Many people have said that we MUST vote for Hillary, or... Trump! On the other side, people have said we should vote for Trump because... Hillary!
For myself, it's a matter of every election in recent history being billed as a choice between the lesser of two evils. I've reached the point where that is no longer acceptable as a reason to vote for a particular candidate.
The old saying goes, "The lesser of two evils is still evil." While that is true, it doesn't even begin to cover the extent of the issue when it comes to voting for President or any other office.
At issue is the continued validity, or lack thereof, of the two-party system. Both major parties have proven to be corrupt and eminently corruptible. Yet we are told that we must vote for one or the other, or the Armageddon will come. Either the end of the world predicted by evangelicals of all persuasions, or the end of America as we know it, or some other end of something or other.
I flatly reject that viewpoint. With both major parties being undesirable and the electoral system needing to change, the only rational option is to vote for a third party candidate. At the same time, we need to educate people on how to change the system into a multi-party one that does not act merely as a spoiler.
Otherwise, we will continue our long slide into oligarchy or theocracy. That would truly be the end of this grand experiment we call the United States of America.
© 2016 Donald C. Rice Jr.
As Americans we each have the right to vote for whom we choose, the right to vote for a third party, or the right to not vote at all. No one is disputing that. I was a strong Bernie Sanders supporter and I'm well aware of Hillary Clinton's deficiencies and the strong possibility that DNC machinations on her behalf may have cheated Bernie out of the nomination. Nevertheless, I have to agree with Bernie that this election is not the time to make a protest vote. The specter of Donald Trump becoming President outweighs other considerations. A Trump Presidency would put an end to any hope of implementing any sort of progressive agenda for the rest of our lives and beyond. Lets get rid of this menace, consign him and his ilk to the dustbin of history, and organize to elect progressives and reverse the rapid descent into oligarchy. The Democratic Party is corrupt and badly in need of housecleaning, but you don't clean your house when your house is about to be engulfed in flames. Donald Trump is the fire, and if we don't extinguish him there will be no house left to clean.
ReplyDeleteThe very same arguments have been made election after election, Robin. To which I ask this time-honored question:
DeleteIf not now, when?
Fantastic Don ! So like minded. I am really hoping that We reach 5% to get matching funds. The whole thing is quite scary when one thinks of 4 years of either, then adding in the levers of control that are so easily exploited namely news dissemination & propaganda. I most certainly do NOT trust Hillary at the helm with those types of weapons at her disposal. The Clintons historically have never seen any power possibilities that were not immediately exploited. (Travel gate great example).. We could end up having no way to determine what is real, or not.
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