3rd Party Run and IRV
Lets be realistic: If our good Doctor cannot get half of the US electorate to take him seriously, he will not be able to get the entire electorate to take him seriously as a third party candidate.
Third party candidates operate under an even more depressing reality than RP did as a Republican candidate. He will never get in the debates--NEVER, and he will get even less coverage by MSM (as if that's possible). And if you thought it was hard convincing people to vote RP in the primaries, it will be 10x harder in the general election.
Almost all Democrats still harbor deep resentment against Nader for giving us Dubya, and some Republicans still complain how Perot's run gave them Clinton. In what promises to be one of the most heated elections in recent history, no one will be willing to "throw away their vote". If you think you ran into that line too many times during this primary run, just wait til you try to get people to vote for him in the presidential race.
We must first work toward a system that can even allow 3rd party candidates to compete. I urge all of my fellow RP-lovers to learn about Instant Run-off Voting, and how it will completely destroy the all-too-often excuses: "but he can't win", "i'll just be throwing away my vote", "i have to keep so-and-so from winning".
How many people in this country vote out of fear!? How many compromise their true beliefs in an attempt to avoid an even worse candidate!? I have talked to them, and they are many -- they are the majority! Their votes aren't freely chosen, but instead coerced.
If someone physically forced you to vote a certain way it would be election fraud, and yet when our 2-party system forces us to vote against our free choice it is just "the way it is". I believe we have all imposed upon ourselves fraudulent elections time and again. It is imposed by our collective minds. We are given a vote and we want it to count as much as it can given the information we have (polls), but in the process, ironically, this only serves to reduce our voice. There is an alternative that would give the people the power and freedom of choice they deserve. Just the kind of power and freedom our founding fathers would have approved. IRV is that alternative.
Educate yourself about IRV. Educate your friends. Talk to your local leaders about it. Demand a stance from all your leaders, and let them know how important it is to you.
Without IRV, Republicans and Democrats will continue to have a stranglehold on our voting minds, and our true votes will never be counted!
Let me know what you think? Does anyone know if Ron Paul has ever talked on the subject of IRV? How can we get him to consider making this part of his platform?
I have educated myself about IRV, and it sucks.
It does get rid of the Spoiler Problem for major parties, though, which is why some major party (esp. Democrats) are big fans. Thus taking away the one electoral power that third-parties/candidates have: the threat of spoiling a race if their issues aren't addressed. IRV would be a terrible "first step" in changing voting methods, as eliminating spoilers removes the only incentive for major party politicians to change the method (plurality) that keeps them in power and the little guys out.
There are also problems with IRV's stability if a third-candidate actually manages to become viable. Look this stuff up if you're interested in the math.
I'd strongly recommend Range Voting (scoring the candidates) over IRV for a new election method. Also better than IRV would be Approval. Perhaps someday ppl could also deal with a Condorcet method.
how do we get Ron Paul to look at this?
how do we get Ron Paul to look at this?
Awesome! People can't have
Awesome! People can't have wasted vote syndrome then. People who vote for a lesser evil because they want to pick a winner will be able to vote for who they really want first!
IRV link
wikipedia's entry: Instant Run-off Voting
thanks.
However, if it comes down to Hillary and mcInsane, this is one disgruntled Republican (who has always HATED Hillary) who will be voting for the She-Devil herself.
I may be a vegetarian, but I'll defend to the death my right to eat pork!
I may be a vegetarian, but I'll defend to the death my right to eat meat!