[EM] Josh: Set aside political differences

[MIKE OSSIPOFF]

Josh--

Do you think it would make sense for each small party and each
political persuasion to have its own electoral reform movement, all
working unco-operatively in parallel? Every electoral reform advocate
that I've known or heard of understands that electoral reformers
will have to work together, and put aside their party differences.

Whom you would or wouldn't endorse is your business. But, for what
our endorsement is worth, EM's Approval project should endorse, and
try to raise contributions for, Hager.

Look at it this way, Josh: Let's get a better voting system, and then
you can duke it out with the Libertarians in the election campaigns.
First better electoral democracy, and then let the people decide which
party they like. But right now, doing what we can for a better voting
system is a lot more important than interparty bickering.

Josh said:

Re: "breaking the duopoly"
Actually, one could argue that Approval will ENTRENCH the duopoly, just let
the 10% who want to mention a third party do so. In this sense of Approval
Voting, you might see Democrats getting a sense of their total Green vs.
Labor support, and Republicans getting an idea whether it's Libertarians or
Christians who support them.

I reply:

It isn't entirely clear how you're saying Approval entrenches the
monopoly-that-calls-itself-a-duopoly. By making it possible, for the 1st 
time,  for everyone
to feel able to vote for their favorite, so that the election results
accurately reflect support for parties & candidates? Or by making
it take twice as many mistaken compromisers to give away an election,
as compared with Plurality or IRV?

Mike Ossipoff



[as an aside, how does Approval handle multiple endorsements? Say, I'm
Democratic Line in New York county and Green Line in upstate. It's trivial?]

Do not say that there is no reason to go to Approval UNLESS you support
third parties, please :)

re: "hyper-focused report on a specific reform has a much
better chance of garnering press attention."

As long as it doesn't get "hyper-technical," sure.
<glances in Ossipoff's direction>
Give the reporter some URLs at least, so they can look into things further
if it interests them, for all angles, not just history.

RE: "HAGER in 2002"


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