E-mail
Print
Third parties rising
Voting the ‘lesser evil’ gets the royal flush
By Taylor Thompson
With a Democratic Congress and a Republican president connected to some of the lowest approval ratings ever, the opportunity for an alternative here is great.
Election cycle after election cycle, Americans head to the polls and pull the lever for a Republican or a Democrat. Unfortunately, many of those same people are making these extremely important decisions without really any enthusiasm or even a liking of the candidate for whom they are voting. They do it for party loyalty or to ensure the other candidate doesn’t win. This has also been called “voting for the lesser of two evils.” And the idiotic tactic is very dangerous and potentially destructive to a healthy and free political process. Evil is evil no matter what way you look at it. We do, however, have other choices out there that would appeal to many.
The problem lies within the mindset of normal Americans connected to the rhetoric given by the mainstream media that third-party candidates can never win and voting for one is throwing your vote away. This type of thinking needs to be flushed down the toilet immediately if we are ever going to really “change” things at any level of government.
The presidential election this cycle has some very interesting and quite appealing third-party candidates running. Independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr, with some name notoriety, are climbing in the polls. The consumer advocate Nader has reached 6 percent nationally in a recent CNN poll. The former Republican congressman Barr has made it also to 6 percent nationally in a Zogby poll. Nader and Barr have also reached double digits in some states as well. They will clearly be factors in this race.
The most interesting polling that has come about is another recent Zogby poll that showed a majority of those polled want both of these candidates included in the presidential debates along with John McCain and Barack Obama. There is an itch out there to see some fresh faces and to hear some fresh ideas. The only obstacle is the corporate-controlled Commission on Presidential Debates, formed in 1987, that basically sets up and runs the nationally televised presidential debates you see in the weeks leading up to the election. This commission is run ironically by the two former chair heads of the Democratic and Republican parties. Obviously, their partisan and biased views will compel them to only showcasing candidates of those two parties. This is why you haven’t seen anyone else on stage in years past besides a Republican or a Democrat. The only exception was Ross Perot who only got his message out and a place on stage the ’92 debates solely based on his billion-dollar fortune. It is nearly impossible for these candidates to come to the forefront if they are not heard from.
With a Democratic Congress and a Republican president connected to some of the lowest approval ratings ever , the opportunity for an alternative here is great. Obama and McCain are in the midst of a charade full of attacks and allegations about nothing of substance. Additionally, their platforms are actually very similar, if you examine them closely. It would instead be nice to hear someone discuss single-payer health care or crackdowns on corporate crime for a change (Nader). Many would also love to hear someone other than the honorable Ron Paul actually talk about limited government and the importance of our Constitution (Barr). These voices must be heard. It’s time to open up the debates and the American political system.
> Comments
Greg on Sep 29, 2008 at 12:23 PM:
Great article, this message needs to reach the masses. Sadly, your right when you say that media has convinced people that a vote for a 3rd is a throw away vote. I think its exactly the opposite, a vote for the majors is a throw away vote, especially in this election with the two majors are essentially the same person.
Its hard to bring up a 3rd in a conversation without others looking at you like you're that weird-o extremist. The honest truth is that they're are the misquided ones by buying into the parties' and media's lies.
I find that most people who choose a candidate stick up for that person regardless of the cons that person may have. Fact is, every person has cons, lets not sugarcoat them and lets choose the one with the best message...in this election its a 3rd.
Terrence on Sep 29, 2008 at 01:56 PM:
Nice I personally wanted to vote for Ron Paul but he has supported Barr so I think I will vote for him instead.
Taylor, on Sep 29, 2008 at 10:56 PM:
Interesting article. While this success is notable, third parties will never work in the United States (or anywhere) where proportional representation doesn't exist.
Johanan on Sep 30, 2008 at 10:13 AM:
Third parties may be good to get people in at local or perhaps state elections, and they may be good for swaying/punishing larger parties however Duverger's law pretty much rules out their effectiveness at winning national elections. You would need proportional representation for that to work and we don't have that here.
Greg on Sep 30, 2008 at 12:36 PM:
Well lets just throw in the towel and vote for a deuche bag.
We need to talk about ideals here instead of logistics. It needs to happen and we should want it to happen because the more power these two parties get the more dangerous our government becomes. Remember, people shouldn't fear the government, government should fear its people.
Reps and Dems will bicker about little insignificant details while they strip us all of our liberties all while increasing their power. They learn to live with themselves because at the end of the day they have the same goal, power.
Why do you think all the election laws are in place to prevent 3rd parties...because the rep and dems are scared of losing their power to a party that really speaks for the people.
Our country was started by revolutionaries who envisioned a country that would not be able to prevent itself from being taken over by its people. That's the idea, when government becomes evil, the people need to stand up and take it over and reform it. That's where 3rd parties come in. The fact that the laws, which were made by rep and dems, hinder 3rd from playing fairly is a scary thing.
The Reps and Dems broke Texas's election laws this year and when the Libertarians filed suit against them, Texas court dismissed the case with no comments. 1984.
Eric on Oct 03, 2008 at 12:24 PM:
While I agree that more voices in an election is essential to democracy, the logistical argument must be addressed. Plain and simple, when a plurality determines the election, a two party system will ALWAYS emerge. Why? Because intelligent people, not idiots, understand the simple mathematical problem inherent in voting third party. Nader drew enough votes in Florida in 2000 to cost Gore the election. This is irrefutable. This is a fact, a political law. It's not the way we want it, it's not the best system, and it limits third party voices. But there is no other option in the election system we have. So the only thing that is idiotic is the continued insistence that a third party should be given credence without addressing our flawed election system.
Taylor on Oct 03, 2008 at 03:10 PM:
Did you happen to notice at the end when I mentioned "changing the American political system"? My article would have been too big to be included if I would have went into complete logistics. Also, this government is supposted to be of, by, and for the people. If the people decide to rise up and take action, the system WILL change. Or we could stop voting for Republicans and Democrats too and maybe they will change themselves. The opportunity is there. Finally, it IS idiotic to "vote for the lesser of two evils." When you go to the polls, don't you want to vote FOR someone because you believe in them as an individual and his/her platform? People who vote third party are doing so based on principle and I think that is something to be admired.
zzz on Oct 05, 2008 at 03:33 PM:
RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL!