Third Party

A Vote by Any Other Name

November 8th will be the culmination of a year long campaign by various politicians and their surrogates to convince people to vote for their candidates, and as an American citizen you can vote for anyone you want- at least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

This election season has been marred by the admission of many that it’s another decision between the lesser of two evils. People complain and they wish: IF ONLY there was another option, or I don’t know dozens of other options?

I have already lost half my audience with that one, “A vote for third party is a vote for Trump/Hillary” rings through the comment section with a resounding “meh”.

A vote for Jill Stein is a vote for progressives, a vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for libertarians, and a vote for Vermin Supreme is a vote for free ponies. Your vote goes EXACTLY to who you want it to go to, that’s how it works. This is the ONE time that you are supposed to have the same amount of power as even the most rich and powerful in the country- so why are some so eager to throw it away at a candidate that doesn’t represent them?

You think it’s a coincidence that both Red and Blue agree 100% that third party voting is a waste of a vote? They disagree on everything from whether Russia should continue not being a parking lot all the way to who is allowed to go to the bathroom where, and you don’t think it’s strange that they just decided to hold hands and block third parties out of some shared principal? Well that would be a trick question, because although it may not be a principal- keeping power consolidated between two major parties is definitely one of the only things they can agree on.

America is based around capitalism, there is a free market and with fierce competition the strong thrive and the weak collapse. This system works so well that we have laws in place to prevent the exclusion of competition- monopolies are illegal in America, as long as they aren’t political monopolies. America is faced with the lesser of two evils EVERY four years because there is zero competition in our system, Red and Blue can field ANYONE they choose because there isn’t anywhere else viable the voter can go…and they intend to keep it that way.

If Americans could only get a breather from the beating over the head they are receiving from the media, about how you only have two viable choices- then MAYBE those choices start to become viable. Maybe, just maybe Americans can switch from their keyhole sized outlook on American politics to a window- then maybe we get some competition into the system, and Red and Blue have to switch from fielding some evils to a few goods.

So as election day swiftly approaches, and you see more and more smears against third parties remember the real reason the DNC and the RNC agree on only this one subject. They don’t want competition, they want to remain the political equivalent to Time Warner cable: ya they give you service, but it’s shitty and it’s slow, and there is no other option.

The Loser Takes it All

On November 8th we will be introduced to our 45th president, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump- something that many see as a decision that comes around every four years between the lesser of two evils, but it doesn’t have to be that way next time.

It’s true that neither Gary Johnson nor Jill Stein can win this November, but in losing, they can re group with their respective parties and push forward to 2020 to give America actually meaningful choices for the first time in decades. Third parties can’t win this year but we ALL lose if we don’t vote for them.

American society thrives by the ideals of capitalism, one of which, is competition. Competition drives innovation and quality, without it the American citizen is a slave to whomever corners their respective market; which is why monopolies are illegal- unless they are political in nature of course. It doesn’t matter if you agree with Johnson or Stein, I myself am not sure that I do, their presence and pressure vs the other two parties is good for the country.

America’s two party system is stagnant and stale, there is no need to innovate or inspire- half the country votes for you as long as you have a D or an R next to your name, so why bother going above and beyond? We are forced to pick between the lesser of two evils because those two evils have cornered the market- everything is divided between D and R from the mainstream news to even our celebrities; and anyone who speaks up about a third party is branded an idiot who doesn’t understand politics.

Well I understand politics just fine, and I understand that voting third party is being branded as a wasted vote because the two evils want competition as much as your cable provider does. Competition is bad for business, and the business is taking care of the influential and screwing the rest.

If you don’t support the American tradition of voting for the lesser of two evils, then there is another option: vote third party and give this country’s political system the thing it desperately needs- competition. Maybe, just maybe, if a third party gets 5% of the vote and receives that much needed shot in the arm of federal funding- perhaps a third or even a fourth voice added into the mix can get us some representatives that actually have to care about the average American…instead of the average Billionaire.

The Inconvenient Option

 

America is built around the idea that every vote counts, the people’s voice must be heard; so why the hell are we so afraid to speak when the time comes?

A year ago you could ask any American what they thought about politics in America and you could gather up the results and list the same buzzwords like a scattegories for the disenfranchised: Corrupt, Greedy, Liars, Selfish. Ask those same people what they want to do about the problem and you might get something a little more hopeful: “Get out there and vote them out, let them know they work for us!” If that isn’t the slogan for millennials lately I don’t know what is- until it comes time to actually follow.

We are faced with a historic election, the two most disliked and distrusted candidates ever presented to the public are battling it out for the presidency. Go outside right now and ask the first person you see what they think about Clinton and Trump, odds are they absolutely DESPISE one and think the other is…well better than the alternative. Who decided that’s ok?

Voting for the lesser of two evils has become commonplace in American politics. People defending Clinton or Trump spend their time more on attacking the opposing candidate, and less on actually why their candidate is a solid vote in the first place. Faced with some facts or opinions that their candidate is less than stellar- they ALWAYS default to “Well ya but at least he/she isn’t Clinton/Trump”, that sounds way too similar to someone consoling a friend in a crappy way “Ya you have cancer but at least it’s not aids, amiright?”

Remember our hypothetical American? A year ago they would have LEAPED at the chance to vote for someone who isn’t corrupt, they would be desperate to have more than two choices in any given election- after all, how can a country of 250 million plus be well represented by only two parties? Does half the country think that entitlements should be abolished and the other half think we should have free college and healthcare for all? Not even close, but I can bet there’s a few million that think that we shouldn’t cut down any more trees for any reason, and perhaps a few more that think we should drill until there isn’t an acre of federally protected land left- and those people should have a seat at the dinner table too.

America hates the two-party system, until it comes time to change it. When third-party candidates come up lately, you hear a lot of people talk about how they are wasted votes and this election is just too important this time for such things. Hate to break it to you America, but EVERY election is important- and there will NEVER be a good time to vote third party; but it has to be done. We will never get away from the lesser of two evils, and we will never get all our voices heard- until we “waste” our vote and show democracy is too complex for just two parties.