no one who's officially started campaigning for it, looks like anyone i would want for the job. (the republicans are all a bunch of rich loonies. well that's to be expected. but the only thing hillary has going for her is that she's a woman. anyone who remembers thatcher will realize that isn't exactly liberal magic. and there are too many things she has a history of positions on, i really can't accept, other then, maybe, as the lesser of several possible evils.) the only i would want, (liz warren of course) keeps saying she doesn't want it. (though just about everywhere in the country people are raising campaign money for her to do so) this isn't shaping up to be an election year with a whole lot to look forward to. (i was planning to vote 3rd party, come hell or high water. turns out i live in a state, that won't put any of them, not greens, or even libertarians, on the ballot, and i have no idea, who any of them would be offering if they did).
Like the Democrats in power aren't a bunch of "rich loonies" too? I'll never understand why people attack the Republican side of the coin without ever looking at the other side and realizing that both sides are controlled by the same corporate interests. One side pretends to give a shit about the poor (to attract votes from well-meaning bleeding hearts), while the other side is at least open about not giving a shit. Both parties suck, and ultimately who wins the next election is meaningless since presidents are nothing more than a figurehead for the public to believe in. In reality, power never shifts hands because it's always the same people in control behind the scenes. Politics 101.
Any party interested in winning an election needs to pander to corporate interests, as campaigns cost money and unless you want to ramp up public spending on political campaigns (which as a libertarian you probably don't), then you're going to have to face the facts that in order to reach the public on the scale necessary to even entertain the idea of winning, political parties cannot depend exclusively on donations from you and me. The Green party is the biggest political party to actively refuse corporate donations and nobody even knows what they're about. But in terms of the two major parties, both parties do not pander to the same corporate interests. There is bound to be some overlap such as in real estate and investment banking, but there are also distinctions to be made. The GOP is heavily funded by oil and gas while the Dems are not, which is why the climate change debate is 'does it exist?' instead of 'what should we do?'. The GOP was heavily funded by Phillip Morris before that. The Dems receive more money from the entertainment and tech industries. You can see where the money is coming from on this site: Dems: https://www.opensecrets.org/parties/indus.php?cycle=2014&cmte=DPC GOP: https://www.opensecrets.org/parties/indus.php?cycle=2014&cmte=RPC Say what you will about bankers, lawyers and investors... but the oil and gas industries are directly responsible for the situation in the Middle East, as well as climate change inaction/denial and all of the petrochemical pollution issues. That's enough of a distinction to make me far more worried about a GOP victory than a Democrat one.
ill never vote Democrat or Republican again unless one of them produces an exceptional candidate, which is unlikely. I always vote third party
That isn't true. The presidency is the only office that really matters. The president dictates foreign policy and that matters to a lot of people with a lot of money. If this were not true, there wouldn't be millions and millions of dollars spent on both sides for that one office.
Yes - and I wish the same could be true of our up-coming election here - but it looks like the main parties will dominate once more, with the exception of the Scottish Nationalists who look set to clean up in Scotland.
Yeah, that's an interesting development. Aren't they mainly in it to stop the money generated there (with oil/gas winning) from flowing through London though? I'm not sure, but it seems to play a big role.
So many people here have the mentality that they have to vote against the candidate they really hate, and therefore voting third party is a wasted vote. Its a very flawed line of thinking
That's a part of it. Also, the Scots feel they were lied to over the referendum on independence earlier this year. Next week I might well start a thread over in the UK forum about the UK election. Maybe that would be a better place to discuss all this.
Sometimes you kinda have to. Splitting the vote is one of the worst things you can do, unless a coalition isn't off the table. It's one of the major reasons Canada has a right wing leader while being a traditionally left-wing nation. Having 4 left wing parties and only 1 right wing one can be a very bad thing in terms of electing a government that truly represents the people.
From an Olde UK Hippie viewpoint:- One should "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjFmaKx9Lw4
why is because they're so in your face blatant about it. sure they all suck from the same tit, but there is such a thing as keeping up some kind of appearances. and as long as there is some obligation to keep up some kind of appearances, there is some chance of getting a little less screwed. a small chance perhaps, but better then none. i'll never understand why people can't see how third world conditions are created by the 'everyone for themselves' and 'markets are a magic wand' fantasy. it is also true, that except for the fiat power of the office to start wars, the president is indeed mostly a figure head, the real power, remaining as it was intended, in congress. a congress perhaps intended from the beginning, to be controlled by economic wealth, but at least with the intention of being able to be influenced by a much wider range of perspectives, then those of blindly self serving corporate mechanisms. a president is also listened to by congress, to varying degrees, but always at least some, for the simple reason that the voters who elect congress beings also listen to whoever holds that office.
