Wasting Your Vote or Making Your Vote Count

Dateline: Washington, D.C. Monday, January 20, 2025. Today, the president-elect of the United States of America steps to the podium and declares, “My fellow Americans, I am proud to be selected as the lesser of two evils. I am taking this oath of office not because of your confidence in my policies or the strength of my character, but because we were able to convince enough of you that the policies of and the weakness of my major-party opponent’s character were so much worse. We will now proceed to exercise the powers of government as if we enjoyed a popular mandate, and we will distract you from our manner of exercising that power by vilifying the supporters of our major-party opponent.” 

As fires burn in the distance, and heavily armed military secure the streets, the winner of the Electoral College declares that the polls showing 70% of the electorate wanting a choice other than those served up by the two major parties must have been wrong. “With my clear mandate at 37% and my major party opponent at 35%, I think it shows that only a slim slice of the electorate was not happy with the choices available. This proves that engaging in primaries, debates and all the other methods of vetting candidates are now passe’ and we can rely further on the major parties to deliver the winning candidate. Long live the lesser of evils argument!” 

Sarcasm aside, is it any surprise that the stifling of ideas and perspectives lead to a dysfunctional and divisive government? The established media ecosystem that supports and enables this nonsense further fuels this destructive duopoly by the entrenched Republicans and Democrats.  The essence of a democracy is speech, choice, and when the election is over, striving together in a spirit of compromise. We are moving further away from those norms and ideals that have built an amazing country.

If either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party was arrested and charged with practicing democracy, getting a conviction would be difficult. The evidence just isn’t there. Same people, same promises, same bad behavior. If you want change, does it make sense to keep doing the same thing? Similarly, which media outlets could be convicted on a charge of objective reporting?

Voters have a choice. Send a signal that you are satisfied with the way government is conducted and that you like the anointed candidates, or exercise your true power and send a message to the established parties. Your vote can communicate that the “lesser of two evils” is good enough or it can send a clear message that you are tired of them fighting each other and they need to bring better candidates. Should 2024 be a replay of 2020, it will be the easiest year ever for voters to gain a sense of fulfillment in exercising their democratic rights by rejecting both parties and the manufactured narrative from the established media ecosystem. Mr. Trump’s seat-of-the-pants approach to serious matters, juvenile name-calling and crazy debate appearances are more than enough to reject him. He had his chance. Mr. Biden’s aggressive pursuit of a divided America, embrace of censorship, inflation, immigration crisis, leadership of a party abusing the judicial system and one international debacle after another are not the things that generate enthused shouts of “4 more years.” More likely to stimulate cries of “no more of this!” 

We can break the grip of the dysfunctional parties and the narrative-driven swill that tries to disguise itself as news. Our political system needs some positive disruption. Donald Trump’s rise was fueled by his false populism. Joe Biden’s rise was fueled by Trump’s antics. Trump’s revival is fueled by the Democrats abusing law enforcement, first amendment rights and the judicial system. Voters can select the next pitiful act in this doom loop or break it with their vote. A win by either Biden or Trump will not be a victory of any sort, especially for their most dedicated supporters.

Is there a way to get to November 2024 without this “lesser of evil choice?” Indeed, there is! It is voting in the primary elections with a determination to thwart the manufactured rematch of 2020. Right now, we have one party, the Democrats, attempting a replay of “hide the candidate.” That worked in 2020. I suppose the current president could defend his record in primary debates. However, that would require both primary elections and the president showing up. His absence just gives rise to the suspicion that he is not sufficiently sentient for the task. And the polling leader of the Republican party is unwilling to show up to debates with other candidates. Do you really want your vote to endorse either of these political cowards?

There are better candidates within both the Democratic and Republican parties. There are at least three serious Republicans who have the credentials and energy to lead our government. The Democrats have managed to shut down just about every alternative except for the qualified and attractive candidate Dean Phillips. And of course, we have California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, circling the DNC convention like a vulture, in hopes that Mr. Biden’s health will be his undoing. Newsom’s state is hemorrhaging people and Los Angeles and San Francisco aren’t exactly great models for a prosperous American future, but that hasn’t stopped a whisper campaign for him to lead the ticket. Are things that desperate?

Imagine the hopeful tone in America if the general election of November 2024 had any of these five candidates at the top of the ticket? At minimum the notion of potentially electing a president who can’t physically complete their term would be removed.

Who is against third party candidates or primary choices and actually want a rematch of Biden-Trump? It’s the usual suspects – those who benefit from the dysfunction – the two major parties and the corrupted media outlets that fuel the division and the fight. Why would any thinking person believe those with a vested interest in the status quo?

What of the argument that “a vote for a third party is a wasted vote” or “you’ll just help the other side win”. Both arguments are designed to engender fear and intimidate people from exercising their power. 

Voters still not sufficiently scared to vote the lesser of two evils? That’s when the mantra of “third parties and alternate primary challengers are simply spoilers, with no meaningful effect” is wheeled out by the Dems and GOP, and amplified mightily through the corrupted established media ecosystem.  In a strange way, they are correct because stepping up and speaking for yourself through your vote does spoil the “lesser of two evils” false dichotomy. Imagine a Joe Biden or Donald Trump having to present substantive reasons for their seat behind the Resolute Desk versus the simple mission of caricaturing and demeaning the other. Primary challengers and third-party candidates force them to address real issues. Enough votes for such office seekers force the established media ecosystem to report on them. 

There remain two opportunities to break the Biden-Trump rematch narrative. Active voting in the primaries and/or a viable third-party alternative in the general election. The power is in our hands voters.