Despite recent polls indicating major support for candidates who could provide an alternative to the Democrats or Republicans, incidents against candidates running in the 2010 midterm election continue to persist. One of the most recent incidents is the arrest of California gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells.

When I was a registered Democrat, both major parties despised me — the Republicans because I was a Democrat, and the Democrats because I am a true lefty. Now that I’m a Green, they can’t get enough of me.

A little while ago I did a piece on tweeting the fear card, and the attempts of certain supporters of the Democrats in this year’s elections to persuade dissatisfied and angry progressives that severe damage will be done to the country if the Republicans take over the House, the implication being that severe damage will not also be done if the Democrats retain control of the House. As the election has approached the fear card is being supplemented by the guilt card.

“Outsider” progressives are feeling strong emotions these days, which is clearly coming across in the spate of recent diaries on the subject. I submit that this fervor is not misery and is not just anger, but rather has its source in something much more positive.

Considering the tens of millions of dollars in advertising, ballot aid, and other assistance given by Republicans and conservatives to various lefty fringe parties like the Greens — aid designed not to make them able to compete on an equal footing, but to make them just strong enough to weaken the Democrats enough to ensure Republican victories — it occurs to me that the one thing that would truly be devastating to the cause of professional spoilerdom (though not at all to democracy) would be for instant runoff voting to be accepted nationwide.

Continuing on the train of independent political party ruminations that has been going on here for a while, I want to share some information with readers.

Dismissals of independent candidates’ “viability” in Ohio just got harder.

In which I point out a glaring omission by a commenter.

Back in December, as the Senate health care bill was being eviscerated, I wrote a post called “Progressives At The Crossroads.” It asked whether it’s better to continue supporting Obama while pushing him to do better, or to look for alternative ways to advance our cause. That dilemma just got a lot more complicated.

In the wake of the Brown-Coakley disaster, an interesting development has occurred today on the social news site reddit. About noon Eastern time, a post appeared on the “politics” sub-reddit which said this:
“America, we need a third party that can galvanize our generation. One that doesn’t reek of pansy. I propose a U.S. Pirate Party.”