Lost in the debate, and succeeding rancor, over the failed package of voting changes the president and congressional Democrats sought to push through the Senate was a simple fact: major party politicians have an intense dislike for third parties.

That’s being generous. They hate third parties, whether they are Green, Libertarian, or something else. In the major party pol’s eyes, such parties are spoilers who threaten the established order. And both major parties have been known to do whatever they can to deny people the right to vote for someone other than a Republican or a Democrat.

Consider what Ted Rall wrote about the Democratic crusade against the Green Party:

“[Democrats] are nothing but playground bullies desperately seeking exclusive power,” Gary Marbut, a Green Party candidate for Montana’s Senate, said in 2020. “As soon as it suits them they claim the ballot is their exclusive playground and do their best to run anyone else they can off the playground, especially the little kids.”

Democratic-aligned media outlets turn a blind eye to these antidemocratic tactics, while accusing Republicans of covertly gathering petition signatures and providing legal assistance to defend the Greens from Democratic lawsuits that seek to keep them off the ballot.

True, Republicans have waged warfare against the Libertarian Party, repeatedly suing to keep such candidates off the ballot out of fear that they would siphon off votes from the GOP. But the Republicans aren’t posing as staunch defenders of free access to the polls. If Democrats want to be taken seriously on voting rights, they should stop suing the Greens.

I’m shocked, shocked, to learn that Democrats are such staunch opponents of voting rights. Or at least the right of anyone to vote for a party nominee who could threaten their own candidates.