Third Parties? - What is the point?

[LanceHall]

In reality voting for the two big parties is a wasted vote. Why do we have to choose between A) the socialsit party B) the corporatist party ??

Go Libertarian!

[ross1323]

I would never vote for your Zionist, AIPAC puppet, stooge called Obama. The same goes for McCain. I would never want to dirty my vote with those tools. Go ahead and vote for your good cop Obama. I'm sure the leadership in Israel will thank you for it. Especially since he's already been spouting their propaganda over war with Iran.

[jalvarezvUtube]

Why vote for Nader? He's spent most of his life working to improve the lives of all the American people.

Check out his platform at votenader(dot)org

Watch: watch?v=sHVrDZpiRlg

[RenzokuzenX]

If the candidate with 34% of the votes won and became president, 66% of the country would be against him. The more candidates you have the worse it gets. At least over half the country needs to support the winning candidate.

[ubanclimber001]

that's how many people voted for that candidate but for most of those people it's not their first choice...

[JUDASismyHERO]

oh yeah heres a new nader video

watch?v=u5WiE6MnmCM

[JUDASismyHERO]

Im supporting Nader right now i agree with him more than the other two.

I was thinking about Baldwin also but im not sure about his party stances.

But they all agree on foreign policy number 1 issues for me. SO just pick a third party you agree with.

i think Nader is my guy this year.

[pat52007]

The four pillars of the thrid party candidates;1. Balance the Federal Budget 2. Bring the troops home. 3. Protect civil liberties and support the constitution. 3. Investigate the Federal Reserve. Those are the reasons I will vote for a third party candidate..among other issues..just for starters.

[embalmed]

one of the big problems of having a 3rd party in the executive office is, that it's extremely difficult to negotiate with legislature.

In MN, ventura had an extremely difficult time dealing with the house and senate, just because... well, they pretty much ganged up on him.

So if you really want 3rd parties running for pres, get some in the house first

and btw, nader is a joke... his party is just another name for socialist.

[RadicalComedy]

I am supporting Nader just because any candidate that paints happy days, is full of lies and so I dont trust them. Politicians need to be honest about world affairs and its going to suck long and hard in American and around the world for awhile. I am picking Nader because at least his crap level is less. ~Raven

[Rosetteismyname]

there isn't enough character count to say enough to answer your question, I will send you a follow up email...

1. FIRST AND FOREMOST.. obama=mcCain or [McObamain] thereby a win win for corporations and a lose/lose for the people...

2. They never have to listen to us unless we prove to them that we are not willing to vote for them and they never will. REPEAT THAT... Gimmeaflakeman THEY NEVER WILL LISTEN TO US....because they never have to....we show them our complicity each day.

[killingtimewithyou]

This got me thinking, any remember the Simpsons Treehouse "Citizen Kang" when Kang and Kodos take on the form of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole to ensure that one of them will become the next leader.On the day before the election, Homer successfully reveals the candidates' real identities. Realizing it is too late to get new candidates, one man in the crowd decides to vote for a third-party candidate. However, Kang and Kodos convince the crowd that doing so would be a wasted vote. Pretty weird!

[killingtimewithyou]

You can see how an innocent cartoon can influence peoples mind. STOP WATCHING TV-THEIR FORM OF MINDCONTROL!

[zeldapenndragon]

The biggest point for voting for a 3rd party is seen in the election that Teddy Roosevelt won. He broke apart the Republican party and brought down many corrupted corporations(aka Trusts) and forced the repubs to adopt his policies during the following years in office. Now tell me 3rd parties don't mean a thing. He split apart the Republican party and no one called him a spoiler!

[lilymare1]

A vote cast is never a vote wasted, no matter what anyone says to the contrary.

I committed to voting for Ralph Nader. We have to look at this election as a job interview. Americans serve as hiring managers.

The way McCain and Obama are running their "interviews" are shady, dishonest, and manipulative. If they had great political records to be boasting, there wouldn't be any mudslinging or arguments of pigs and pitbulls with lipstick. Nader has EARNED my vote over his entire political career.

[steviezine]

There's the proof the whole system is rigged. They never let third parties into the debates!

[mopsius]

Trying to look Japanese? Nose too big.

[Veristic985]

I'm voting for Nader with the quickness.

[Harikus]

Third parties are being shut out by most of the media, although I was delighted to see more of them on c-span. I would have to say it does make a diff. to me because I wouldn't have anyone to vote for without Nader in the mix. Why? I don't even think the Greens are on the ballot, or that there is even a greens party in my state. And if I got nobody to vote for, I might end up going nuts and becoming a libertarian.  jk

[ShortbusMooner]

Until they fully establish a third party, with a real platform & support, voting for a candidate that's not either Repub or Dem is pretty much throwing your vote away.

Yup, yup.

[Gimmeaflakeman]

How about voting for 3rd party candidates in states where one of the 2 big parties are predicted to win by a landslide? Just as a way to show the US government that the system is screwed.

[IsaacBickerstaffEsq]

As the saying goes, voting for the lesser of two evils is voting FOR evil.

I have the advantage of living in one of the bluest of blue states (Kerry by as much as 70% in the early returns), so I have the luxury of doing as you suggest and have done so for decades (and am a lifelong registered independent).

Not that I believe I have a real moral high ground (given the lack of risk) or that the dog and pony show that is Washington D.C. gives a flying fuck about my "message."

[IsaacBickerstaffEsq]

I might also point out that our system is not about "winning," it is about REPRESENTATION.

And if you cannot even take enough of a stand to represent yourself, how on Earth do you ever expect to have someone in the political realm who represents you?

In government of, by and for the people, bad government derives from a bad electorate, who are the highest branch.

[kingjredmon]

Why support third parties? Because lesser of two evils means you still get evil. And only a fool would vote for evil when he could have voted for good, no matter what the outcome is likely to be. Better to cast a vote for good and have a clear conscience, than vote evil and regret what that evil person does with the power you gave him. This is the truth. It has always been the truth, and it will always be the truth.

[iancarpenter]

Please watch the video I posted above. It is Ralph nader's resume. he gets my vote.

[bek12]

I am in the same boat you are. I like Nader and Kucinich much more, but I know they have no shot... so Obama it is.

[swaneeusa3]

So why Obama?

[qiranger]

I wouldn't have a problem voting or supporting a 3rd Party Candidate (3PC) if I thought they were the best qualified. However, the drawback in running as a 3PC and being elected, is that the US Government isn't designed on that system. A 3PC would have no political leverage in office, making them a lame duck for 4 years.

[ArcticSlicer]

I am planning on voting for Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez this November because their campaign is talking about single-payer national health care, living wage, cutting our wasteful military budget and cracking down on corporate crime. Ralph Nader is one of our country's greatest heroes and has probably done more in terms of worker rights, consumer rights, and civil rights than living in our country today and I support him for his outstanding record.

[JJTecumseh87]

OHIO VICTOR!!!

[iancarpenter]

I just posted the answer to you as a 'Video Response.'

I'm definitely voting Nader/Gonzalez.

[cehbeach]

The basic problem I see with modern third parties is that they think that grabbing the brass ring of the presidency will launch them into power. It's a lazy way of thinking about politics. If you're really serious about developing a viable third party then you need to do it from the ground up, not the other way around. Oh wait, that's actual work and not very 'sexy'. If you don't develop a farm team and govern on the lower levels then you will never gain the presidency.

[neilemac]

Nader in '08, what's so difficult about that???

Dumb-downed American populace, that's what!

Come on folks, open your minds; stop watching 'fox' and listening to their contrived 'unfair' and 'unbalanced' reports and the rest of the 'corporate media spin outlets as if it were 'news' and/or the truth. It's their agenda, not 'we the people's. Wake up America, time to make a real choice for President.

[sugoiakl]

im not sure you im voting for yet. But I am so tired of this basically two candidate thing and the whole electoral college. I think that our whole electing process kinda sucks and makes me not want to vote. ...argh....politics sucks!

[jabazzy]

I am leaning towards voting a third party here :)

[mungojorie]

victor, did u remove my comment?

[lowkeyname]

drop the show box to all comments, your comment was rated neg 1 so it only show when you view all. That used to baffle me too.

[mungojorie]

thank you :)

[Gimmeaflakeman]

Nope. Did not remove your comment.

[ElevenColors]

Aye, YouTube eats comments at random. Scaling issues.

[lowkeyname]

10% of canada now supports green and they have one lousy seat because a guy switched parties after election, however the other parties are so closely tied that the big guys have to make policy to attract those few vital votes. Therefore the vote isn't wasted , maybe its more critical.

[steviezine]

The Libertarians and the Greens have been pushing against *that* glass ceiling for about thirty years each. Sure, they have some influence on the big Parties but are pretty marginalized. In the end, the argument is pointless. A President tries to take us where he wants us to go, Congress has the power (ie passing laws) to say yes or no. And we keep returning the same self-serving and self-dealing S.O.B.s to Congress every year (can you say lobby money, I knew you could).

[medhue]

Voting Nader. Come on people, the vast majority of people agree with Nader. The polls prove it. Stop thinking that a 3rd party cant win. In a tight race the chances are even great that some1 can sneak in. Nader cant get any press, so its up to us to spread the word. Half of this is about mind set. Just like in life, if u dont believe then it cant really happen. Stop disbelieving. Nader's credentials blown the other 2 candidates out of the water. Pass the word on, dont sit still and watch.

[representativepress]

Victor, please feature my video "Ask Steve to Change the "You Choose '08" page. See Renetto's Interview with Nader"

Isn't it incredible how even "new media" are excluding choices and deceiving the public? I am trying to at least get YouTube to change their "You Choose 08" page so that it isn't perpetrating a fraud. Please help with my efforts by featuring my video.

[commodore256]

Forget monopolies, forget dualopolies, forget Trioplies, forget quadoplies, forget quintopolies, (I apologize for making up words) we should have a larger number political options than I can count with my fingers.

BTW, I can count to 255 with my fingers or 1,023, if I use my thumbs too.

[YoppyKyabetsu]

You can up that if you use trinary, counting the finger up, down, and in the middle.

[commodore256]

Good thinking, I was using binary, but I wish I could some how use hexadecimal.

[cleo1994]

If you believe that Bush was bad, if you believe that McCain=Bush, I ask: What are YOU going to do about it? You may not support Obama and vote for a 3rd party candidate, or not vote at all. By doing so, McCain may win. Nothing changes, except that youll have a VP whos 100% anti women, and 100% blank on foreign policy. Go ahead, vote for your 3rd party candidate, or dont vote, but stop WHINING, when McCain and soulmate are moving in the White House, its YOU who helped to put them there.

[scrabblepug]

I am voting for Ralph Nader because I am completely against the Iraq War and standardized testing, and am prochoice and for gay marriage.

[steviezine]

Kind of sounds like a Libertarian Party platform also. Although, difference would be:

choosing your own moral compass if not infringing on another's rights (LP) or, being given your moral compass even if infringing on another's rights (Nader). Either way, the important thing is to vote any third party to take power from Dems and Reps. Sadly, that power is already codified in our Two Party System.

[JimmerSD]

I caught the whole interview and I have to say that Nader has come up several steps in my estimation. I still tend to lean toward the Libertarian Party in general philosophy but old Ralph is saying all the correct things. I would like to see a run off caused by a 3rds party candidate. That would send a message loud and clear to Washington! Damn it! Im mad as hell and Im not going to take it anymore!

[cehbeach]

Although that would be fun, there is no such process for a run off for President.

[channeIreview]

Eugene Debbs never won the presidency. In 1912 I think he did manage to get roughly 8% of the popular vote. However, by 1950 nearly all of his major platforms became enacted. "Third Party" tickets do have an impact on the policies of the "major" parties. The dems and the reps wanna make you think it's a wasted vote cuz they wanna run the show.

[ibrahimsuheyl]

yeah i've been following Fleetwood for a while. I dig his ideas, although i'm not directly involved in the election or anything. But the head honcho in the US wears the turban in Pakistan as well, and that's definitely where i'm involved. I have no clue what Nader's foreign policy's like, i should read up on him. But I am pretty gung-ho about Obama-Biden at the moment. To be honest, McCain is much more likely to start wars. Me no likey war.

[davisfleetwood]

You know- they say a vote for Nader is throwing your vote away.

If that is true, then people who live in RED STATES are throwing their vote away if they vote for Obama.

the way the electoral college is set up- most states (about 40) are locked to vote "red" or "blue"

So.... about 10 states are going to decide this thing.

Whoever you vote for make the candidate EARN your.

If you want healthcare, a reduction in Military spending, peace in the middle east- then OBAMA HAS NOT EARNED YOUR VOTE.

[cozmikzen]

thats how i feel, im in red state and feel my vote is totally useless

[fucksatanism]

Fuck renetto. The video he made with Ralph Nader is despicable

[mungojorie]

now is NOT the time for 3rd parties. while i believe challenging the system we have is admirable...this is the most impt election of our lifetimes, and a 3rd party will only take votes away from obama who will bring us,at least, a little closer to where we need to be. to get back "on the right road" we must first get out of the ditch!!!!!!

[Gimmeaflakeman]

Nadar makes an interesting point about how we never accuse the Republicans of taking votes away from Democrats and vice versa. I do agree that we need to keep PALIN far away from the White House...but this 2 party system BS has got to stop. If not now, when?

[Gimmeaflakeman]

Sure. But tell me why. BTW, a few people tell me that I look like an old version of you. You see the resemblance?

[ibrahimsuheyl]

Lol.. it's just the little beard, methinks.

[idiotwind75]

Ron Paul is a sell-out; All he cares about is book sales, not liberty ...

[idiotwind75]

I would vote for Arnold Swarchzenegger in a heartbeat !!! - he despises corruption & promotes physical fitness - America needs him!!! NOW!!!

[idiotwind75]

3rd parties make us feel like we really have a choice, but American elections will always remain a "choice" between the lesser of 2 evils - esp. this year ...