Don't vote for a third party. That's just voting for Trump with extra steps.
this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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I think a lot of people thinking about voting third party are going to need reasons TO vote for someone, not reasons to not vote for the other guy. Telling them “it’s just voting for Trump” isn’t going to convince them.
And no, I’m not planning on voting third party. But finger-wagging won’t convince anyone already looking elsewhere.
If a Trump presidency doesn't scare the shit out of them at this point, then they were already looking for excuses to support him, and "I want someone to vote FOR" is just a stupid excuse.
Like, I want a gazillion dollars and a private island, but I also don't smear shit on the walls of the public library when I wake up and don't get those things. Anyone who does, just wanted to smear shit on the walls.
Yup. It is basically the same as how Romney and Cheney are "good republicans" because they want all the same shit trump does but want to pretend they are classier than that
I haven't seen Dark Brandon in a while. Like, months.
I vote FOR Dark Brandon. I'll give Biden my vote over Trump. Those are different things, even if the objective measure looks the same.
I'd like to vote for DB and get him.
Hey man, the dude has enough sense to understand that between the situations in Ukraine and Israel, the world is in a fucked up place at the moment. He's a lifelong statesman, and he's probably telling his more aggressive political advisors to back the hell off so we can figure out what the hell is going on and maybe get our hostages to safety. I respect him for that, and I'm not entirely convinced that being combative or bellicose would be even remotely helpful right now, despite the fact that it would make you feel better in the here and now.
So you don't get Dark Brandon exactly when you want him? And you have to wait....checks notes....a few months? Tough shit. If you have to wait months for him to come out, imagine how many decades you're going to wait for the institutions of this country to recover from this. If "I had to wait months for Dark Brandon" is enough for you to waffle on the gravity of your decision in 2024, then you were already lost before this conversation started.
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Anyone not terrified of a Republican and/or Trump presidency has a shitton of privilege and needs to fucking check it. Cishet, white and men are prominent demographics for "he won't hurt me too badly" and by the time the redcaps come for those not in lockstep it'll be far, far too late.
In other words lots of people have an incredibly childish attitude about voting and are completely prepared to throw a little tantrum in the voting booth even if it means fascists get to take over the whole federal government. I'm becoming pretty convinced that people like that are just incapable of rational decision making.
It’s crazy how people view voting. In life we have so many situations where we look at realistic options and choose the best thing, or even the least bad thing, from those options.
But then with voting people feel like making their vote should be like wishing on a birthday cake. It’s totally irrational, as you say.
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Nah, the number one reason to vote lately is to prevent Trump from pissing all over democracy. Even Republicans are joining in.
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And no, I’m not planning on voting third party. But finger-wagging won’t convince anyone already looking elsewhere.
[finger-wagging intensifies]
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lol if you think I’ve forgotten about the sewage-chugging fest that was the 45th presidency, you’re out of your fucking mind. I’m not thrilled with Biden’s age, but I am dramatically less fucking thrilled with the conservative’s current shitbag choice. Show me a 3rd party with eye-wateringly powerful support from Democrats, and I’ll certainly consider it. But until then, for as long as conservatives are mouth-frothingly determined to usher in fascism unheralded, I won’t be swayed.
Yup, a bunch of people want to push third party candidates.
They either ignore the fact that under FPtP (First Past the Post), a third party candidate is always a spoiler candidate, or they've been paid off by conservatives to weaken the chances of Democrats doing the bare minimum and holding on to power that they should have been actually using.
Which bring up the second evil of FPtP, as long as conservatives are batshit crazy and openly embracing fascism, all the Democrats have to do, it not be conservatives... And sadly, that's a very high bar for them.
The fix to all of this is, of course, to ditch FPtP voting. My current favorite replacement is called STAR. It's about the single best single winner voting system ever created. (another link)
For anyone else who finds voting systems fascinating, there's an entire wiki devoted to just that. I'll admit to having read most of it over the last few years. I might need better hobbies.
tl;dr Our system of government sucks and math says you need to vote for Biden.
I hate it, too, but them's the facts.
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Republicans are pushing third party candidates HARD. If Biden doesn't get 270 electoral votes the Republican House appoints the president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contingent_election
I recall learning about STAR a while ago, and I agree that both that FPtP sucks ass, and STAR is vastly better. All we’d need to do is get it instituted to replace FPtP, which is the real hurdle.
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During almost any other election, I'd be all sorts of in favor of 3rd party candidates. But I'm also willing to acknowledge the reality of the situation, and the choices are this:
- Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
- Donald J. Trump.
- ~~A Third Party Candidate~~ Donald J. Trump
- ~~Stay Home~~ Donald J. Trump
- ~~A Write-in Candidate~~ Donald J. Trump
That's it. Those are your options. Third party candidates have exactly zero chance in our political system in today's hyper-partisan environment. If you are voting for anybody other than Biden, or opting not to vote at all, you're essentially giving your vote to Trump. All of these people refusing to put support behind Biden because he's too old, or because of Israel, or whatever, refuse to accept that the alternative is exponentially worse for them.
It's Biden or Trump. There is no choice C. And in the immortal words of Rush, If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
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Third parties should sit it out until trump is convicted and behind bars. If the third party candidates are serious about the country, they'd recognize the danger that orange moron poses and do just that.
People do realize that being behind bars does nothing to stop someone from serving in an elected office, right?
True but it would definitely hinder his ability to hold his stupid rallies and what have you.
It's always funny to me when these articles claim dems are worried about this No Labels group. It's kinda asinine. That's just not the kinda thing that appeals to dems that much. Makes me almost certain it's just someone writing that kinda wants dems to be worried.
We, honestly, kinda like labels. They're terribly convenient. Like, when you run into a Jewish-hating, militaristic, strong ethno-state type individual, it's just really nice if there can just be this one word that can be used to describe that person. Because, y'know, "Jewish-hating militaristic ethno-state individual" is just a pain in the ass to use.
Now, certain types really don't like labels. They like to whine about identity politics for instance. I think they will like this party.
Do they mean weary, or do they mean wary?
Weary means worn down (it's literally the "wear" as in "wear and tear" with a y on the end to make an adjective), usually signifying tiredness or apathy.
Wary means overly aware (it's literally the "ware" as in "aware" with a y on the end to make an adjective*), usually signifying nervousness or apprehension.
Given the context, they could mean either. Or both.
* Though for orthographic reasons, the e is dropped. I see you, fellow pedants.
Democrats need to appeal to people who are considering leaving for third parties before they lose them.
This is a controversial statement.
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Yeah, no one is voting-in a 3rd party. That's just not ever going to be a thing, sorry. And if through some miracle, they somehow did get elected, what the fuck are they going to do? Not a fucking thing. In spite of Trump's best efforts, presidents are not dictators. Neither Democrats nor Republicans are going to work with a president who isn't part of their little clubs. They probably couldn't get approval for a new brand of toilet paper in the white house bathrooms, let alone do anything meaningful.
People want fine-tuned success when we're still at broad-stroke level of change required.
This go-around, focus on
- all people are people
- everyone gets a vote
- armed demonstrations get Armed Response
- lies get lawsuits
- prisoners get at least Geneva Convention-level treatment
Later, we can work on the other things we need. You know, allowing for Texit if they build their walls, eminent-domaining prisons back for cruelty reasons, taxing the wealthy, all that. But now, let's just get the absolute basics in.
I kind of think the 3rd party vote for president is a general election really depends on the state you vote in. If your state is a stronghold for a party and has a candidate that has no chance in losing, I think it makes sense to vote 3rd party if that aligns with your politics. But id voting in a contested battleground state, you have to be more strategic about your vote and be willing to compromise or vote for damage control to prevent the other candidate from winning. I think ideally participating in democracy is an ends in itself regardless of whether your candidate wins or not. All participants in an election should be able to look at results and get a feel for what the voice of the people is, and that does mean knowing what the minority voted for and in what numbers.
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