Putting George W. Bush into the White House by voting for Ralph Nader may be better for the long-term United States democracy than if Al Gore wins the presidency. Both Democrats and Republicans will be shaken by the impact of a high vote for Nader, and they will know it comes from a mix of Democrat and Republican voters.
A big vote for Nader will force either a Republican or Democrat president to respond to the Green Party agenda.
The small, but significant, number of votes for the One Nation Party in Australia in 1998 sent a message (not the correct one, unfortunately) to both the major parties, which affected their policy positions post-election.
A 5 percent or 7 percent vote for Nader will prod American political discourse along; a 10 percent vote will create a mini-revolution.
And although four years seems like a long time, the next election could see two or three very different parties contesting the presidency if you give the Green Party and its values legitimacy in this election. Good luck.
