Wilson said that he likes the idea of a multiparty democracy in theory, and would not be bothered by No Labels’ presidential ambitions in a more traditional election, but that the stakes are too high this year — even if it means depriving voters of options and making them choose between two candidates they might not be excited about.

When was this not the justification for forcing people to accept a candidate they don’t like? It’s like every four years we all forget that the last candidate was sold that way too. Obama is the only semi-exception in that his first campaign was all about hope and change but we all know how that turned out.

The funny part is that we could have taken Obama’s victory as proof that promoting progressive policies works to get a President elected but instead we decided to go back to calling that approach wishful thinking and impractical. Almost as if the goal isn’t to represent the people but rather to ensure Progressive ideas reach as few people as possible.