Presumptive Nominees
With Donald Trump’s five state sweep this past Tuesday (4/26), he has now amassed 996 of the 1,237 delegates needed to guarantee the nomination at the Republican Party National Convention. More importantly, with roughly 570 delegates remaining, Ted Cruz has been mathematically eliminated from securing the nomination having only collected 565 delegates to this point. On the Democratic side, Hillary continues to hold the lead with Super Delegates and new reports are coming out that the Bernie Sanders campaign is beginning to stall out.
What this means is that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will more than likely be the Republican and Democratic party nominees for President of the United States when Americans head to the ballot boxes in November. With primary contests having been so close on both sides it leaves those who supported “the other candidates” between a rock an a hard place. Should they “coalesce” and “unify” or is it time for another option?
A Vote for Trump is a Vote for Hillary
You’ve probably heard the old adage, “A third party vote is a vote for the other side.” On the Republican side, “If you don’t vote for Trump, you’re sure to get Hillary.” On the Democratic side, “If you don’t vote for Hillary, you’re sure to get Trump.” However, I’d like to suggest a new adage, “A vote for the republican nominee, is a vote for the democratic nominee.”
What!? Have I lost my mind?
Not at all. Think about the last 30 years of our nation’s history. What voter issues have actually been meaningfully and substantially affected?
- Have we lowered our national debt? The Clinton administration boasted of “balancing the budget” but in the end the national debt still went up (see here).
- Both parties have promised either lower taxes or greater benefits to the middle class and the poor. Neither of those have come to fruition.
- Democrats have promised less wars and overseas involvement, while Republicans have promised a greater national defense. Sure, we’ve spent a lot more money but, in the end, we are no safer than we were before as a result.
- Both parties have continually used Veterans in their party platforms to get elected, and yet our nations veterans continue to get second, third, and fourth seats when it comes to health and military benefits.
- Republicans year after year promise their conservative supporters that they’ll do something about abortion. They proclaim their pro-life stance and yet literally nothing has changed on that front since the Roe v Wade decision back in the 70’s
- Democrats have promised to end crony capitalism and corrupt companies influencing legislation but the corporations continue to get their kick backs even from these very politicians.
Over the last 30 years, or more, we have been told election after election that if we vote for a third party, we actually vote for the other candidate. Here’s the ruse, it doesn’t matter whether we vote Republican or Democrat, we’re still getting the same results.
Here’s the truth, a vote for Trump is a vote for Hillary, and vice versa.
The Other Major Parties – Constitution, Libertarian, and Green
In this election cycle, more than any other before in my generation, we are looking at an electorate that is not supportive of the Democratic and Republican nominees. On both sides the victories are going to be narrow at best, and that means there is a much larger number of Democrats and Republicans than usual who will either be asked to “unify” behind the nominee, or who will simply decide to stay home and not vote. If you find yourself in one of those two positions I want to challenge you to consider voting for a third party.
In the United States of America there are five “major parties.” A major party is defined as having an independent state organization in a majority of states. While we typically only hear about the Democratic and Republican parties, there are three others: Libertarian, Green, and Constitution. You won’t find much about these other three parties on the News but you can find plenty of info about them on the web. Each one of these parties intends to put forward a presidential candidate.
What this means is that you don’t simply have to choose between, “the lesser of two evils.” There are five options and here is how they will likely break down come November:
Democratic Nominee – Hillary Clinton (2016 Front Runner)
Republican Nominee – Donald Trump (2016 Front Runner)
Libertarian Nominee – Gary Johnson (2012 Nominee & Front Runner)
Green Nominee – Jill Stein (2012 Nominee & Front Runner)
Constitutional Nominee – Darrell Castle (2016 Nominee)
(Click the Party, or Candidate to Learn More About Them)
Now is the Time to Examine Third Parties
I know what many of you are thinking, these other parties will never win! Why not? Is it because the media won’t cover them? Is it because they don’t have as much money as the other parties? Is it because nobody knows about them?
Isn’t that precisely the type of candidate who Americans would want to elect to represent them? Somebody who doesn’t have a bankrolled campaign, who has to fight to be heard, and who the media basically ignores? Why, that’s starting to sound a lot like a regular American!
Let me be blunt. These other three parties will never get the air time, the money, or the votes necessary to win if we keep relying on the candidates supported by big business, big media, and big fame. What’s more, nothing is ever going to change in the United States of America in any meaningful way if we continue to vote the same we have for 30+ years.
In order to turn the tide, we have to turn off our Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and start doing a little bit more research on ALL the candidates available to us. Now is the time to begin researching each of these parties and their presumptive nominees. We have roughly five months before the general election in November. Let’s go to the polls FULLY informed on ALL of the options we have and vote accordingly.
Conclusion: The Definition of Insanity
It has been said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Americans have been acting completely insane for over 30 years. The only thing that could be more insane is casting a vote for a guy like Donald Trump whom you don’t support or a gal like Hillary Clinton whom you don’t believe in. Maybe this election cycle it’s time for Americans to break the cycle of insanity and cast a meaningful vote for the first time in a very long time.
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Yes, both parties have failed the system, that is why Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are getting such strong support because they are not seen as the establishment. I agree we need to break the two party insanity, but now is not the time and votes will count. Even though there are a larger number of Democrats, it is not a given that they will win. The very fact that Bernie has got such a following is because his followers do not want Hillary or more of the same! Trump could very well get some of their votes once Hillary is nominated. There are also the independent candidates. Not to vote would be a vote for Hillary, but to vote for Donald would probably help him defeat Hillary. As far as 3rd parties go, that should be the strategy for the next election. They need to make themselves known and not be silent bystanders. Lack of funds is not an excuse. With today’s access to online social media, there is no reason not to reach millions of voters. They just need to up their game.
I think you’re over looking the fact that republicans are just as dissappointed with Trump as Sanders supporters are with Hillary.
Now IS the time to vote third party. When both establishment party candidates have disenfrachised half, or more, of their electorate. It’s a perfect time for those democrats and republicans to unify behind a candidate that actually represents them.
To ignore the fact that Trump and Hillary do not represent us, and vote party line anyway, is the insanity at work. To push it till 2020 just to say “not this time” again, is the insanity.
We need to stop it now, or we’ll never stop it.
You tend to treat those who think different to you as insane morons 🙂 My “insanity” is to keep Hillary from being the President. You need a strategy to win—and there doesn’t appear to be one. If there is a viable third party candidate, there would be an option. But there isn’t this time. Be careful, you’ll get whom and what you don’t vote for.
A thought-provoking read by Brian Beutler, “Why So Many Political Journalists Don’t Get Politics: The media’s third-party delusion stems from an intentional refusal to grapple with the country’s ideological traditions.” https://newrepublic.com/article/133233/many-political-journalists-dont-get-politics
https://newrepublic.com/article/133233/many-political-journalists-dont-get-politics
The strategy to win is to vote third party. It’s that simple.
If you think a Trump presidency is a “win” you’re entitled to that opinion.
I don’t support a single policy of Trump, so for me, Trump winning is just as bad as hillary winning. They’re both losses for America.
Out of curiosity what does a Trump win accomplish for you? I mean what policy points of his do you wholeheartedly support?
Obviously I disagree. That logic doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Truthfully a vote for Trump is a vote for Hillary. Substantially they are no different and will accomplish nothing but more of the same.
Honestly, if I had to choose between the two, I likely wouldn’t vote. I don’t want that on my conscience.
Thankfully, there are many more choices… and I don’t have to pick more of the same. Neither do you.
Not to vote for Trump, if he’s the only Republican candidate, is to vote for Clinton. None of your third party candidates even stand a chance against her. Bernie may pull it off if she’s indicted, but even he won’t be win against Trump. I read through your other published articles on the elections. You were wrong about Rand. You were wrong about Johnson. I’ll just wait and see how the next few months hold up to your predictions. I will vote my conscience.
Even If Trump Wins… We lose. The republican party has already lost.
By the way, How was I wrong about Johnson?
If Trump is the nominee, not to vote for him is a vote for Hillary. I like your ideas about the third parties, but for this round, it seems too late. The majority of the country haven’t heard of them. The only third party that could succeed is if Trump weren’t receiving the Republican nomination and ran as a third party. If you had to choose between Trump or Hillary, whom would you choose?