When I came to this country, I was naive enough to think that it was a democracy. Now, after seven years of living here, I see that the United States is a plutocracy, which means a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. It is obvious that big money drives American politics.The present two-party political setup allows the exploiting class to exercise a power monopoly, which deprives broad masses of people from the chance to challenge the corporate control of life in America. The two big-money parties, with the full support of the corporate media, have suppressed opposition to their political monopoly. All major debates and most media coverage during elections are restricted to the candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties. In this year's elections the suppression of opposition has become cruder and more obvious than ever. Even Ross Perot, who received 19 million votes in 1992, has been excluded from the presidential debates...

As I see it, there isn't much difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Both represent the capitalist economic, political and social status quo. The Democrats serve the capitalist ruling class as much as the Republicans. Thus, there is no "lesser evil". Defenders of the profit system have no answer to the crisis facing the vast majority of Americans. The United States today is in the grip of a social crisis that is devastating the lives of tens of millions of people. It's no secret that the chasm between the wealthiest few percent and the rest of the population is growing. The obvious fact is that the prosperity of the few is based on the ever more brutal exploitation of working people. Big business is waging a relentless war on your jobs and income. It is stripping people of all economic security, transforming them into a vast pool of cheap labor. This was at the heart of the welfare cut-off bill signed by Clinton, which will force millions of impoverished Americans to work at slave labor wages...

I came to America from the former Soviet Union with more than ten years of political struggle behind me. Now that I'm a citizen of this country, I simply cannot stand aloof from the struggles for positive change here. My political party of choice here is the Pacific (Green) Party of Oregon, which firmly stands for the environment, human rights, peace and social justice. In this, my first presidential election I'm voting for our candidate Ralph Nader who, like me, believes that both the Democrats and the Republicans are the same evil. And I encourage everyone who wants real change to also do so. Our votes for the Pacific Party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke, for its senatorial candidate, Oregon's environmental activist Gary Kutcher, will be a strong political statement against the corporate status quo, a positive step toward advancing a real political alternative to the existing two-party setup.

If you don't want to vote green, then vote for the Socialists, but please just say NO to Clinton and Dole. Vote against plutocracy!

October, 1996

This article was first published in The Register Guard, October 30, 1996