To the Editor:

Back in the year 2000 I wrote a letter encouraging people to vote for a third party candidate for president. One of the arguments I made was that there was no significant difference between the Democratic and Republican candidates.

After George W. Bush assumed the presidency, it became clear that I was wrong. Now, we are still dealing with the fallout of Bush's disastrous presidency. In 2014, we have a similar situation in our congressional district. A Green Party candidate may tip the electoral scales toward the Republican. I believe that Matt Funiciello is an excellent candidate and would serve our district well in the House. Having said that, I hope he won't take offense that I will likely be voting for the Democrat, Aaron Woolf.

While I may find more to agree about with Mr. Funiciello, I believe Mr. Woolf is 1) someone all the citizens of this district could work with, and 2) a candidate that could actually win the election. You could call that a cop-out, but I consider it a thoughtful compromise. Please consider what we get if Elise Stefanik wins.

There is a very clear historical record of her affiliations and leanings. At age 30, she comes to us with very little life experience except for that of the politics she has been steeped in for her entire adult life. That is the poisonous politics of Karl Rove and company. The politics of dishonesty, bullying, retribution and refusal to compromise. She was an inside player who has expressed nothing but support for many of the Bush administration’s most flawed policies, and has continued to walk in lock step with discredited neo-conservative thinkers.

We can't know why she came here, or if she was sent. We do know what to expect from her if she wins. It does matter who wins the election. In fact, all that matters is who wins. No one will be "taught a lesson" if a third party candidate garners a significant vote count. All that happens is that the winners laugh about their good fortune. Until a more democratic voting system with instant runoffs is implemented in this country, we voters need to look carefully at the end result of our decisions. We may need to put our idealism aside and make a realistic compromise.

Larry McGory

Potsdam