2016: Year of the Third Parties?
Whether it is Trump’s volatile nature or Clinton’s calculating one, many Americans on both sides are dissatisfied by the options presented to them, no longer feeling as adequately represented by their party. This presidential election almost seems to revolve less around who is the strongest candidate in their own right, and more around voting for whoever appears to be the “lesser of two evils”, fearing the damage the chosen’s opponent may wreck on the country.
In the weeks subsequent to the official Republican and Democratic nominations, we appear to now be seeing the emergence of alternative choices to the two frontrunners, namely Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Libertarian and Green Party respectively.
One might say that this provides a way out for disaffected voters. So I have two questions:
1) Do you believe realistically that an alternative candidate could win the presidency?
1) If you are one of these voters, would you give said candidates serious consideration over Clinton/Trump?
These questions sort of run along the same vein but whatever :P
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It would take the implosion of a party to make a third party run feasible. Given that is what we have, Gary Johnson would have a chance if a majority of the Republican leadership and donors endorsed him in the next couple weeks. It is a long shot but given the historic unfavorables Hillary has it could happen. I'd like to see the Republican Party replaced by the Libertarian Party in any case. 1
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Yeah, there may be fiscal conservatives in Democratic Party today because they can't stomach republican backwardness on social issues. That's why I would like to see the libertarian party replace the Republican Party. Once we get over all these social distractions we can have a real discussion about economics and political institutions. It is not impossible, but it is basically impossible. 1. First Past the Post Voting- Inevitably leads to two parties, and prevents a third party rise unless government mandated provisions are used. 2. Gerrymandering. On the rare occasions when independent/third party districts emerge, the main parties go in, redistrict, and split them up to mitigate their influence. Since this feeds in to the electoral college, third parties don't usually get the full amount of electors that the number of votes should provide. 3. Fundraising is mostly reliant on billionaires and corporations. These people might support based on ideology, but most seem to support whoever they can use or get money off of. People say "vote for who you most want to take this country in the right direction, not the lesser of two evils". But this is ideological, not practical. The system is designed to support the dems and reps. As long as we play by these rules, we will get the same result over and over and over. Want to make a change? Help change the rules. It is a SERIOUS uphill battle that won't occur quickly, but it is very important, and we need to get everyone educated and talking about this. In the meantime, you have to vote for someone who is least likely to destroy America, but actually has a chance of winning. So, who would a guy like me vote for? None of the four options. Trump is the worst and most dangerous candidate I've ever seen. Hillary has all kinds of issues, although Republicans need to recognize that she has been exonerated of wrong doing by high ranking Reps who have access to more data than any of us. She's a liar, but she has not been proven to be a criminal. Gary Johnson, I like him and he is more sane than most Libertarians, but he is still a Libertarian, so no. The Green Party platform matches my own political philosophies pretty well, but Jill Stein is an extremist with a few crazy ideas, so I can't back them until she leaves. Sooo....I have to be anti-Trump with my voting and won't waste it on someone who cannot win, so I vote Hillary. I am voting for Johnson. Last I heard, he had a 16% voter rating, which is very formidable for a Third Party guy. Trump will get us in WWIII. Hillary is a political whore and a Queen of Pandering. Johnson stands for small government and Libertarian values. Like the Founding Fathers. If he is allowed to debate with Clinton and Combine Over, his approval rating will go up. But I sorta doubt they'll let him in. Since he is anti Big Brother and BB runs the show. |
