I'm voting Nader

In July, I was invited to speak at the Marxism 2004 conference to discuss the question Whom should the left back in the US presidential elections?

There are five players. First, the Republican hordes. Second, Kerry and the Democrats. Third, Ralph Nader. Fourth, the Green Party. Fifth, left-wing forces acting independently of the Democratic Party, such as moveon.org and Michael Moore.

It is important to recognise that the Democratic Party is not left-wing - Kerry supported the Iraq war, for instance. Indeed, just today I saw a car with a yellow "Support Our Troops" ribbon and a "Kerry-Edwards" bumper sticker.

But, even if it was, it could not beat Bush. Here are a few reasons why.

The left has no mechanism to defeat the digital brown shirts. Do a Google search for "Kerry" and eighth on the list you'll get Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, who prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Kerry supports the communists - and these "Vietnam vets" are taken seriously.

The Democrats could not defeat Bush in 2000. They certainly cannot beat him now. For, in 2000, Bush was a man. Now, he is a god.

In 2003, Phil Bredesen, Democratic governor of Tennessee - Al Gore's home state - said at a Democratic Party rally that he could not refer to Bush as "my president." Within days, he was forced to apologise.

In the last four years, Democrats have done little to ensure that Republicans cannot steal the election again.

In fact, it is even easier now for Republicans to do so. For 11 counties within Florida, because of a software bug in the voting machines, it is impossible to conduct manual recounts. Indeed, some results from the contested 2002 elections were "accidentally" erased due to a malfunction.

The question is moot anyhow - state law made it illegal to manually recount votes cast in counties with electronic voting machines.

This law is currently being contested in the courts. But what is certain is that over 75,000 Diebold corporation electronic voting stations will be in place for the 2004 elections.

Diebold's CEO publicly pledged to deliver the state of Ohio to George Bush in 2004 and also pledged to raise over $100,000 for him.

In 2000, in Volusia County, Florida, Diebold-built machines initially reported that Al Gore had received minus 19,000 votes - a negative number. Diebold refuses to make its software public.

Furthermore, the US left is disunited. Kerry has kept his distance from Moore, his campaign spokesman saying in July: "I can't speak for every extremist out there. Michael Moore ... these people aren't part of the Kerry campaign."

In 2000, consumer rights activist Ralph Nader was the presidential candidate of the Green Party, whose platform included support not just for the environment but for slavery reparations, universal health insurance, free public education through university, a guaranteed living-wage income for all and opposition to the military-industrial complex, Third World debt and the death penalty.

In 2004, however, they parted company. The Greens foolishly said that they would not name Ralph Nader as their presidential candidate, as they did in 1996 and 2000 - he'd have to compete in primaries like everybody else.

Consequently, Nader said that he would not seek the Green Party's nomination. Besides, the Green Party convention was too late in the year for Nader to get on the ballot in some states, if he had waited.

As a result, the Green Party lost its brightest star - the eventual Green nominee, David Cobb, will probably get 0.05 per cent of the vote, his running mate has said that she may even vote for John Kerry - and Nader lost his party, thus keeping him off the ballot in some states.

I blame the Green Party - its leadership is incompetent at best and, at times, racist and stupid. The Greens squandered their opportunity to become the anti-war opposition in the US.

Nader and not Cobb has the best chance to put progressive politics on the radar screen. Still, without a party, Nader's campaign will die the day after the election. What then?

It is impossible for Greens to invade the Democratic Party and change it from within - the Democratic Party is run from the top down, with corporate juggernauts pulling the strings.

But the Green Party is a grass-roots organisation, so, despite its bad leadership, it can be transformed.

Hence, the left should support Nader on November 2 and support the Green Party - or the Black Party! - after November 3.

I will. If Diebold doesn't erase my vote, that is.

• Professor Jonathan David Farley was recently profiled in The Economist Magazine. He can be contacted at farley@maths.ox.ac.uk