Observations on the Mistaken Impression that Green Candidates "Steal" Votes from the Dems Only

First of all there are many among us who come out of the environmental movement as Greens but who went in as Republicans.

Second, the largest category of voters and the fastest growing category of voters is Independents, that is, voters who do not identify as Democrat or Republican. In addition about half of the eligible voters in this country simply don't bother to participate.

Our target audience is not Democrats but rather people who fall into the last two categories mentioned.
Prior to becoming a Green I was a Democrat but had stopped voting in the primary except for issues and if I did not have Greens to vote for I would not vote. We don't steal votes we give them a home...and I believe that we are for the most part people who would not otherwise participate in politics.

The idea that Democrats own anyone's vote is absurd and offensive and I do not believe it can be countered because it has no validity and is just PR to put us on the defensive.

The quality of our candidates and their ideas is the point, not the territorial tantrums from the Democrats.

Anita Rios