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by ryandrake 1622 days ago
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.
3 comments
nopenopenopeno 1622 days ago
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.
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AnthonyMouse 1622 days ago
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.

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nopenopenopeno 1622 days ago
>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.

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EpicEng 1617 days ago
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.
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londons_explore 1622 days ago
> "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.

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