Political Theory Crafting Ahoy: Why its OK to vote 3rd party, and how its not going to ruin the country. Its been a long standing idea of mine that simply voting for the least worse candidate cant be the deciding factor in an election. I believe doing so has left us with a watered down mediocre system running our country. With that in mind Im going to attempt to dispel this myth that voting 3rd party is ineffectual and harmful to our political process. Statement #1: they are just going to lose anyway and Ive wasted my vote as a result Statistics are the lifeblood of politics. There are entire companies and think tanks whos sole purpose in life is to crunch numbers and figure out what the general public wants to vote for. One of those metrics is who people are voting for and where they live. So even if your 3rd party candidate loses you are still making a statement that will have an impact on the gradual shift in our policies. It will also encourage more people like your ideal candidate to take the risk next time and run for office. This process is a marathon, not a sprint. Statement #2: this country will be ruined if xyz gets elected. I need to vote for the other guy to prevent that from happening A common political tactic is to instill fear and doubt as a valid reason to vote a certain way. Fear that if the other guy wins the country will be sunk forever. Fortunately we have history to examine to tell us if this true or false. You just need to look at all the people who have won elections where their opponents implied to us the country would be worse off or completely imploded as a result. Well, we are still here. Wait. Why is that, though? Thankfully for us our system of government is deliberately slow, highly procedural, full of red tape, and full of people more than willing to be obstructionist for no better reason other than to just drag their feet. In other words: dont worry, the country will be fine. Its been fine for over 200 years even if the other guy won. This process is a marathon, not a sprint. Statement #3: Voting 3rd party siphons off votes from another candidate that is more likely to win. See answer 1 & 2. You have to come to terms with everything Ive mentioned above and be perfectly OK with the facts: - Your 3rd party candidate will probably lose (but maybe not!) - Their presence will siphon votes from other parties, and perhaps cause the more shittier of the candidates to win. It wont, however, result in any immutable harm being brought on the country. - Even with all that being true you can take solace in the fact that you have still contributed in a very meaningful way towards a positive desired effect. It makes a statement that your political views matter, and if a candidate wants your vote they need to incorporate your views. Finally, dont vote 3rd party for the sheer virtue of voting a 3rd party. This is detrimental to the process. In the past Ive advocated the people should vote 3rd party even if they dont align mostly with them just because it helps the cause. Ive come to realize that is a stupid thing to say, and even more stupid thing to do. I still believe in voting 3rd party if you are aligned with them, though. If all of our votes are indeed an aggregate for some statistics driven mechanism that helps predicts the next generation of ideal candidates then we are doing ourselves a disservice by voting any other way than for the person who we are most aligned with. If that person happens to be a republican or democrat, then awesome. Do everyone a favor and vote for them. But I am asking that everyone examine all eligible candidates and vote for the one that is the best fit for you, and not just who happens to be the least shitty and has a better chance at winning. This process is a marathon, not a sprint.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 05:05:00 +0000
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