democrat wins, he or she won't be what you want and his or her policies will make you mad -- but at least they won't make you afraid. I agree that in order to break the cycle of two-party domination, somewhere along the line folks are just going to have to vote with their hearts and suffer the short-term consequences. But in this case, the short-term consequences could be disastrous. The voter revolution that began in the 2000 campaigns must be temporarily put on hold.

The time has come for all of us to grow up. Sometimes we can't vote for exactly whom we want. Sometimes we have to choose between two evils because by not doing so, we'll be saddled with the much worse option. Those are the kinds of choices that grownups have to make. To effectively not choose is the electoral equivalent of stamping your feet and sticking your thumb in your mouth. (emphasis mine)

(on paragraph 2, sentence 2, it may require systemic changes to break up the two-party system, including instituting proportional representation and/or instant runoff voting, and we wont anything like that in place next year)

link via bartcop