OK, people, tell me when you last contemplated Jill Stein, perennial Green Party candidate for president.

“Y’all, this is a little spicy, but I have thoughts,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a recent Instagram post criticizing Stein’s third attempt at running for president.

Truly, “a little spicy” and “Green Party candidate Jill Stein” do not often come up in the same sentence. Or paragraph. Or train of thought.

But this is the season when we start to fret a lot about third-party presidential candidates who could divert enough cranky voters from the real options to change the outcome of the election.

We will stop now for a moment to remember the Green Party’s presidential candidate in 2000, Ralph Nader, who drained just enough support from Al Gore in Florida to tip the election to George W. Bush.

Or, um, Jill Stein. Whose presence on the ballot in a few swing states was just enough to keep Hillary Clinton from beating Donald Trump in 2016.

The danger isn’t nearly as great as it was a few months ago, when it looked like the race was going to be Biden-Trump and millions of depressed voters were wondering whether to write in the name of a close friend or, hey, George Clooney.

But still, you can never tell how things might get screwed up, particularly since any outcome not involving the election of Trump is going to lead to months of legal battles and protests.

So feel free to worry about Stein — or other presidential candidates, like Cornel West, whose only major achievement this time around has been not making the ballot in Pennsylvania.

They’re not exactly building a movement, and as Ocasio-Cortez said, if “all you do is show up every four years,” you really ought to be doing something else. Maybe running for a less ridiculous office, the way Ocasio-Cortez did when she knocked off an entrenched and deeply unthrilling House veteran in 2018.

Or sign up for a night-school class. Clean the basement. Reread “War and Peace.” The options are endless. Get a life.

https://archive.ph/Od5Iy

  • Evilphd666 [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    3 months ago

    I put it in Bing's co-pilot and pretty close...

    maybe-later-honey maybe-later-kiddo

    Considering a Third-Party Candidate? Get a Life

    Alright, let’s get real for a moment. You’re thinking about voting for a third-party candidate? Seriously? Get a life. I mean, sure, it sounds noble and all, casting your vote for someone who aligns perfectly with your ideals. But let’s face it, in the grand scheme of things, it’s like trying to win a marathon by riding a unicycle. It’s just not going to happen.

    First off, let’s talk numbers. The U.S. political system is a two-party behemoth. It’s been that way for centuries. The Democrats and Republicans have the infrastructure, the money, and the voter base. A third-party candidate? They barely have a podium to stand on. Your vote for them is like throwing a pebble into the ocean and expecting a tidal wave. It’s not going to make a splash.

    And let’s not forget the stakes. Every election cycle, we’re told, “This is the most important election of our lifetime.” And guess what? They’re right. The issues at hand are monumental—climate change, healthcare, economic inequality. Do you really want to risk it all on a candidate who has as much chance of winning as a snowball in a furnace? Get real.

    But hey, I get it. You’re frustrated. You’re tired of the same old, same old. You want change. But change doesn’t come from the fringes. It comes from within. If you want to make a difference, get involved in your local party. Push for the changes you want to see. But don’t throw your vote away on a pipe dream.

    In the end, voting is about making a choice. And sometimes, that choice is the lesser of two evils. It’s not perfect, but it’s the system we have. So, next time you’re in the voting booth, think long and hard. Do you want to make a statement, or do you want to make a difference? Because in this game, those two things are rarely the same.