Posted on Oct 29, 2016
How many of you are voting third party (like me) this year? If so, why?
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Responses: 19
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I looked long and hard at 3rd party and decided that they were no better than the major party candidates. Maybe more "honest" only because they haven't yet been tempted by power, but fundamentally lacking in principles that I can identify with.
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Please bear in mind that with the Electoral System, voting for third party in a Blue state (like CA or NY) is NOT a vote for Sec. Clinton, since there is "no chance" of that state going to Mr. Trump anyways.
Likewise, voting for third party in a Red State will not have the opposite effect.
Anyone who is stating otherwise does not understand how our system works, nor do they care about your vote.
As for whether a third party candidate is viable or not is besides the question. A vote for a specific candidate is a vote for them and only them. Our system has lots of "wasted votes" which equals ALL votes for the losing candidate(s) and all votes in excess needed to win the election (meaning anything over 50% is automatically a "wasted vote" even if it was for the winning candidate).
That said, vote for who you want.
Likewise, voting for third party in a Red State will not have the opposite effect.
Anyone who is stating otherwise does not understand how our system works, nor do they care about your vote.
As for whether a third party candidate is viable or not is besides the question. A vote for a specific candidate is a vote for them and only them. Our system has lots of "wasted votes" which equals ALL votes for the losing candidate(s) and all votes in excess needed to win the election (meaning anything over 50% is automatically a "wasted vote" even if it was for the winning candidate).
That said, vote for who you want.
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CPL Bobby McKellar
Extremely intuitive you are, go far you will! (My best Yoda impersonation)
See, you are EXACTLY right and most folks will not understand that or even think about it because of the SCRE TACTICS involved in today's politics. They see a third party vote as "wasted" or as a proxy vote against their candidate (depending on which side they're on).
HOWEVER, what occurs when many vote for a third party candidate in states that are safely "in the books" for a particular candidate is actually HELPING to put the power of the vote BACK into the hands of the people. When the ESTABLISHMENT starts seeing their margins shrink they have to ACT to try and convert those votes back to their side. One day a GOOD third party candidate can and WILL win enough electoral votes away from the establishment two party system to cause the election to fall into the hands of CONGRESS. THAT IS the situation that needs to happen in order to start a SEA CHANGE in politics....and it would simply be just a start.
(This is purely just one possible scenario, I am afraid that things will have to get MUCH more serious for there to ever be any real change in the political situation in the US.)
See, you are EXACTLY right and most folks will not understand that or even think about it because of the SCRE TACTICS involved in today's politics. They see a third party vote as "wasted" or as a proxy vote against their candidate (depending on which side they're on).
HOWEVER, what occurs when many vote for a third party candidate in states that are safely "in the books" for a particular candidate is actually HELPING to put the power of the vote BACK into the hands of the people. When the ESTABLISHMENT starts seeing their margins shrink they have to ACT to try and convert those votes back to their side. One day a GOOD third party candidate can and WILL win enough electoral votes away from the establishment two party system to cause the election to fall into the hands of CONGRESS. THAT IS the situation that needs to happen in order to start a SEA CHANGE in politics....and it would simply be just a start.
(This is purely just one possible scenario, I am afraid that things will have to get MUCH more serious for there to ever be any real change in the political situation in the US.)
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