Photo: Joe Futrelle

This isn't a fun election. Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and the vast majority of other DC Democrats have horribly betrayed queers, non Christians, liberals, union members, the poor, peace activists, and everyone who doesn't have an income of at least $500,000 a year. The teabagging Republicans are much worse in terms of rhetoric, but the Democrats are almost as bad in terms of actual policy.

It's enough to make anyone feel like staying home.

If voting Democratic seems too futile, too cowardly, too much like rewarding the people who have their boots on your throat, then there is an alternative. Vote Green!

I'm not going to lie and say that the Greens are going to win this year. However, there are definite advantages to voting Green over staying at home. Democratic politicians figure their base won't vote in off year elections, so they might as well not do anything to offend wealthy donors. They haven't figured out yet that pandering to wealthy interests is one of the main reasons why the Democratic base gets so understandably demoralized.

If you stay home and don't vote, this will reinforce the stupid and self defeating mindset of the Democratic political establishment. On the other hand, if you vote Green, you will show that there are voters on the left who are fed up and are willing to make it clear how fed up they are. By voting Green, you help to create a constituency of voters on the left that the Democrats will need to appeal to.

Voting Green offers other long term benefits. Building an alternative to the Demopublicans and the Republicrats is the best hope of getting the voting public out of the Catch 22 that elections have become these days.