My friends and I have been debating the Nader/Gore dilemma for weeks and have finally concluded that it is a false choice created by the two-party system and the winner-take-all electoral college. There are numerous examples of electoral systems that allow voters to express both their first choice (as a statement of political philosophy) and, if necessary, their second choice (in order to oppose even worse alternatives). We therefore issued the following call to Nader supporters in Michigan (a swing-state that could decide the election between Gore and Bush) and Gore supporters in New York (a solid Gore state in which large number of Gore voters should be willing to support the Green party's drive for 5%). Our goal simply is to contribute to the defeat of George W. without undercutting the Green Party effort to win federal matching funds. You can find the details of our effort below and on our website: www.nadergore.org. If you live in Michigan or New York and would like to participate, please send an email to nadergore@hotmail.com with your email address and phone number so that you can confirm your match. If you live elsewhere, there are links on our website to other nadertrader voteswapping websites. The fact that others came up with this idea independently suggests its potential power. One other note: It seems to me that Humphrey and the Democrats (and LBJ) are primarily responsible for their defeat in 68 (as the recent revelations that Humphrey knew from wiretaps of Nixon's effort to undercut the Paris Peace talks and chose to remain quiet make clear), just as Carter was responsible for his defeat in 80 (not Anderson or Commoner). Even if Nader contributes to Gore's defeat next week, it will primarily be Gore's fault. Matthew Countryman Assistant Professor of History and American Culture University of Michigan mcountry@umich.edu
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WHAT IF I DON'T LIVE IN MICHIGAN OR NEW YORK?If you would like to participate in a vote swap, but don't live in Michigan or New York, there are other voter exchange websites you can visit. See our links section.WIN-WIN PROPOSALS BEAT LOSINGWe believe that ours is a win-win proposal. Please consider participating in this innovative program. Like all political coalitions, the vote exchange will depend on trust. But we believe that there are enough voters in our two states who recognize the value of these two electoral goals to make this program work. We don't want to wake up on November 8th with the same sinking feeling in our stomachs that we had the day after Reagan was elected in 1980! Thanks.
Matthew Countryman and Nimish Ganatra
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