[EpicEng]

So... you want to get into office based solely on media copyright issues and literally every other issue is "elect us and we'll figure it out!". Very hard to take seriously, good luck.

And yes, your name is silly. You should change it; messaging matters and you start with your left foot forward.

[ryandrake]

I think we need fewer package deals when it comes to politics. At least in the US, if you feel strongly about a single issue, you currently have to find the party that aligns with that view. But then when you vote for them, you also are voting for a great big basket of crazy that comes along for the ride, in the form of "that party's platform". I personally can't in good conscience vote for either of the Big-2 because of this baggage. It would be great to have candidate that just said "You know what, I'm going to for sure support this one particular issue, and abstain on the rest." I'd be up for that.

[nopenopenopeno]

There are a lot of legal and historical reasons for the two-party situation in the US. Nobody except the ruling class likes it, but the ruling class really really likes it. There have been a lot of efforts made to change it. This is one of multiple worst strategies I’ve ever seen.

[AnthonyMouse]

There is exactly one reason for the two-party situation in the US. First past the post voting system. It causes any third party with non-trivial support to merge into one of the major parties to avoid splitting the vote with whichever one is most similar to them.

Switch to range voting, STAR voting, approval voting, and it goes away.

The incumbent parties don't have a lot of incentive to do that because tautologically the people currently in office are the people the existing system puts in office, so why would they want a different one? But even a lot of politicians are pretty jaded about the existing system. Get a couple third parties in there who are willing to turn a 51 vote majority into a 49 vote minority over this and you might get it through.

[nopenopenopeno]

>There is exactly one reason for the two-party situation in the US.

Fair enough! You are, of course, exactly right. But, the reasons for still having first past the post voting are arguably less clear. Many nations have reformed their first past the post voting systems while the US (along with some other countries) remains stuck.

[EpicEng]

Ok, but I'd like to also have _some_ idea of what I'mn voting for aside from being able to download movies for free and doing away with patents (also ridiculous on its face). I agree with you, but that doesn't make these jokers any more attractive.

[londons_explore]

> "You know what, I'm going to for sure support this one particular issue, and abstain on the rest."

A better strategy is to trade your vote away on anything that isn't your core issue. You trade with political opponents for their support when the issue you do care about comes up.

Using that technique, even a single representative can have quite some impact, as long as the issue they care about is narrow enough.

[lenkite]

Indeed messaging matters. Nowadays all names are like the 'Ministry of Truth' names. If you have a party named X and a bill for Y, in reality it will reflect the opposite of X and Y.

So, the pirate party protects people.

[bl4ckm0r3]

If you really think the other parties have an idea of what to do with "every other issue" you haven't been looking at politics in the past 20 years.

[antifa]

They do, and there is a stark contrast between how Republicans and Democrats handle important issues in the US. You see, Republicans just sell you out. Then the Democrats just sell you out.

We need ranked choice voting and campaign finance reform.

[EpicEng]

Where did I say that?

[silisili]

Seeing runaway inflation, runaway housing prices, runaway crime...uh, I don't think any party has any idea what they're doing. Why do words on a website matter if reality shows it's not true?

[EpicEng]

Well that's a lot of hyperbole, but who cares? So the incumbents suck; at least they're relatively predictable. Them being bad doesn't make the Pirate party good.

[ChoGGi]

I've always liked the idea of getting into politics to solve your issue than getting out to let the next one in.