2016: Too important to mess around with 3rd parties
In case you missed it, the presidential election is less than a month away--and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are not the only ones running to become the Leader of the Free World. This country has third parties, the most well-known are The Libertarian Party and The Green Party, and these parties do get some votes. People are voting for Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, people are voting for Green Party nominee Jill Stein. And with what’s at stake in this election, that is dangerous. The next President will determine who takes the late Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court. They will make decisions about the right’s of women, minorities, and the LGBT+ community. There’s a lot that could change after this election, not even taking Senate race into consideration.
Just to be clear, I think that the current two-party system of our country is deeply flawed. There is no way that two polarized parties can wholly represent the ideals of an entire nation. Having third parties makes sense, and the only way to slowly dismantle the two-party system is to vote for third-party candidates. Just, not this election.
Many of Johnson and Stein’s supporters are disenfranchised Democrats. People who are more liberal than Hillary Clinton and are looking for a more liberal candidate that is more exciting and better matches their interests. Many members of the Republican Party are also unhappy with Trump, but very few Republicans are turning to third parties as a solution. If these disenfranchised democrats turn toward Stein and Johnson, Trump gets a free ride to The White House. And in this moment, nothing scares me more than the words “President Trump.” A man who’s only concrete plan, no pun intended, is to build a wall. A Trump presidency would be catastrophic for democracy in this country.
Often times it helps to look at the past to better understand what we’re dealing with. In the 2000 election Green Party candidate Ralph Nader split the vote with Democrat Al Gore and essentially allowed George W. Bush to obtain the presidency. Democrats were not united and that opened the doors for Bush, the president responsible for starting the war in Iraq and taking over 400 vacation days during his time in office.
This could happen now. If the Democratic Party does not unite behind Clinton we are in trouble. Trump supporters are extremely united. They will be at the polls when they open. They will bring their friends to vote with them. They will be vocal. If democrats are divided between Clinton, Johnson, and Stein they will lose the election and Trump will hold the highest office in the free world.
This election is too important. Now is not the time to dismantle the archaic two-party system. You may like Jill Stein, but there is too much at stake this year. Go to the polls Nov. 8 and vote, and maybe, just maybe, in four years we can start voting for the candidate we want--of any party--instead of voting against the candidate we don’t.
And if you are still undecided, it’s time to make up your mind.
www.iSideWith.com
Just to be clear, I think that the current two-party system of our country is deeply flawed. There is no way that two polarized parties can wholly represent the ideals of an entire nation. Having third parties makes sense, and the only way to slowly dismantle the two-party system is to vote for third-party candidates. Just, not this election.
Many of Johnson and Stein’s supporters are disenfranchised Democrats. People who are more liberal than Hillary Clinton and are looking for a more liberal candidate that is more exciting and better matches their interests. Many members of the Republican Party are also unhappy with Trump, but very few Republicans are turning to third parties as a solution. If these disenfranchised democrats turn toward Stein and Johnson, Trump gets a free ride to The White House. And in this moment, nothing scares me more than the words “President Trump.” A man who’s only concrete plan, no pun intended, is to build a wall. A Trump presidency would be catastrophic for democracy in this country.
Often times it helps to look at the past to better understand what we’re dealing with. In the 2000 election Green Party candidate Ralph Nader split the vote with Democrat Al Gore and essentially allowed George W. Bush to obtain the presidency. Democrats were not united and that opened the doors for Bush, the president responsible for starting the war in Iraq and taking over 400 vacation days during his time in office.
This could happen now. If the Democratic Party does not unite behind Clinton we are in trouble. Trump supporters are extremely united. They will be at the polls when they open. They will bring their friends to vote with them. They will be vocal. If democrats are divided between Clinton, Johnson, and Stein they will lose the election and Trump will hold the highest office in the free world.
This election is too important. Now is not the time to dismantle the archaic two-party system. You may like Jill Stein, but there is too much at stake this year. Go to the polls Nov. 8 and vote, and maybe, just maybe, in four years we can start voting for the candidate we want--of any party--instead of voting against the candidate we don’t.
And if you are still undecided, it’s time to make up your mind.
www.iSideWith.com
Peace and blessings,
Beth
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