Don’t mistake it for apathy. I didn’t vote for either major party candidate in either of the last 2 presidential elections because I didn’t like either of the options. I’m not going to be schoolmarmed by anybody on Lemmy for doing so, especially since many of the people participating in US politics discussions on Lemmy seem to be Canadians or Europeans who, just like Russian trolls, cannot vote in US elections.
If you want viable third party options leading towards reform, you have to act accordingly. In '92 Ross Perot won 20% of the popular vote despite only re-entering the race in October. In June of that year he was polling as the leader in the 3-way race, before questions about whether he would qualify for all states ballots. He could have won that election.
Since then, the two mega parties have done all they can to ensure no viable 3rd option ever emerges again. This year we were given a matchup of historically unpopular R, nominated pretty much by default through a party controlled process of primaries that couldn’t be meaningfully influenced by primary voters…and on the D side we were given a historically unpopular D for whom the party scuttled all potential primary challengers, then at the last second they replaced him via their national process, subverting the entire point of having primaries, with a candidate who won zero votes in that initial process or the previous election cycles primary process.
That said, since as an individual I have no meaningful way of influencing or reforming either major party, and both continue to force candidates upon us I don’t like, I will be voting for whoever I want. It is not even remotely similar to “apathy”. Thanks.
I don’t see how you tossing your vote away to a third party that will definitely lose, in any way creates a future with more than two major parties. It simply will never work. Your efforts would be better spent trying to reform either existing party from within. Maybe you’re not apathetic but you are delusional.
Don’t mistake it for apathy. I didn’t vote for either major party candidate in either of the last 2 presidential elections because I didn’t like either of the options. I’m not going to be schoolmarmed by anybody on Lemmy for doing so, especially since many of the people participating in US politics discussions on Lemmy seem to be Canadians or Europeans who, just like Russian trolls, cannot vote in US elections.
If you want viable third party options leading towards reform, you have to act accordingly. In '92 Ross Perot won 20% of the popular vote despite only re-entering the race in October. In June of that year he was polling as the leader in the 3-way race, before questions about whether he would qualify for all states ballots. He could have won that election.
Since then, the two mega parties have done all they can to ensure no viable 3rd option ever emerges again. This year we were given a matchup of historically unpopular R, nominated pretty much by default through a party controlled process of primaries that couldn’t be meaningfully influenced by primary voters…and on the D side we were given a historically unpopular D for whom the party scuttled all potential primary challengers, then at the last second they replaced him via their national process, subverting the entire point of having primaries, with a candidate who won zero votes in that initial process or the previous election cycles primary process.
That said, since as an individual I have no meaningful way of influencing or reforming either major party, and both continue to force candidates upon us I don’t like, I will be voting for whoever I want. It is not even remotely similar to “apathy”. Thanks.
I don’t see how you tossing your vote away to a third party that will definitely lose, in any way creates a future with more than two major parties. It simply will never work. Your efforts would be better spent trying to reform either existing party from within. Maybe you’re not apathetic but you are delusional.