Jeff and Rose Roby are long time activists. This and other writings can be found at Saint Petersburg Independents

Our guest writer is Asher Platts, long time Green Party activist from Maine. Here he describes the very real dangers of of following a Democratic Party "sheepdog" who sounds good but later recants to urge voting blindly for democrats because "this election is just too important."  It is amazing to me how the democrats use this sheep herder strategy successfully over and over again: Jesse Jackson, Kerry, Obama, Kucinich, Cuomo, Grayson, Van Jones, Warren, Sanders, Clinton twice, etc.

Sondra Miller is the guest writer. She is a long time supporter of the New Progressive Alliance and has been a long time activist.

Sondra Miller - a long time NPA supporter from Indiana - here asks why there are not more progressives running for state legislative districts and the US House of Representatives. Whether one is looking to get elected or just get information out from a "bully pulpit" this is the logical and easiest place to start. Efforts spent only on presidential elections or only on local elections seem to be a waste of time. No political party can claim to be effective that does not have anybody run for the U.S. HOR or State Legislative District.

Jeff Roby asks where to next for Bernie Sanders supporters. He has kindly agreed to let us print this article in full. A connection to his website with the article is under Reference #1 at the end of the article.

Andrea Merida Cuellar is the Colorado State Co-Chair and the Green Party of Colorado and National Co-Chair. There are real choices for 2016 and fanciful choices. Here Andrea discusses both. For the Green Party there are five candidates running for president and many for other offices. Presently Jill Stein is the present leader for president. The Green Party will hold its nomination in Houston August 4-7 right after the republican and democratic conventions. Also mentioned is the SPUSA. When third parties cooperate we all win.

Jeff and Rose Roby are two outstanding activists in Florida. They publish the fine "Saint Petersburg Independents" online. Here is another good analysis.

Brandy Baker, an activist with her BA and Masters Degree from the University of Baltimore,  here  sounds a timely warning. Democrats have long been known to have a few candidates  voting or sounding correctly to suck third parties or candidates into supporting them and then firmly turning away and working to destroy any third party that offers an alternative. Here the South Carolina Green Party cooperates with a democratic candidate.

Scott McLarty is the guest writer. Scott is a long time Green Party activist who knows how hard it is to fight the duopoly and gives wise counsel here. Most do not realize to even get on the ballot requires an effort in each state starting about a year in advance of the election. Even getting permission as a write-in candidate requires time, effort, and money in each state. One should also consider that there is much evidence that votes for  write-in candidates - proper or not - are not counted. In many states a write-in ballot is destroyed and loses all other votes for other candidates.  Of course, the Green Party is not perfect, but it is a good place to start because they have been fighting these battles for over 30 years. As Scott has said, "Establishment Democrats make the case for the Green Party."

Rose Roby, an activist in Florida, discusses the real status quo and becoming dependent upon incarceration.