Several times when I have mentioned by distaste for Hillary Clinton, one of the common replies from the Hillaryites has been, “I guess you will be voting for Trump in November.” The first thing that bothers me about this comment is that is supposes there are only two choices on the ballot in November. Either this is an admittance of complete and utter ignorance of the US election process or these commenters have bought in wholesale to the political duopoly that has been foisted upon US citizens. I am going to assume the latter.
Luckily in the United States, we have voted using a secret ballot. There a limited cases when we don’t have a secret ballot such as caucuses, but that’s another topic. Most importantly is that my vote for the presidential election is my vote and not the Democratic Party’s vote. I get to vote how I choose, regardless of Party directives.
My assumption is that people who say that I must be voting for Trump have bought into the Democratic/Republican political duopoly. Before you say otherwise, the classic “wasting your vote” line originates from this space. A Washington Times editorial writes, “Change from within is effective, but voting for a third-party candidate never pays off.”
Or things like this that wallow in a complancey that is sickeing as it is dangerous. It’s an intellectual “why even bother” argument.
I’m not saying I endorse the two-party system. I’d love to have real alternatives. But the constrained choice of American politics can’t be blamed on the superrich or the corporate-owned media; it’s inherent to the structure of our democracy. Our elections are first-past-the-post, a rule which inevitably causes the spectrum of opinion to collapse into two dominant parties. It’s doubtful that this will ever change unless we radically overhaul our voting system, although even alternatives like instant-runoff elections aren’t immune to strategic voting.
Living in a state which is so Blue, we have Democratic candidates and officials that are Republicans dressed as Democrats. I looking at you, Carper and Carney, to name a few. We also have Dems that are the epitomy of evil. I’m looking at you, Tom Gordon. Before you get all worried that I am not casting aspersions toward the Republicans, let me just mention three names: Christine O’Donnell, Mike Protrack, and Mike Castle. So what’s a Democrat to do when he or she steps into a voting booth in November and sees Carney for Governor and Gordon for County Executive. Do you vote Republican? Do you not vote? Do you vote 3rd Party?
I will probably be facing that dilemma for my Presidential vote, unless Hillary can sway me. (More on Hillary’s potentiality for persuasion at a later date.) so what i know now is that we will have more choices than Hillary or Trump. And these other possibilities need to be examined.
Judge Napolitano writes,
I reject the idea that a principled vote is wasted. Your vote is yours, and so long as your vote is consistent with your conscience, it is impossible to waste your vote.
J.D. Tuccille writes,
But there’s no actual obligation to play into that horrible choice. The major political parties have outlived their sell-by dates and grown corrupt, unresponsive, and complacent. They’ve turned into hollowed-out vehicles to be hijacked by populist demagogues when not being ridden to office by sticky-fingered functionaries. The Republicans are in worse shape than the Democrats, but only in relative terms.
Which is to say, until they reform or die, the major parties are no longer serious choices. Their train-wreck presidential nomination races offer clear evidence to anybody who hasn’t drunk the major party Kool-Aid that it’s time to look elsewhere for real ideas and credible candidates for political office.