patrick.net

Interesting how all the people trying to convince me to vote the 3rd way are folks who vote a straight Republican ticket every time.

mell says

Break the D vs R mold

The Dems and Repubs reinforce each other by playing themselves off against the other. I encourage folks to vote for whoever they want, and even pursue write-ins. Americans did not sacrifice their lives so citizens could vote for only a Dem or Repub. If the major party candidates pull in a minority of the votes, won't that be something?

And I am not a Rand fan, nor Green fan, nor Nader fan, BTW.

Blurtman says

If the major party candidates pull in a minority of the votes, won't that be something?

The major party candidates pull in already a minority of eligible voters. There is an opportunity for an independent candidate who can self-finance, if (s)he is willing to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous commercial media. As Ron Paul was ignored and then mocked, a self-financed candidate would endure 10x more of the same: silence and then a mud-slinging contest, if the revenue recipients (military industrial complex, medical industrial complex) start to take the candidate seriously. The military industrial complex has owned big chunks of the media outright (e.g. NBC), while the medical industrial complex pays the rent (if you watch the evening news, count the ads and see which industry is calling most of the pipers' tune).

curious2 says

The major party candidates pull in already a minority of eligible voters.

Votes, not voters. The majors pull in the majority of votes. It may be that non-voters include folks who might vote for a new third party candidate, but likely also includes folks who just don't give a shyte.

Blurtman says

It may be that non-voters include folks who might vote for a new third party candidate....

In every election, I see interviews with people who say they've never voted before, even though they've been eligible for a long time. They say they were waiting for the right candidate. For some, that was Barack Obama; for others, Ralph Nader; for others, Ross Perot. In 1980, David Koch ran for President against Ronald Reagan. A serious and self-financed candidate, e.g. Mike Bloomberg, could "get out the vote," if part of a ticket that has broad enough appeal. Forbes lists annually dozens of potential candidates who could self-finance much more than the major party candidates spend, and they have a variety of opinions other than funneling government $ to corporate sponsors. The question is, of all those billionaires, which ones would step off the mega-yacht and into a real challenge, e.g. Rin's scientific research or Ross Perot's quest for the Presidency. American cultural expectations have shifted from the days when Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (half American) risked their lives for their countries and later ran for office.

Blurtman says

The Dems and Repubs reinforce each other by playing themselves off against the other. I encourage folks to vote for whoever they want, and even pursue write-ins. Americans did not sacrifice their lives so citizens could vote for only a Dem or Repub. If the major party candidates pull in a minority of the votes, won't that be something?

And I am not a Rand fan, nor Green fan, nor Nader fan, BTW.

Nothing is perfect, but more liberty and free market (no bailouts), less income taxes and bureaucracy plus a sound money policy sounds good to me.

I am contemplating writing in Cheech and Chong, but I am not yet sure who should be President, and who should be VP.

Blurtman says

I am contemplating writing in Cheech and Chong, but I am not yet sure who should be President, and who should be VP.

I can relate, but besides paying less income taxes and more liberty it would be a really big win if we could roll back some of that PC and big government crap that has invaded our society with a new president who does not cater to progressives. If we could go back to a point where a sitcom like married with children would make it into the TV streams again without being attacked by a mob of angry SJWs and disqualified due to -isms, much would be achieved. Or just write in Reefer and Madness.

mell says

I can relate, but besides paying less income taxes and more liberty it would be a really big win if we could roll back some of that PC and big government crap that has invaded our society with a new president who does not cater to progressives. If we could go back to a point where a sitcom like married with children would make it into the TV streams again without being attacked by a mob of angry SJWs and disqualified due to -isms, much would be achieved. Or just write in Reefer and Madness.

Yes, I know getting a non-PC sitcom back on TV is at the top of my list of the country's biggest issues right now.

Interesting how all the people trying to convince me to vote the 3rd way are folks who vote a straight Republican ticket every time.

I find it interesting as well. Why are Democrat voters so attached to their party? With all the dissatisfaction of the two party system, I'd think you would have a more equal portion of detractors. But you're correct, the dems aren't doing much to help bring more competition to the voting both.

Why is that?

Personally, the party doesn't matter to me, rather their ideas and how they sell their plans to implement them. It's probably the reason I don't vote at all

tatupu70 says

mell says

I can relate, but besides paying less income taxes and more liberty it would be a really big win if we could roll back some of that PC and big government crap that has invaded our society with a new president who does not cater to progressives. If we could go back to a point where a sitcom like married with children would make it into the TV streams again without being attacked by a mob of angry SJWs and disqualified due to -isms, much would be achieved. Or just write in Reefer and Madness.

Yes, I know getting a non-PC sitcom back on TV is at the top of my list of the country's biggest issues right now.

That's the reason why the left make much better fascists than any right-wing wing-nut could ever make. It's also the reason why the NSDAP had the word "socialist" in it. The most barbaric dictatorships were all left-wing. PC is no joke, it's always at the beginning of a streamlining of the media and society, it's the introduction of hate-crime and then thought-crime, the labeling of skeptics as "deniers" as well as the introduction of politics purely based on emotion, devoid of facts (far more devoid than fox news could ever be), running on the hateful fumes of cultural marxism.

Right. It's so PC now. I think there have been shows with fisting and ass-licking during prime time this year. Terrible prudes! Fresh off the Boat, Blackish and more race topics than you can shake a stick at. I think Cosby did a show about good rape or something too?