And then there are the useful idiots who say there’s no difference between the two parties (and don’t understand that the American system ensures a party duopoly). Imagine the levels of cluelessness and blind privilege that would lead someone to believe that after 2016.
8 Likes
Bernie Sanders, Joe Lieberman, Angus King, Gregorio Sabian, and over 200 local elected officials from the Green, Libertarian and Constitution parties might disagree.
What districts / House seats / Senate seats are up for grabs this Mid Terms that these persons are running for?
5 Likes
Ballotopedia probably has partial coverage.
But Independents, at least, are generally well known in their districts, since it’s the only way for them to be elected given the constant drumbeat of “you’re throwing your vote away”. They might not be on the Internets or in the newspapers but they are out there knocking on doors.
All of whom caucus with the dems. Not really countering my point. (Did you mean Gregorio Sablan, the Dem from the Marianas Islands?)
3 Likes
Adam Curtis did a deep dive on the development of ‘individualist’ thought in his documentary The Trap, can’t recommend it enough.
John Forbes Nash has a big role, as does RD Laing
3 Likes
Yes, I’ve seen it. Thanks.
5 Likes
Not heard of that, I’ll look it up. I like Adam Curtis, even if he is, at times, terrifying.
3 Likes
I just voted “early in-person”… w00t!
5 Likes
Well everyone gets mail in ballots in WA. I guess technically I didn’t mail it in as much as put in one of the many special huge ballot boxes they have around the county.
7 Likes
And if that doesn’t work, just leave the other party off the ballot entirely!
11 Likes
Yeah, “Early in-person” voting for us is actually absentee voting—when I got there I filled out a form to request an absentee ballot, then was handed my ballot and two envelopes, went to a booth and marked my ballot, put it in one of the envelopes, went to a person who put that envelope into the second envelope and witnessed me sign my name on it, then they signed their name on it and handed it back to me, then I dropped it in a box much as if I were mailing it. Seems needlessly wasteful.
But MN state law was changed in 2016 so that in the final seven days before Election Day in-person voters can be allowed to insert their ballots directly into a ballot tabulator. Next time I may wait until closer to the election and see if “can be allowed” translates to “are allowed to in real life” at the location I go to. (Probably will be, I would think, this being the big city and all. I know someone who works as an Election Judge here, I should ask them.)
5 Likes
Although they do exist, those statements of exact equivalence are fairly rare in the wild.
Much more common is:
a) Although they differ in their badness, both parties are nevertheless bad. And the situation is such that even the lesser evil is not tolerable or survivable.
or
b) Although it is true that the GOP is catastrophic, it is also the case that the Dems do not provide an effective means of resisting that catastrophe, and are presently doing a great deal to exacerbate it and prevent real resistance.
2 Likes
Not on Internet forums, unfortunately … this one included. There’s a difference between acknowledging the very real problems with the Dem party establishment and saying “they’re both equally bad, so I’m [voting for a third party|staying home]” A white cisgender male has the luxury of doing that in the current duopoly system because he isn’t going to get hit as hard by the policies of a Bush Jr. or a Dolt-45.
A reformed Electoral College system and a preferential voting system like ranked choice might at some point in the future make taking this approach less of a privilege, but for now we’re stuck with a duopoly system so the priorities need to be reforming the Dems and getting them back in power to make the changes the GOP never will.
8 Likes
The answer in your case is fairly easy. You have a party available for you to vote for with whom you agree.
(edit: well you do if the Greens put up a candidate in your constituency. If they don’t, why not offer to stand yourself? A friend of mine did in the last election - didn’t win of course, lost her deposit but she really enjoyed the process)
Yes, they won’t get in. But they will never get in if the people who think they are the best choice never vote for them.
Someone has to start.
I would also point out that candidates/parties do not need to win elections to influence policy.
Sometimes just showing the other parties that there are people who care strongly about particular issues is enough.
UKIP proves that.
3 Likes
Yay! (re: screenshot below)
Also: I love the internet.
6 Likes
I chatted amicably with one such a fellow recently. We were commited to saying our peace and not getting super deep on the issues, and being mutually respectful.
What stood out to me after the exchange was that he hated both parties, thought they were both guilty in more or less equal amounts of various sins, but was very strongly anti-abortion and also thought Trump was not engaging in racially divisive rhetoric.
Different world view, I guess.
5 Likes
There is a difference… sadly not very much economically. But socially a whole fucking lot of difference.
But that won’t change if we sit on our asses and don’t vote.
Because of how elections work in the USA from what I learned in my college politics/civics class basically if there is a strong enough third party it will either get absorbed into the major party closest in platform or it pushes out one of the major parties and takes it’s place. (anyone here a whig?)
8 Likes
