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candidate from a unified left. Of course, the Democrats have their own third parties with which they must
contend.
Some have pointed to the possibility of that mainstream candidates loss as a reason for opposing third
parties at least, third parties on their end of the political spectrum. But this is a short-sighted view. From
the perspective of the right wing, again, voting third party so that the Democratic candidate wins would
reveal to the Republican Party the power of the far right to deny them victory. When the next election
comes around, the Republican candidate may be someone who is more acceptable to the right-wing third
party. The change occurs not because the third party candidate was elected, but because he pulled a
mainstream partys candidate in his direction.
Many Republicans have argued that even if George W. Bush has proven to be less conservative than
some on the right had hoped, he at least will put judges into office who will be better than those a
Democrat would select. Judges, as everyone knows, can outlast a president and therefore will have a
long-term impact on American legal interpretation. If a Democrat wins, the judicial legacy he leaves could
be disastrous, from the right wings perspective. But this does not really counter the objections of the third
party advocates. Why wouldnt judge appointments move rightward along with the Republican candidate,
when under threat from a right-wing third party? And, why would conservatives who are so concerned
about the long-term impact of judge appointments be relatively unconcerned with a long-term leftward drift
in the Republican Party?
This is an important issue for Christians who want to see Christian views reflected in the political sphere.
Many Christians are moderates, of course, and are perfectly comfortable with one of the mainstream
candidates. But others who find themselves at one end of the political spectrum are not satisfied. For
example, opponents of abortion may find the inactivity of the Republicans on the issue frustrating. But
Republicans have, for years, been able to pay lip service to the pro-life agenda without following through.
They know that pro-lifers will see the Republican position on abortion as more acceptable than the
Democratic position, however small the difference might be in practice. The presidential nominee of the
Constitution Party, Michael Peroutka, has been critical of the Republican Partys inaction on abortion, and
hopes to loosen the Republicans grip on the pro-life vote. (The Constitution Party is not a one-issue party
it stands for a limited constitutional government, an end to foreign military intervention, an end to the
federal income tax, and more old-fashioned ideas that do not have much of an audience within the
Republican Party.)
On the Democratic side, radical environmentalists may not be content with John Kerrys environmental
agenda, but they will prefer it to the Republican agenda. The Democrats know this and have counted on a
locked-in vote from environmentalists, but third parties like the Green Party present a threat in a close
election (Green Party candidate David Cobb is also positioning himself as more consistently anti-war than
Kerry). As long as those on the political fringes are willing to vote based on winnability, the two large
parties see no need to grant concessions to their extreme elements.
These are all practical considerations, of course. What about the argument that we should vote for the
best candidate on principle, no matter what the chances for victory? This would imply that write-ins
should be a much larger proportion of the moral persons votes write-ins have next to no chance of
winning, but the write-in is more likely to conform to the voters preferences than any of the existing
candidates, including third party candidates. But voting is about communicating a political preference, and
write-ins simply communicate a defection without conveying a positive alternative agenda. Third parties at
least have a public platform that is recognizable to the mainline parties.
If you vote this election season, and are inclined to favor a third party but are concerned that you might
throw your vote away, distinguish your vote from the rest of the crowd and go with that third party. But
remember, too, that Christian society is not built on political accomplishments. Whatever happens this
year politically, faithfulness individually, in the family, and in the church will be far more important in the
long run.