Stop Whining That We Only Have 2 Political Parties!
People keep whining that we aren't a democracy that represents all voters because we have a 2 party system. That somehow we are forced to have only 2 parties-- that there's some sort of conspiracy that limits candidates who aren't from the 2 major parties from running for office. Or that only allows voters to vote for a Democrat or Republican.
But that's totally false. In fact, we have several parties. So why don't you hear about them more? Simply because the vast majority of people choose-- of their own free will-- to vote for either of the 2 major parties. No one is forcing you to vote only for them. No one is preventing you from voting for, say, the Libertarian instead of a Democrat or a Republican.
So why do Libertarians get fewer votes than Republicans? Why did the Peace & Freedom Party candidate get so few votes? Because....fewer people choose to vote for them. DUH!
I decided to see what our choices actually were-- only 2 parties? So I decided to google. Picked a large state & found out who was actually on the ballot in California in the recent 2016 election. Here what I found. Results of the 2016 Presidential race in California.
2016 Pres. Race in California State Totals: Political Party (Name of Candidate) # of votes statewide:
Democrat (Clinton) 8,753,788 - Republican & American Independent (Trump) 4,483,810 - Green (Jill Stein) 278,657 - Libertarian (Gary Johnson) 478,500 - Peace & Freedom (Gloria Estela La Riva) 66,101 - Laurence Kotlikoff W/I 402 - Mike Maturen W/I 1,316 - Evan McMullen W/I 39,596. (Note: W/I = write in)
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An exclusively "Two Party System"? Are we forced to vote for one of only two political parties? No!
In fact, we have several political parties. So why don't you hear about them more? Simply because the vast majority of people choose-- of their own free will-- to vote for either of the 2 major parties.
No one is forcing you to vote only for them. No one is preventing you from voting for, say, the Libertarian instead of a Dem. or Rep. Why do Libertarians get fewer votes than Republicans? Why did the Peace & Freedom Party candidate get so few votes? Because....fewer people choose to vote for them.
That's how democracy works.
DUH!
And here's something else to think about. We could've had another party fielding a candidate. Sanders supporters were divided. fter he lost the primary, some thought they should all unite behind Hillary as defeating Trump should be their priority. Some thought Sanders should continue to run for president anyway. Others simply went home and sulked...
But could he have run if he chose to? Could we have had a Socialist run for President? Before you say no-- because we supposedly have a "two party system" that won't allow us to have that choice-- check the history:
Eugene Victor " Gene " Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies), and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States .
Five times! So there were at least those 5 elections we we had more than a 2 party race....
I believe Ralph Nader ran four times or so? Remember Ross Perot? George Wallace?
As a Democrat I certainly do remember when Nader ran, especially in 2000! The bastard! Anyway it's true about all of the different parties. My wife and I vote by mail here in CA and when we got our ballot there must have been 20 different parties on it for President alone! We certainly had a choice of many more then just two parties.
Exactly.
How come the Republican Party gets so many votes from those on the right-- and the Libertarian Party gets so many less? Simply because the vast majority of people on the right feel the republican party represents their views better than the Libertarian party).
How come the Peace and Freedom party or various Socialist parties that have arisen from time to time never become as predominant as the Democratic party? Its the same phenomenon-- the vast majority of people left of center prefer the Democratic Party to, say, the Peace and Freedom party.
(If enough people really cared enough, large numbers would take enough action so that a party such as Peace & freedom or Libertarians would win elections. But while some people feel strongly about these parties, there aren't enough to win democratic elections-- more people woud rather vote Democrat or Republican)
I realize that I tend to be more Socialist then the Democratic Party. I am more of a government providing cradle to grave healthcare and a strong safety net. Still I vote Democrat because they are the closest to my views of the two major parties and I think that if I voted for the Socialist Party I would be wasting my vote. Besides there is a quite active left wing of the Democratic Party.