The Five Percent Solution

With Hillary soaring and Donald tanking, some people may wonder why anyone would want to vote for Jill Stein for President.  Why, they wonder, would you want to cast your ballot for someone so far down in the polls, she has less of a chance to win than even Gary Johnson?    

Here's a reason:  If Dr. Stein, at two percent in most national polls and at four percent in a couple of others, can get at least five percent at the ballot box, the Green Party can qualify for public funding in future elections and build itself up as a viable third party to challenge the mainstream Democrats for liberal support.  That's why Hillary supporters keep hammering away at Dr. Stein, even though she's hardly a threat to Hillary's chances in November.  They're not trying to destroy the Green Party's chances in this election; they're trying to destroy its chances in elections yet to come.

The Democrats may retake the Senate this year, and they even have an outside chance at cracking the gerrymander-fortified Republican House majority.  But the long-term survival of the Democratic Party is still very much in question, once the Republicans get their act together . . . and a Trump loss in November would certainly enable them to do that in time for the 2018 midterms when the Republicans have an advantage in the fight over control of the Senate and in preserving their power at the state level.  We need a viable liberal party to stand up against the Republicans, and the Democrats don't seem to want to step up to the plate . . . at least not as long as Hillary is leading them.  Voting Green and getting Dr. Stein up to five percent is increasingly turning out to be the only way liberals can hope to go forward.