• chaogomu@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Or don’t vote against your own interests by voting third party. Because First Past the Post means that any third party is going to act as a Spoiler, siphoning votes away from the major party that is ideologically closest to the Spoiler.

    What you should do is hold your nose and vote against the literal fascist.

    Then on November 10th or so (for incumbents that win) and Jan 10th or so (for the newly elected), start writing actual letters to your congressmen, Call them, email, seek them out in person at meet and greets, and push for voting reform.

    Now, the temptation will be to advocate for RCV. This is the wrong move as well. RCV is inherently broken and can actually produce worse results than First Past the Post, while also having some diehard fans who promise the fucking moon. No, if you want third parties to have any chance at all of growing and possibly winning, you need to advocate for Approval or STAR.

    So remember, start pushing voting reform the second we kick the fascist to the curb. Push on day one of the new session, and keep pushing. Do the work ahead of time, and maybe, we can revisit the third party issue in the future.

    • Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Well, more and more people are pushing back against those thoughts. I’m see lots of people tired of waiting and going for third party this year. And it’s awesome to see!

      • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Literally throwing away their vote, and helping Trump.

        You cannot have a third party under First Past the Post. It it literally impossible and only aids Trump. So yeah. It’s not awesome to see. It’s aggravating. Because if you advocate for third parties, you’re a stealth Trump supporter pretending to actually care.

        • Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Because if you advocate for third parties, you’re a stealth Trump supporter pretending to actually care.

          Nah. If I wanted to support Trump, I’d just vote for him. But I didn’t vote for him. I voted third party. Happily! Thank you!

            • Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Claiming that not voting for Harris means supporting Trump is flawed; using that logic, anyone who isn’t voting for Trump must be supporting Harris.

              Voting for a third-party candidate is a choice to support what aligns with your values, not an automatic endorsement of the opposition.

              • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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                1 month ago

                Welcome to Plurality voting, advocating for third parties is mathematically indistinguishable from advocating for Trump.

                Stop it unless you want Trump to win, in which case, fuck off.

                  • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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                    1 month ago

                    Advocating for third parties is mathematically indistinguishable from advocating for Trump

                    So yeah, you want Trump to win, because you’ve been Advocating for Third Parties.

          • FuzzyRedPanda@lemm.ee
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            1 month ago

            I applaud you for voting, and for being willing to admit in the Politics Community that you voted third party. Unfortunately this place is so convinced that certain votes are owed to their party that they’ll actually downvote you for saying that you voted for the candidate that best represents your interests.

        • meowMix2525@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          If the Democrats want my vote they are more than welcome to adopt a thing or two from the third parties that split their vote. How else would I communicate my size as a voter bloc and the specific policies we support, and how could I have any sway in any direction if my vote is to be taken for granted?

          They seem to understand this when it comes to Republicans… I wonder why it never goes the other way. Seems that kind of strategy would be much more effective as a viable party in winning voters from a non-viable party, and much easier to triangulate, no?

          • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            You want your voice heard? Then actually speak up. Call your Representative. Their phone numbers are public. Write letters, send emails.

            Be engaged.

            Or throw your vote away. See, the two major parties don’t give a shit about what third party platforms are. Well, Republicans sure as hell don’t. And since the election is projected to be depressingly close, throwing your vote away on third parties will actively hurt you and your interests. And telling other people to abandon Harris for some rando third party who only runs a candidate once every 4 years, is equivalent to directly supporting Trump.

    • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      No.

      I haven’t held my nose for a democrat for going on fourteen years and I’m not going to start now.

      I’m politically active far beyond voting and have spoken face to face with several representatives. They don’t care or listen.

      No amount of voting reform will fix the fundamentally unjust American political system.

      I have been doing the work and will continue to do so. Voting for PSL in this election is part of that work.

      If you’re reading this, don’t fall for the “oh if only we had star or ranked choice” fiddlefarting around the edges garbage. We live in under a fundamentally unjust political system and especially when both major parties are advocating in support of genocide there is no reasonable argument for performing the calculus required to declare one the lesser evil.

      Walk away from omelas.

      • AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        it must be really nice to be privileged enough to have this viewpoint. and all for what? so you can give yourself a nice ethical pat on the back when you help siphon from the dems, and the gop comes after women and minorities? not sure what your background is but damn dude that’s some fucked up shit

        • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Maybe they just like the GOP but don’t want to admit that they like them.

          They also completely disregard the fact that the Voting System itself causes the very problems they have with the political system.

          First Past the Post is 100% the reason why we vote against a party, rather than for a candidate.

          That combined with the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 have caused all sorts of problems. That too is something to advocate against. But one thing at a time.

        • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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          1 month ago

          What background do I need to have in order to be allowed to recognize that the mathematics of lesser evils don’t make any sense?

          Is there some amount of subjugation I can be under that allows me to have a materialist analysis?

          Literally me: Don’t encourage these scumbags, don’t wait another moment to stand up for what you know is right, voting is the easiest way to make your voice heard!

          You: wow, must be nice!

          If youre reading this, don’t listen to people who try to mobilize identity politics against you. They don’t know or care who you are and would hate you more if you were a minority speaking out.

          • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            What background do I need to have in order to be allowed to recognize that the mathematics of lesser evils don’t make any sense?

            A mathematically illiterate one.

            See, we live under a system of First Past the Post, otherwise known as Plurality.

            It’s a system that forces a two party system. Not as a conscious choice, but as a consequence of the very system itself.

            Here’s the kicker. Plurality voting actively punishes you for supporting a third party.

            If you siphon votes away from the lesser of two evils, the greater evil wins.

            It’s a pretty simple concept. And since we are just weeks away from the election, anyone who is actively pushing for third parties is automatically suspect.

            Because the problems with Plurality are not some newly discovered quirk. They’ve been studied for centuries, but most extensively by Kenneth Arrow in the 70s.

            What I’m saying is that most of the money given to support Third Parties, comes from people who are on the opposite side of the spectrum from those Third Parties.

            Simply put, Trump and company throw money at the Greens and Socialists to siphon support away from the Dems, so that Trump and company can win with fewer votes.

            So you, advocating for a third party, are mathematically indistinguishable from a Trump supporter.

            • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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              1 month ago

              Wow if third parties are so powerful then how come you’re not voting for one too?

              It seems like a great way to force the major party of your choice to pay attention to your politics.

              • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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                1 month ago

                I’m not voting Third party because I’m not a Trump Supporter.

                But you may be one. Mathematically speaking.

                • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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                  1 month ago

                  My vote isn’t going to be counted for trump, and is for a party in opposition to his program.

                  You have a funny way of figuring out if someone is a trump supporter. Is it perhaps based on the old “with us or against us” chestnut?

                  You should know before you keep pushing that line, I will not vote Harris. If there was no party for socialism and liberation, I’d vote a different third party. If there were no third parties, I’d write a candidate in.

                  If you want to pick up a Harris vote, look elsewhere.

                  • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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                    1 month ago

                    But you’re publicly advocating for others to drop their support of Harris in favor of a third party.

                    Which is mathematically identical to telling people to vote for Trump. So I name thee a Trump supporter, because that’s the only person who benefits from your actions.

        • CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          Ok I’ve heard all kinds of different reasons someone might be privileged, but doing work on the ground for years and laying the groundwork for real activism rather than whatever the hell you call this terminally online bullshit, is now what you people call privilege?

          This shit is why Occupy died.

          • Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            Yep, people here call me privileged too.

            Um, I’m biracial, bisexual, and barely make above minimum wage. But because I disagree with some on here, I’m “privileged.” lmao

            • Anti-Christ Christian Atheist@lemmy.ca
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              1 month ago

              Friend, people say I’m privileged just because I’m shilling for Trump, er, I mean Stein, or Socialist stuff or something. Can you believe that shit?!

            • shaiatan@midwest.social
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              1 month ago

              “Debt-free” “Woke-free” (Both according to your profile) You’re privileged as hell dude.

              • Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
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                1 month ago

                How does that make me “privileged”?

                I’m not white. I’m not straight. I grew up in poverty. I’m not rich. I don’t have a high-paying job. I don’t have college education (yet). So tell me, how am I privileged?!

                • shaiatan@midwest.social
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                  1 month ago

                  I grew up in poverty. I’m not rich. I don’t have a high-paying job.

                  And yet somehow you’re debt-free.

                  I’m not straight.

                  And yet somehow you’re woke-free.

                  I can’t connect the dots for you, but geeze.

                  • Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
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                    1 month ago

                    And yet somehow you’re debt-free.

                    I saved to buy my crappy car. I saved to buy my crappy bike. And I pay for school, one course at a time (which is why I still don’t have a degree.) I took a job as a janitor so that I could work somewhere with tuition reimbursement. Networked my way up to teacher’s aide. Pay is 10 cents more.

                    And yet somehow you’re woke-free.

                    What does that have to with anything about sexuality or being privileged?!

                    You know, just because someone believes differently than you, doesn’t make them privileged.

                    I’m a biracial, bisexual, poor dude. Nothing about me is privileged. You make more money than me, I promise. Are you privileged?

          • AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works
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            1 month ago

            ground activism is great! but this person’s comment pretty much sums up to “whichever if the two candidates win in November, I won’t be effected enough to consider not tossing my vote into the trash to prove a point,” as do all 3rd party arguments. that’s privileged.

            many many people quite literally have their lives on the line with this election, it’s extremely disrespectful to put them all in danger for some self centered, ill-thought out attempt at morality.

          • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            Occupy died because of “terminally online bullshit”? I guess that terminally online bullshit is either more effective than what you’re suggesting or your analysis sucks.

            • CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works
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              1 month ago

              One whole paragraph followed by a comment like that implies someone is usually talking about the whole episode going on and not just the keywords you singled out.

              • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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                1 month ago

                I still don’t get why you think occupy died, but regardless it wasn’t because of online shit or coopted lingo.

                I’ve bumped into a bunch of you online socialists before and every one of you thinks your efforts made some profound difference when in reality socialism is still a nothing nowhere movement in the US and we get more fascist every election cycle.

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                  27 days ago

                  we get more fascist every election cycle

                  And whose fault is that? When you give your vote away for free you get rightward drift. Make the fuckers earn it instead of leaving the switch on Vote Blue No Matter Who like the good little liberal you are.

      • YeetPics@mander.xyz
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        1 month ago

        [Nobody cares]

        [Jill Stein is a vapid, forgettable cunt with 0 plans for governance or policy change]

        [You supporting her only makes you look like the same type of human-garbage]

        Hope this helps 🫶

        • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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          1 month ago

          I’m literally suggesting people vote for a party and candidate different than stein.

          Did you reply to the correct comment?

      • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        And again, Ranked Choice is flawed to its core. It’s the only voting system in existence that fails the monotonicity criterion. Basically it’s the only voting system in existence where you can rank someone lower and it increases their chances of winning the election.

        Ranked Choice is so flawed that every place that implementes it, has a movement to repeal it. Sometimes a successful movement (Like in Burlington Vermont)

        Ranked Choice is a step back and actively harms real efforts at Voting Reform.