This is why we don't vote third party

[Onecirrus]

[PurpleTree]

you need more strong parties

like we have in Europe, get with the program  

Edited November 5, 2020 by PurpleTree

[Onecirrus]

Quote

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake

If you are conservative, feel free to ignore this advice!

[Onecirrus]

[iGhost]

11 minutes ago, Onecirrus said:

 

[Shin]

It's funny cause when you merge both it looks like a very well known flag ?

[DocWatts]

You would think even from their limited vantage point, Libertarians would see the Authoritarianism in Trump (that runs against their professed principles) and be strategic with their votes, at least for this one election when the stakes are so goddamn high.

Guess I can't really rag on the Green Party in the same way, with their candidate getting %0.1 of the popular vote.

[DocWatts]

@Husseinisdoingfine Former long time Green Party voter myself.

Until First Past the Post Voting is abolished and something like Ranked Choice Voting is adopted, the obstacles for a third party winning a national election are such that I see little point in supporting the Green Party until a more fair system is in place. 

Changing the Democratic Party from within by supporting Progressive/Socialist Democrats like AOC or Bernie seems like a more realistic path forward in my view.

[Dingo]

@DocWatts  I've asked czech libertarians, who would they vote for and provided them with a documentary pointing out Trump's link to fascism. Half would not vote, because it is unethical under their ideology of not using force against others. The other half voted Trump completely oblivious to the fact he is a dictator type of leader... I'd think this choice is influenced by their alignment with wanting smaller government, regulations, tax cuts etc, but I don't doubt most of them were highly uneducated about US politics judging by the comments they left.

[DocWatts]

@Husseinisdoingfine Agreed, but what they can do is shift the Overton window Left and lay the groundwork for Social Democracy, and also make room for Socialist voices to have at least some influence in US politics.

Bernie never would have had the impact he did if he were running as a Green Party candidate (or as an Independent).

Also I think the harm reduction aspect of being strategic with your Vote cannot be understated; considering that the Republican Party has moved from neo-liberalism to what can arguably be called fascism (or at the very least Authoritarianism).

Socialism can work within a liberal/neo-lib framework, but loses whatever pull it has when operating under a fascist framework.

[tuckerwphotography]

49 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

Until First Past the Post Voting is abolished and something like Ranked Choice Voting is adopted, the obstacles for a third party winning a national election are such that I see little point in supporting the Green Party until a more fair system is in place. 

@DocWatts In Maine we have Ranked Choice Voting, but it only goes into effect if candidates get less than 50% of the vote. The two 3rd party candidates may have (depending on the final numbers) divided the vote just enough for Susan Collins to sneak in with 51%, preventing RCV to go into effect. That said, it appears Collins would have likely won in a runoff anyways. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by tuckerwphotography

[DocWatts]

2 minutes ago, tuckerwphotography said:

@DocWatts In Maine we have Ranked Choice Voting, but it only goes into effect if candidates get less than 50% of the vote. The two 3rd party candidates divided the vote just enough for Susan Collins to sneak in with 51%, preventing RCV to go into effect. That said, it appears Collins would have likely won in a runoff anyways. 

Interesting; I suppose while that's better than what we have in the rest of the country, it's not a silver bullet, so to speak. I would think proportional representation would also be a step in the right direction as well, but don't see that realisticallylly happening in our system.

Even of you got rid of all the structural unfairness against third parties in America, I'd be the first to admit that they would still be at a significant disadvantage compared to the Two Parties.