The Green Party ruins everything.

In fact, as far as I’m concerned, its members might as well be Republicans for all they do to work against the interests of the progressive movement in this country.

After all, their efforts to be a viable party — at which they’ve failed miserably, for the record — have consistently hurt the Democrats’ chances at winning contested elections.

For instance, take a look at the congressional race right here in Syracuse.

Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle (R) and former Congressman Dan Maffei (D) are locked in a dead-heat race.

Republicans and Democrats agree that it is one of the most competitive elections in the country. In a recent poll, both candidates were tied with just 43 percent of the vote.

Steve Israel, a Congressman from the New York City area and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has said repeatedly that trends in this race could be indicative of larger trends in America — including who will win the presidency.

But, surprise!

This is the district where the Green Party has chosen to make its stand. In the same poll I mentioned earlier, Green Party candidate Ursula Rozom garnered seven percentage points.

In fairness, it would be more than a little naive to assume that all 7 percent would immediately vote for Maffei. Even 3 percent switching over would make all the difference in the race.

Worst of all, this is not the first time they’ve done this or the only time during this election cycle. As a result, we have to conclude that the party is either actively working with the Republicans to sabotage Democrats — something I think you will agree is laughably unlikely — or just woefully inept at politics.

The Greens continued persistence at starting a separate party and running against Democratic candidates in general elections is backfiring and actively promoting policies they claim to abhor.

Now, let’s compare their strategy to another insurgent political movement: the Tea Party.

At an early stage in its development, the Tea Party was taken over by experienced conservative operatives. As a result, it managed to have a genuinely large impact on the Republican Party and, in turn, on our national discourse and policy.

The party’s strategy was actually very smart. Rather than battling from the outside in, Tea Party candidates infiltrated the party and made their changes from the inside.

They didn’t run against Republicans in the general election; they ran against them in the primary. And they won. At that point, their candidates had the full support of the Republican establishment.

You see, once a candidate wins the party’s primary, everyone — including rivals — is pressured to stand behind and fully support him or her.

And you can see the impacts today, in just two short years. Instead of talking about joblessness we’re talking about debt, and instead of talking about education we’re talking about how taxes are too high.

If they so desired, the activists inside the Green Party could have a similar effect. Even if they lose the primaries, they will have pressured the more moderate candidate to support progressive positions he or she wouldn’t otherwise support.

So, to Green Party supporters reading this: Join the blue side. Make your changes in a way that makes sense.

Colin Crowley is a senior political science and philosophy major. His column appears online weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @colincrowley.

Published on September 29, 2012 at 7:31 pm