SF Green Susan King told me the defections would be even greater if some liberals weren't still sticking with the Dems in a last ditch effort to save them from themselves. But philosophically, "There's a growing number of people who are quietly aligning themselves with the Green Party," King said. And prominent Greens like Matt Gonzalez, Camejo, and Oakland City Council candidate Aimee Allison are shaping the mainstream political dialogue.
Still, King admits that "The Green Party is consistently at a disadvantage because of the way the American electoral system is structured." But the people are getting fed up and looking for solutions, or just checking out. "The average voters at some point are just disengaging," she said. "If the Dems are worried about losing those votes, maybe they should adopt our platform."
It will be interesting to see whether the Democrats have what it takes to retake at least one house of Congress this fall. Even more telling will be what they do with that power if they get it. Because if they keep fiddling while American leaders burn to be the new Rome, cooking the planet in the process, you could see more people abandoning both major parties in search of new solutions, whether Red, Green, or something else.