I am sick and tired of our two major parties. I no longer feel an allegiance to either one or the slightest bit compelled to vote for any of our current public servants.
Both Democrats and Republicans have shown themselves to be bought and paid for by corporations and are clearly no longer willing to fight for our best interests.
I want to vote for someone who would actually represent the people, and there are some awesome and qualified third party candidates out there that would do good things for this country.
However, in this day and age, it is nearly impossible for a third party candidate to even come close to beating a Democratic or Republican presidential candidate, let alone both. And to win the 2012 election it will cost over a billion dollars.
If you haven’t watched it yet, take a look at the video below: The Problems with First Past the Post Voting, Explained. It’s a very quick overview of our current voting system and shows how you can unwittingly end up voting for the party you did not want. Strategy, it turns out, is all important. Pay particular attention at the end to just how sneaky the funding for third party candidates can be.
Historically speaking, voting third party has basically always been the same as NOT voting Democrat – which is effectively the same as giving a vote to the Republicans.
After what the Republicans have done to us – and more recently to the people in Wisconsin (and are planning to do in many other states as well) – I’m really reluctant to throw my vote their way to make some sort of ineffective statement about bipartisan politics.
That doesn’t mean we can’t direct our energies to federal and state elections – which are much more receptive to third-party candidates – and start supporting those who offer a true alternative on the issues.
At this point though, voting third-party in 2012 does nothing to end the two party system. The only true way to disrupt the two party system is to completely reform campaign finance laws and to allow third parties at the debates. And I’m not holding my breath for that to happen anytime soon.
The 99er Post 
missdisplaced
April 3, 2011
I don’t think I will vote for ANY of them! What’s the point? They are ALL controlled by the Corporate Fascists anyway and we surely never get to vote for those ‘folks.
SuPer
March 30, 2011
America is not a democracy, it is a corporatocracy. As such, it makes absolutely no difference who we “elect” to any office; Things will continue to operate as they have for decades now. No POTUS, no matter how sincere or well-intentioned, is going to change anything. Neither will any bullshit political party.
Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power. – Benito Mussolini
We’ve got more than just a “merger” here in the United States….. it’s a full-blown corporate takeover.
nuffsaid
March 15, 2011
A third party would undoubtedly disproportionately draw from the left and fail miserably. I’m starting to suspect the mountains of posts everywhere advocating such a third party are conservatives trying to save their skins in 2012 by fracturing the Dems.
Remember what happened in 2000. The Nader supporters voted strictly along ideals and we got Bush for 8 years…
What we need to do is take over the Democratic Party, we need to start showing up at your local Democratic Party meetings.
anonimo
March 15, 2011
The real tragedy is that many 99ers will not survive until the next elections. When you lose your home, your health care, your medicines, and you don’t have enough money for proper food, you start getting really sick, really quickly.
And you can’t help but see how this might be exactly what the Republicans want: keep denying 99ers any kind of assistance and they won’t be able to get to the voting booths in 2012 — where they would be voting against the Republicans.
d.eris
March 14, 2011
The only way to end the reigning two party system is to stop supporting Democrats and Republicans. You say, the only way to do so is to reform campaign finance and allow third parties into debates. These are good points, but Democrats and Republicans will fight tooth and nail against any reform that weakens their power. Which is why you have to fight them to do so. The most effective way to fight them is to support third party and independent candidates, and for modest reforms to the political process, whenever possible. You say you don’t want to throw your vote away on a third party candidate, but it sounds like you’ve been throwing your vote away in support of corporatist Democrats for some time. Freedom and independence today begins with freedom and independence from the Democratic and Republican parties, from the tyranny of the two-party state and duopoly system of government.
99ertoo
March 15, 2011
The current 2 party system is clearly hurting millions and millions of Americans – but this system will not be changed by 2012.
I’m not saying we should stop fighting for what is right and just – we need to keep standing up to those who would take advantage of us – but we should not let ourselves be fooled into doing something we had no intention of doing.
The real question here is whether or not a third-party candidate could win in the 2011 presidential elections . And I have yet to find anyone who would give them even a remote chance.
Since we are stuck within this current system, everyone needs to be crystal clear on what the impact of their actions will be:
1- if you don’t vote: your vote will go to Republicans
2- if you vote 3rd-party: your vote will go to Republicans
It ends up that there really are only 2 possible choices in 2012:
1- Vote Democrat
2- Knowingly vote Republican or far worse, unknowingly vote Republican
d.eris
March 15, 2011
The presidential contest is just one election out of hundreds, if not thousands that will take place in 2012. Arguably, the presidential election is not nearly as important as the hundreds of other contests to elect mayors, state and federal legislators, city councils, county executives etc. If you want to “keep standing up to those who would take advantage of us,” this means not voting for Democrats if you are a liberal or progressive, and not voting for Republicans if you are a conservative or libertarian. The Democratic party coopted and killed the anti-war movement, just as the GOP is co-opting and killing the tea party movement. The Democratic and Republican parties are where grass-roots people-powered movements go to die in the interests of maintaining the global warfare and corporate welfare state.
You write that “if you don’t vote” or “if you vote for a third party” then “your vote will go to Republicans.” On this logic, the VAST MAJORITY of votes always go to Republicans, since the vast majority of Americans don’t vote in any elections whatsoever. But, if half of the people who usually do not vote simply cast a ballot for a third party or independent candidate in any election, those candidates would win in a landslide.
The cult of the executive branch and of the presidency obscures the fact that it is much more important to contest legislative elections. If the people of the United States could elect just 4 more independents or third party candidates to the Senate and just a few dozen to the House, neither of the ruling corporatist parties would have a majority in the Congress. And the same basic logic holds in state legislatures across the country. That would be a real check on the power of the global warfare and corporate welfare state.