2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I am Very Disappointed with the Democratic Party [View all]DLnyc
(2,479 posts)I really appreciate your OP and also this post (which re-emphasizes a point that you made in the OP and I consider to be of great importance).
You are correct, I feel, to emphasize that a progressive third party candidate must be willing to withdraw and endorse the more progressive choice (almost always the Democrat) in cases where it becomes clear that the progressive would just function as a spoiler, causing the more right-wing candidate (almost always a Republican) to win.
"Progressives" like Ralph Nader, who refused to withdraw and helped Bush steal the election from Gore, we really don't need. But mature progressives, who know how to avoid being a spoiler by stepping aside and endorsing when they have no chance of winning, have a real contribution to make, I think!