The consistent argument amongst the Center/Right against voting for a third party is that it will:

1) help the Democrats win the election. The presumption is that the voter is anti-Democratic Party. There is also the presumption that the voter is essentially ‘owned’ by the GOP and thus going third-party will deprive the GOP of a previously assumed vote, i.e. what would have been a GOP vote is taken away and given to a third party, thus giving the Dems a +1 advantage for every defection.) It is wrong to assume that anyone’s vote is ‘owned’ by any party. Granted, some people are party hacks, but last I checked party registration is in the 30something% each for the Dems and GOP, with ‘independents’ the remaining 30something%.

It also belies an ignorance of the Electoral College, as we do not have a national Presidential election, but, rather, 51 separate Presidential elections (the 50 states + DC.) The first-place winner in each of the 51 has their electors travel to the state capitol in December and cast their vote for the one they are pledged to vote for. For example, NY will undoubtedly be won by Biden. So, electors pledged to him will go to Albany and vote. Trump’s electors will stay home.

2) be a ‘wasted vote’ as the third-party candidate will not win. NO vote is wasted. Apart from the traditional view that a third party vote is a valid protest vote, there is also the undeniable deadlock and corruption in DC (and some state capitols) wrought by the two-party system. The Dems and GOP are solidly entrenched and have, for the past several decades, paid more attention to lobbyists and corporate donors than to the average voter. They see NO threat to their dominance and thus pay little regard to voter ‘rebellion, as that never amounts to much beyond lots of sound and fury that fizzles in the voting booth.

So, voting third-party is ‘wasted?’ When your vote for one of the two major parties only ‘counts’ since a Dem or GOP always ‘wins.’ And that seems to be the chief criterion for voting Dem/GOP: that we HAVE to vote for them as only they will ‘win.

Furthermore, Democrats are convinced that third party votes ‘help Trump win,’ as evidenced by several arguments my wife had back in 2016. Neither contentions can both be true!

How has picking the ‘winner’ been working out for the country? Do you think there will be any real effective change for the better in continuing along the path we’ve been on? One definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ The two-party system is now insane. So, hmmm. What to do, what to do.

OK… look at my Electoral College example in point #1. Since Biden is a given winner in NY, why vote for Trump to ‘stop’ him? He’s going to win, so isn’t voting for Trump a ‘wasted vote?’ (See point #2) So, why shouldn’t I take advantage of that and vote third party? This is part of the traditional ‘protest vote,’ but also a step towards busting the two-party system. It will not happen overnight, but a slow erosion of the iron grip the Dems/GOP have would be welcome. Naturally, there will also have to be Constitutional changes as the reason why we have two-parties dominating in the first place is that we have a winner-take-all system rather than some form of proportional voting like Canada and some other countries have. But the Dems/GOP will never allow such changes as they would be a direct threat to their stranglehold; victorious third parties have no vested interest in the current system as it is a threat to them!

Only in the so-called battleground states does the ‘helping the Democrat’ theory in point #1 possibly make sense. Possibly. But a vote for a third-party candidate is a vote for that person, not a ‘helping’ vote for the Democrats or Republicans. This, to me, is symptomatic of how ingrained (or inbred?) the two-party system is. It also illustrates how restricting it is on my freedom of choice. I “have to” vote for only one of the two…

“But…” you respond, “this is a long term solution! We have problems NOW that need solving! ’TRUMP! SUPREME COURT JUSTICES’” Yeah, our problems won’t be solved by short-term solutions like perpetuating the current system. We need to start thinking long-term. The politicians (all Dem/GOP) think only in terms of the current election cycle. We needn’t emulate them.

It may be that this November, it won’t matter who wins. If Trump pulls it off the Left will go utterly berserk and rampage; you think they’re only pulling down statues now? Beating up Catholic old folks praying rosaries? What is going on now is a First Holy Communion get together compared to the meltdown the Left will have in November. It’ll dwarf the tantrums they had in 2016. If Biden wins, it’s curtains for the American Empire. The inmates will be running the jail, the patients the asylum, and the Left will have virtually free rein to finish off the country with their social engineering experiments. Woe be unto any who disagree. This will be the last Presidential election; in a way, I’ll be happy for that as each one from 2004 has been a trauma and I can’t take any more of this crap. A monarchy would be better! 🙂

Pray that God casts His gaze upon us and intervenes. Soon.