>I do not claim great knowledge about third parties, but here in New
>York City there is the Working Families Party.
>
>>From their website I got the following:
>
>Unlike most other third parties, we think that constantly "spoiling"
>elections -- i.e. voting for third party candidates with no chance
>of winning -- is not a smart strategy. Too often, it pulls votes
>from a somewhat desirable candidate, causing the least desirable
>candidate to win. Using fusion, we support good candidates who can
>win, and use the number of votes we get for them on our line to
>exercise real power over the decisions they make once in office. And
>within party primaries (usually Democratic), we use our unbeatable
>grassroots organizing skills to make sure the better candidates win.
>
>I know this would be anathema to those who regard the Democratic
>Party as the devil's spawn, but I believe it is a smart way to
>leverage power. I think it both builds a party and influences the
>Democrats.
I used think the WFP was a fraud - and I still don't like their name - but then my friend, listmember Josh Mason, went to work for it. Since I have a lot of respect for Josh's intelligence and judgment, I've been forced to reconsider. If Josh is watching, feel like giving us a sales pitch?
Doug