David Bruce Collins—the Official Site
  • Index
  • Blog
  • Biography
  • Writing
    • Novels in Print
    • Eastern Daylight (1997) >
      • Eastern Daylight: April
      • Eastern Daylight: May
      • Eastern Daylight: June
      • Eastern Daylight: July
      • Eastern Daylight: August
      • Eastern Daylight: September
      • Eastern Daylight: October
    • Bite-Size Hungarian
  • Politics
    • Life As a Green
    • Ten Key Values of GPUS (English)
    • Issues for 2020
  • Web Links

And Now...the Positives of Third-Party Voting

3/8/2020

 
Hey, I sense a theme here.

Recently, in my free moments, I have been thinking quite a bit about the necessity of political parties other than the two that have held sway for 160 years. I have been envisioning the evolution of the United States into a multi-party democracy more than usual.

Yesterday's entry featured my Twitter thread about how electing Joe Biden in 2020 practically assures a Republican victory in 2024. That's assuming he isn't replaced in the first half of his term by his running mate, who turns out to be FDR-level awesome and just what the nation needs.

The entry from the weekend before (25 July) featured a tirade against Jef Rouner's tirade against voting for third parties. Mostly I focused on the reasons many self-identified Progressives cannot in good conscience vote for Biden.

What I didn't get into very deeply is that there are some good, healthy, positive reasons for voting for non-Duopoly parties in the US. That's out subject today. Third-party voting isn't entirely a matter of casting a protest vote against both heads of the two-headed War & Wall Street Party; it's also about building a new system to replace the imperialist, corporatist system that, despite its imposing grandeur, is already crumbling around us.
Party Building
The most obvious positive reason for voting for the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Socialist Party USA, Constitution Party, Peace & Freedom Party, or whichever party aligns with your values, is building these parties for the future. This is a slow process, given the political and media environments, but it is happening.

Here in Texas, in the 2016 general election, a Libertarian candidate for Railroad Commissioner broke the 5% mark, and a Green in the same race broke the 3% mark, against nominees from both heads of the Duopoly. (Way back in 1992, Libertarian RRC candidate Richard N. Draheim Jr., got almost 7% against an R and a D.) Together, Mark Miller and Martina Salinas received nearly 750,000 votes out of about 8.8 million. About one of every 12 voters said a resounding no to the Duopoly in that race.

It took the Greens 16 years to reach that level. Since 2000, we have had several statewide candidates who polled considerably higher—double digits even—in races with no Democrat running. The Libertarians have been contesting elections in Texas since 1980; they haven't thrown in the towel because they know that hundreds of thousands of Texas voters need candidates whose philosophies and positions reflect their own.

Ironically, the presence of Green and Libertarian Parties has strengthened the Democratic Party in Texas. After all those years of leaving holes in the statewide ballot, allowing the Greens and Libertarians to poll at 5% and retain ballot access, because they know they can't win statewide, Texas Democrats are now more regularly filling those holes, especially in presidential years. (Not 100% though: They didn't field a candidate for Court of Criminals Appeals, Position 8, in 2018.)

SIDEBAR: If you look back at recent general elections in Texas, have a look at races with a Libertarian nominee and no Democrat. It's impressive how many people who, in the absence of a Democratic option, choose the Libertarian rather than voting for the Republican or abstaining. Libertarians' percentages jump from 2's and 3's to 15's and 20's. (The number of undervotes in those races is still huge by comparison. It will be interesting to see what effect the removal of the one-punch straight-ticket ballot line will have on these results.) Yes, these votes are probably as much against the Republican as for the Libertarian, but the number of Democrats voting for the devil they don't know (and about whom mainstream media outlets almost never speak) is surprising.

Promoting Ideas and Policies
In turn, building up so-called third parties has positive effects. Whether or not the Green Party ever wins any seats in Congress, progressive Democrats are willing to adopt and promote positions in the Green Party's platform. There is no more salient example of this than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez waving the Green New Deal flag in Nancy Pelosi's face the moment she arrived in the House in 2019. Admittedly, it's a watered down version of the Howie Hawkins/Jill Stein GND, but at least it got people talking.

Greens also were calling for defunding and demilitarizing police forces (with attribution to our radical and progressive forbears, including the Black Panther Party) long before the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was coined.

But the appropriation of ideas and policies from fringe parties is nothing new. It was the Democrats' adoption of Populist Party positions and nomination of William Jennings Bryan that rendered the Populist Party redundant in the 1890s. Think also of FDR's adoption of positions advanced by the Socialist Party.

If the Greens and other leftish parties didn't pose a threat to the Democratic Party's left flank, these parties would never acquire any leverage, and their ideas would gain no traction.

Enhancing Democracy and Reforming Electoral Processes
We could talk here about how the Duopoly parties depend heavily on professional campaign consultants, how those consultants tell candidates what to say and how to say it, how the consultancy practice has become such an institution that they have arranged to make campaigns a perennial exercise in order to keep the money flowing their way. But I'd rather not. It's already leaving an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Instead, I'd like to focus on the recent expansions of Ranked Choice and Approval Voting systems. The Greens have been talking about Instant Runoff Voting for decades, not just because IRV solves the spoiler effect, but also because it eliminates the need for costly runoff elections. (The consultants hate it when you talk about eliminate anything that might put the brakes on their gravy train.) Such systems are unnecessary in two-way races, but the Duopolists are increasingly seeing the benefits of such systems, primarily in local primaries that may attract large fields of candidates.

In Maine, even after Republican Paul LePage was elected governor with less than 38% of the vote, a lot of big-name Democrats resisted the Ranked Choice system that the voters there adopted in 2016. Since the Democrats have gained a Congressional seat there in 2018 thanks to RCV, they love it, and it's Republicans who are kvetching about it. (Too bad Texas didn't see the light after the 2006 election, when Rick Perry was re-elected with only 39%.)

I'm not going to list all the selling points for RCV and Approval Voting here. You can read all about it at fairvote.org and electionscience.org. However, once people latch onto these systems, perhaps they'll be more open to other reforms we've been talking up for decades—e.g., eliminating the Electoral College and switching to proportional representation.

As a certain Canadian poet told us, Democracy Is Coming to the USA at long last. It will not require a foreign military invasion to liberate us from the tyranny of late-stage capitalism. It will come from within, at the hands of the People, pushing the moral arc of the universe toward justice, toward peace, toward compassion. The Green Party is already playing a big part in its arrival.

Comments are closed.

    DBC Sez...

    Here you will find political campaign-related entries, as well as some about my literature, Houston underground arts, peace & justice, urban cycling, soccer, alt-religion, and other topics.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    2018
    Abby Martin
    Abortion Laws
    ACORN
    Affordable Care Act
    Ahmad Hassan
    Air Alliance Houston
    Ajamu Baraka
    Alabama
    Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
    Al Gore
    Amanda Palmer
    Amazon
    Angela Walker
    Angie Schmitt
    ANM 2020
    Annual Meeting
    Approval Voting
    Art Car Parade
    Astroworld
    Ballot Access
    Bernie Sanders
    Beto O'Rourke
    BikeHouston
    Binary Thinking
    Black Agenda Report
    #BlackLivesMatter
    Bloomsday
    B&N
    Book Review
    Borders
    Brains And Eggs
    Breast Cancer
    Brody Mulligan
    Burning Man
    Bylaws
    Caitlin Johnstone
    Caleb Alexander
    Campaign
    Campaign 2018
    Candidates' Forum
    Candidate Workshop
    Captcha
    Catastrophic Theatre
    Cenk Uygur
    Censorship
    Chelsea Manning
    Cheri Honkala
    Chicago
    Choir
    Chris Hedges
    Chris Tomlinson
    Chuck Kuffner
    City Council
    Climate Change
    Climate March
    Climate Strike
    CODEPINK
    Colin Kaepernick
    Convention
    Corporatocracy
    County Clerk
    County Convention
    County Judge
    Cover Design
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Cycling
    Dallas Morning News
    Dan Monahan
    Dario Hunter
    Darryl Cherney
    David Cobb
    David Rovics
    Death By Cop
    Death Penalty
    Debates
    Deep State
    Delilah For Texas
    #DemEnter
    Demexit
    #DemExit
    Democrat Primary
    Depression
    Detroit 2020
    Dichotomism
    Dick Dowling
    Disaffiliation
    District Conventions
    Donald Trump
    #DownticketGreens
    DSA
    Duopoly
    Dwight Boykins
    Early Voting
    Earth Day
    Earthworm
    Eastern Daylight
    Ecological Wisdom
    Economic Justice
    Ed Emmett
    Edie
    Egberto WIllies
    Eleanor Goldfield
    Election 2015
    Election 2016
    Election 2017
    Election 2018
    Election 2019
    Election 2020
    Election 2022
    Electoral College
    Elvis Costello
    Emancipation Park
    Emily Sanchez
    Emily Sanchez
    Endorsements
    Energy
    Environment
    Erika Martinez
    Extinction Rebellion
    Fascism
    Fauxcialism
    Fiction
    Film Review
    For The People Act
    Fourth Turning
    Francesca Fiorentini
    Fremont Solstice Parade
    Full Frontal
    Fundraising
    Gary Johnson
    Gary Stuard
    George Floyd
    George HW Bush
    George Lakoff
    George Reiter
    Georgia
    Gerrymandering
    Glenn Greenwald
    GPTX
    Gray Matters
    Green Convention
    #GreenEnter
    Green Maps
    Green New Deal
    Green Party
    Green Party Houston
    Greenwatch TV
    Gun Violence
    Hallucinogens
    Hal Ridley Jr.
    Harris County
    Harry Hamid
    HAUS
    HAUS Project
    HB 2504
    HCGP
    Higher Education
    Hillary Clinton
    HMS
    Homelessness
    Houston
    Houston Area Progressives
    Houston Astros
    Houston Chronicle
    Houston Dash
    Houston Dynamo
    Houston Fringe Festival
    Houston Press
    Howie Hawkins
    Hurricane Harvey
    Identity Politics
    Immigration
    Instant Runoff Voting
    Insurrection At The Capitol
    International Affairs
    Inverted Totalitarianism
    Iran
    Ireland
    IRV
    IUniverse
    James Joyce
    Janis RIchards
    Jennifer Mathieu
    Jesse Ventura
    Jill Stein
    Jimmy Dore
    Jonathan Franzen
    Jordan Chariton
    JosH Darr
    Julian Assange
    Juneteenth
    Justice
    Kenneth Kendrick
    Kenneth Mejia
    Kent Mesplay
    Keystone XL
    Key Values
    KPFT
    Krystal Ball
    Laredo
    Last Week Tonight
    Late Stage Capitalism
    Late-Stage Capitalism
    League Of Women Voters
    Lee Camp
    Legal Challenge
    Libertarian Party
    Lina Hidalgo
    Lisa Savage
    Local Democracy
    Mail-In Ballots
    Maine
    Maps Project
    #MarchForOurLives
    March For Science
    March On The Pentagon
    Marc Lamont Hill
    Margaret Flowers
    Marijuana
    Martina Salinas
    Mass Shootings
    Matching Funds
    Mayor
    MD Anderson Cancer Center
    Media
    Medicare For All
    Mental Health
    Metro
    Michael Moore
    Michael Pollan
    MJ Hegar
    Movement For A People's Party
    Mudslinging
    Music
    Naomi Klein
    NationBuilder
    Net Neutrality
    New Orleans
    New Zealand
    Nick Cooper
    NORML
    North Carolina
    Our Revolution
    Outlander
    Outreach
    Overdevelopment
    Pacifica
    Parkland FL
    Partisan Realignment
    Paul Ingmundson
    PDiddie
    Peace
    Pennsylvania
    People's Party Convention
    Platform
    Plutocracy
    PNC
    Police
    Police Brutality
    Politics Done Right
    Polls
    Poor People's Campaign
    Poverty
    Progressivism
    Proofreading
    ProPublica
    Puerto Rico
    Radicalism
    Ranked Choice Voting
    Ray Hill
    Recount 2016
    Remington Alessi
    #Resistance
    Rev. Barber
    Revolution
    Right-wing Terrorism
    Rosa Clemente
    Russiagate
    Samantha Bee
    San Antonio
    SB 2093
    School Shootings
    Scotland
    Scottish National Party
    Scott McLarty
    Sema Hernandez
    Sheila Jackson Lee
    Single Payer
    SKCM Curry
    Smart Growth
    Socialism
    Socialist Alternative
    Spoiler Effect
    Straight Party Voting
    Strauss & Howe
    Sunrise Movement
    Sylvester Turner
    Syria
    Tax Policy
    Ted Cruz
    Texas House
    Texas Leftist
    Texas Legislature
    Texas Progressive
    Texas Public Radio
    Texas Supreme Court
    Texoblogosphere
    Texpatriate
    The Intercept
    The North Star
    Third Parties
    Thom Hartmann
    Traffic
    Transit
    Transportation
    Trans Rights
    Travel
    Treason
    Trump Derangement Syndrome
    Tulsi Gabbard
    Turnout
    Ulysses
    Unitarian Universalism
    Urbanism
    US Senate
    UU
    Valarie Kaur
    Van Cliburn
    Vanessa Edwards Foster
    Vanessa Guillén
    Venezuela
    Vish
    Vision Zero
    War On Drugs
    Website
    Women's March On Pentagon
    World Beyond War
    World Cup
    World Naked Bike Ride
    Zeitgeist Movement
    Zendik

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly