Libertarians gain votes - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

SwampYankee · #16 11-08-2012, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Botnst

The main prize is winner-takes-all laws for the electoral college in most states. That is an insurmountable wall preventing other parties from having a meaningful effect.

If the electoral college were apportioned by congressional district that would shift us slightly toward a pluralistic representative system. Not quite parliamentary but not the calcified madness we now endure.

Of course. But until a third (or fourth, etc.) party can garner the necessary support where enough pressure builds to start chipping away at that electoral college wall (with the same access but undoubtedly not the same funding as the two bloated animal parties), it'll remain the status quo.

Uphill battle would be an understatement.

cullennewsom · #17 11-08-2012, 08:13 AM

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elchivito · #18 11-08-2012, 08:26 AM

Hope and Change

that's the ticket

SwampYankee · #19 11-08-2012, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmbdiesel

Absolutely. Heck, I vote third party almost every election cycle, this one being no different.
Except for Ross Perot... just couldn't pull the trigger on that one... But Nader, voted for him... twice... didn't really agree with him or his message, just liked casting a vote which does not feed the two party monster we have today.

Somehow, I like to dream that the third party as a viable alternative will happen in a flash.
Mittens probably could have done it this cycle, but he would have had to spend his own money.
Maybe Bill Gates will decide to back a Libertarian or a Green, and bankroll them with the big boys.
All it will take is - One Billion Dollars -

Perot. I'm still amazed that nutty little goofball got 19% in '92 and 8% in '96.

Just goes to show what (fairly) equal access can get you. Of course, as Bot pointed out, the electoral college is where it's at and he got zero electoral votes.

It'll probably take several election cycles with increasing voter support to even get the discussion about changing the system started. But I'm hoping I've got no where to go for the next 30 or 40 years.

SwampYankee · #20 11-08-2012, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

I can't wait until the D and R's go the way of the Whig party.

Please don't hold your breath, J!

The system favors the D's and R's and I'm sure they're quite please with it as-is.

SwampYankee · #21 11-08-2012, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cullennewsom

OK. I know I'm not the brightest knife on the tree or the sharpest light in the drawer, and I'm only one coffee in this morning, but what do the numbers in the red/Republican boxes signify? Are there numbers in blue/Democrat boxes on the other side that got cut off?

tjts1 · #22 11-08-2012, 08:48 AM

So if you handed all the Libertarian votes to Romney he still would have lost? Interesting. I like this whole third party thing. Its cute and useful, keep it up.

cullennewsom · #23 11-08-2012, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

OK. I know I'm not the brightest knife on the tree or the sharpest light in the drawer, and I'm only one coffee in this morning, but what do the numbers in the red/Republican boxes signify? Are there numbers in blue/Democrat boxes on the other side that got cut off?

Sorry about the formatting. I edited my post to add a line of ~~~~~'s between the images. The key to the "cartograms" is at the top. A link is embedded with the image to the original article.

Image 1 - Numbers, mean electoral votes, states' sizes are morphed by # of electoral votes.
Image 2 - Numbers mean number of dollars, in millions, spent per state, states' sizes are morphed by dollars spent per state.
Image 3 - Numbers mean number of dollars per voter (eligible voter or expected to vote, I dunno), states' sizes morphed by dollars spent per voter.

SwampYankee · #24 11-08-2012, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cullennewsom

Sorry about the formatting. I edited my post to add a line of ~~~~~'s between the images. The key to the "cartograms" is at the top. A link is embedded with the image to the original article.

Image 1 - Numbers, mean electoral votes, states' sizes are morphed by # of electoral votes.
Image 2 - Numbers mean number of dollars, in millions, spent per state, states' sizes are morphed by dollars spent per state.
Image 3 - Numbers mean number of dollars per voter (eligible voter or expected to vote, I dunno), states' sizes morphed by dollars spent per voter.

Dammit, if I had just scrolled over it I would have seen it was linked. Sorry about that.

retmil46 · #25 11-08-2012, 12:40 PM

Good lord - I've looked at the threads where the D's and R's are arguing, especially the one where JR marked his return - and frankly, to me, it's pretty danged disgusting.

It's like we're stuck in the movie "Groundhog Day" - those guys are going at it with renewed bile and vigor as if it were Day 1 of the campaign.

I can well understand, and share, Roy's disgust with political threads here in OD - practically every type of racial, social, political, and religious slur or insult you can think of offhand.

If that's what passes for "adult" political discourse these days, little wonder the country is as divided as it is, and close to half of eligible voters have basically given up on the whole process.

Nature of the beast I suppose. With only 2 parties, all you have to do is make the other guy look like the "spawn of satan" to borrow a phrase from Anne Coulter. With 3 or more parties, then it's flipped and you have to make yourself look better than the other alternatives.

elchivito · #26 11-08-2012, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retmil46

Good lord - I've looked at the threads where the D's and R's are arguing, especially the one where JR marked his return - and frankly, to me, it's pretty danged disgusting.

It's like we're stuck in the movie "Groundhog Day" - those guys are going at it with renewed bile and vigor as if it were Day 1 of the campaign.

I can well understand, and share, Roy's disgust with political threads here in OD - practically every type of racial, social, political, and religious slur or insult you can think of offhand.

If that's what passes for "adult" political discourse these days, little wonder the country is as divided as it is, and close to half of eligible voters have basically given up on the whole process.

Nature of the beast I suppose. With only 2 parties, all you have to do is make the other guy look like the "spawn of satan" to borrow a phrase from Anne Coulter. With 3 or more parties, then it's flipped and you have to make yourself look better than the other alternatives.

We are bunch of puppy dogs here, pussycats, bunny rabbits, teddy bears, mealy mouthed fence sitters. Check out the link I posted elsewhere titled "light reading..."

Botnst · #27 11-08-2012, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjts1

So if you handed all the Libertarian votes to Romney he still would have lost? Interesting. I like this whole third party thing. Its cute and useful, keep it up.

I hope he would have won. I WANT the other parties to feel the pain of being abandoned after having betrayed us for over a century. It wasn't 3rd parties that got us where we are -- it was the two major parties. How's that working out for you?