Sam Garst thinks he’s just leveling the playing field. The second congressional district resident is running for office against Republican John Kline and DFL incumbent Bill Luther under a party he invented called &uot;No New Taxes.&uot;

The trouble is, he’s not interested in getting elected, stopping taxes or anything else &045; except taking votes away from Kline so Luther can win. You see, Garst is a Democrat. In a race that was extremely close the last time &045; Kline is a frequent candidate against Luther &045; his little ploy could make a difference.

Garst justifies his misleading political ploy by saying that the Green Party has a candidate in the race, who will &uot;take votes away&uot; from Luther. But there is a difference. The Green Party is an actual party &045; in fact, one that’s considered a major party in Minnesota. Its candidates run not because they want to hurt Democrats, but because they are striving for political and social change, or maybe even a chance to get elected.

In addition, the idea that a Green candidate &uot;takes votes away&uot; from Luther is ridiculous and insulting. As Green presidential candidate Ralph Nader is fond of saying, no party is entitled to votes. They have to earn them. And this kind of behavior won’t earn the respect of many.

Republicans are calling Garst’s new &uot;party&uot; a new low in Minnesota politics, and that statement is not much of a stretch. Deliberately misleading conservatives into voting for you, purely to help another candidate win a close race, is shameful. This kind of win-at-all-costs mentality from the established parties is one of the reasons third parties &045; real ones &045; are gaining in popularity.