The Democratic Party's progressive supporters have been telling us to vote for the "lesser evil" for decades. They're doing the same in 2020 and they'll continue to do so in every future election.

The demand for lesser-evil voting, which pretends we have only two choices on Election Day, has kept the U.S. virtually limited to two parties. It has enabled the Democratic Party to move steadily to the right, because Democrats assume they can always take the votes of progressive, pro-environmental, and anti-war voters for granted -- while they must compete with Republicans for contributions and support from the wealthy and from corporate PACs.

By playing the lesser-evil game every election year, progressives have marginalized themselves and made goals like Single-Payer national health care more remote.

On some big issues, Joe Biden is not the lesser evil. Given his record of support for war, he is as likely -- maybe more likely -- than Donald Trump to order a new military invasion or attack. Despite his campaign rhetoric, Mr. Biden is very likely to support dangerous trade pacts like the Trans-Pacific Partnership after his inauguration.

Despite their differences, both Democrats and Republicans are incapable of addressing the emergencies of the 21st century: climate change; corporate power and the increasing concentration of wealth and power among the One Percent; the shredding of rights and protections for working people and the poor; mass incarceration and deep racial disparities in the justice system; endless war.

No political revolution is possible if we retreat into lesser-evil voting. Change can only take place outside of the two corporate-money parties. That's why we call the Green Party an imperative for the 21st century.

Every vote helps the Green Party grow. Every vote shows support for an alternative to the two parties of war and Wall Street. Every vote is an endorsement of the Green Party's positions and principles.

Many, maybe most, of the best ideas in US history came out of alternative parties and met strong opposition from the two ruling parties: abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, the eight-hour workday, workers' benefits, public schools, unemployment compensation, the minimum wage, laws against child labor, and programs like Social Security and Medicare.

A hundred years ago, Eugene Debs ran for president five times as a Socialist. He never received more than a few percentage points, but the ideas he and the Socialist Party promoted were adopted by FDR in the New Deal during the Great Depression.

Before D and R lawmakers enacted state ballot-access laws rigged against alternative parties, there were thousands more alternative-party elected officials. In 1916, five different parties were seated in Congress.

Yes! Anyone who is committed to building a world that puts people, the planet and peace over profit is welcome to join the Green Party as we are anti-capitalist, eco-socialists who are looking to build a feminist, democratic and anti-racist world. 

Click the links below to view the Wikipedia entries for the candidates. 

• 2000: Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke
• 2004: David Cobb and Patricia LaMarche
• 2008: Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente
• 2012: Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala
• 2016: Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka