2020 US General Election Thread IV: The Battle Begins

[Imperial Joseon]

They actually are, and they won five states in 1968. No relation to Sen. King and Sen. Sanders though, who are more accurately described as unaffiliated but members of the Democratic caucus.

Yeah, I thought so. That makes America a 3-party system?

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

They actually are, and they won five states in 1968. No relation to Sen. King and Sen. Sanders though, who are more accurately described as unaffiliated but members of the Democratic caucus.

Yeah, I thought so. That makes America a 3-party system?

It actually doesn’t. Their presences are too minor and offer no true contest.

[Imperial Joseon]

It actually doesn’t. Their presences are too minor and offer no true contest.

Okay.

[Cisairse]

Impossible. The 2-party-system is actually enshrined in some laws. America cannot function with more than two parties on a federal level.

Really? I've never heard of an explicit law stating that. What does the law say?

I was mainly referring to laws regarding ballot access, which in some states is extremely strict except for the two main parties.

Also, parliamentary rules in the Senate and House are specifically structured around having only 2 parties. The whole chair/ranking member/majority-minority members paradigm really doesn't work if you have more than two party blocs. That isn't a necessity of how the Congress is constructed, it's just how they wrote their own rules.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

It actually doesn’t. Their presences are too minor and offer no true contest.

Okay.

If they did offer a threat to the DP and RP, we’d be singing a different tune.

[Cisairse]

They actually are, and they won five states in 1968. No relation to Sen. King and Sen. Sanders though, who are more accurately described as unaffiliated but members of the Democratic caucus.

Yeah, I thought so. That makes America a 3-party system?

Nope. There are no members of the House or Senate which are not affiliated with a party caucus. The only president in U.S. history which wasn't aligned with one of two major political factions was the first, George Washington.

[Kargintina the Third]

They actually are, and they won five states in 1968. No relation to Sen. King and Sen. Sanders though, who are more accurately described as unaffiliated but members of the Democratic caucus.

Yeah, I thought so. That makes America a 3-party system?

The closest thing we have to a third party is the Libertarian Party, which received only 4.5 million votes in 2016.

[Imperial Joseon]

Okay.

If they did offer a threat to the DP and RP, we’d be singing a different tune.

I guess Deez Nuts and that other panhandling guy weren't so formidable as potential presdiential candidates.

[Sougra]

I'm not sure I'd call it funny, but I'll be damned if it isn't crazy. Man, politics are just going to be a mess all the time now, huh?

Overturning Citizens United might help a little but, but in the age where you can follow candidates on Twitter just to watch them accidentally tweet the N word yeah I think it's going to be a mess all the time now.

Oh, I thought the Independents were a party?

They actually are, and they won five states in 1968. No relation to Sen. King and Sen. Sanders though, who are more accurately described as unaffiliated but members of the Democratic caucus.

Wait, wait, what? Is that just an example or did a candidate (other than Joe Walsh) actually do that?

But I meant in general all over the world. I mean, Israel, Canada (although it's still somewhat sane for the most part), the UK, the US, France, Iran, and just, man, politics and political incidents are like a fever dream at this point.

And I did not know that. But good to know.

[Cisairse]

Yeah, I thought so. That makes America a 3-party system?

The closest thing we have to a third party is the Libertarian Party, which received only 4.5 million votes in 2016.

It's also worth noting that this was an incredibly abnormal result which is unlikely to be replicated in 2020.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

If Americans want consolation, we have the same issue in Spain, but there other parties besides PSOE and PP that have a bigger presence. Still, it’s a two party shitfest.

[Imperial Joseon]

The closest thing we have to a third party is the Libertarian Party, which received only 4.5 million votes in 2016.

It's also worth noting that this was an incredibly abnormal result which is unlikely to be replicated in 2020.

Abnormal in what sense?

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

If they did offer a threat to the DP and RP, we’d be singing a different tune.

I guess Deez Nuts and that other panhandling guy weren't so formidable as potential presdiential candidates.

They weren’t. Yes.

[Cisairse]

Overturning Citizens United might help a little but, but in the age where you can follow candidates on Twitter just to watch them accidentally tweet the N word yeah I think it's going to be a mess all the time now.



They actually are, and they won five states in 1968. No relation to Sen. King and Sen. Sanders though, who are more accurately described as unaffiliated but members of the Democratic caucus.

Wait, wait, what? Is that just an example or did a candidate (other than Joe Walsh) actually do that?

But I meant in general all over the world. I mean, Israel, Canada (although it's still somewhat sane for the most part), the UK, the US, France, Iran, and just, man, politics and political incidents are like a fever dream at this point.

And I did not know that. But good to know.

No, no candidate has actually done that...yet. I am 100% sure it will happen eventually. I did see this meme recently though:

[Cisairse]

It's also worth noting that this was an incredibly abnormal result which is unlikely to be replicated in 2020.

Abnormal in what sense?

Abnormal in the sense that the Libertarians getting 4.5 million votes hasn't happened recently and probably won't happen again in the near future. That result wasn't representative of widespread support for the Libertarians; it was mostly Republicans who didn't like Trump voting for Gary Johnson as a protest.

[Imperial Joseon]

No, no candidate has actually done that...yet. I am 100% sure it will happen eventually. I did see this meme recently though:
(Image)

Bribery alert?

[Kargintina the Third]

It's also worth noting that this was an incredibly abnormal result which is unlikely to be replicated in 2020.

Abnormal in what sense?

He got lots of votes solely because he was the third option people could see that wasn’t Trump of Hillary. 3rd party candidates don’t usually come close to the amount of votes he got.

[Sougra]

Besides the two main parties, the Vermont Progressive Party has the highest number of seats among State and National offices for any organized party in the country.

7/30 members in the state Senate
13/150 members in the state House

Also the Lt. Gov is a member.

Ah. Yep. From that Sanders documentary from PBS that I watched on a whim, they made Vermont seem like some haven of some sort in terms of not being this incredibly polarized area and generally nice. Or at least, that's how it came off to me. Who knows what the average American conservative would think?

But still, good on them for having more than two parties.

[Cisairse]

Besides the two main parties, the Vermont Progressive Party has the highest number of seats among State and National offices for any organized party in the country.

7/30 members in the state Senate
13/150 members in the state House

Also the Lt. Gov is a member.

Ah. Yep. From that Sanders documentary from PBS that I watched on a whim, they made Vermont seem like some haven of some sort in terms of not being this incredibly polarized area and generally nice. Or at least, that's how it came off to me. Who knows what the average American conservative would think?

But still, good on them for having more than two parties.

I drove through Vermont once. That's kinda the vibe I got.

Now, New Hampshire was an entirely different experience.

[Kruiven]

Abnormal in what sense?

Abnormal in the sense that the Libertarians getting 4.5 million votes hasn't happened recently and probably won't happen again in the near future. That result wasn't representative of widespread support for the Libertarians; it was mostly Republicans who didn't like Trump voting for Gary Johnson as a protest.

2016 was also the first time since 1808(!) multiple faithless electors voted against their pledged qualified presidential candidate.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Ah. Yep. From that Sanders documentary from PBS that I watched on a whim, they made Vermont seem like some haven of some sort in terms of not being this incredibly polarized area and generally nice. Or at least, that's how it came off to me. Who knows what the average American conservative would think?

But still, good on them for having more than two parties.

I drove through Vermont once. That's kinda the vibe I got.

Now, New Hampshire was an entirely different experience.

Is there a chance in hell that the laws on having only two parties can be changed?

[Sougra]

If Americans want consolation, we have the same issue in Spain, but there other parties besides PSOE and PP that have a bigger presence. Still, it’s a two party shitfest.

That's how it seems to be in most large democracies. Canada is kind of holding things down, as far as I can tell, but the West is like that kid in the corner at a party who you know is about to throw a tantrum (for incredibly legitimate reasons), so that's definitely going to end up with something other than the massive protests, disenfranchisement, and other stuff happening.

[Imperial Joseon]

I drove through Vermont once. That's kinda the vibe I got.

Now, New Hampshire was an entirely different experience.

Is there a chance in hell that the laws on having only two parties can be changed?

What other party should there be included in America, do you think?

[Cisairse]

I drove through Vermont once. That's kinda the vibe I got.

Now, New Hampshire was an entirely different experience.

Is there a chance in hell that the laws on having only two parties can be changed?

Yeah. Some states have wide-open ballot access laws. New York, for example, often has a silly amount of parties listed with each candidate getting nominated by several parties.

That won't end the 2-party system though. FTFP will still de facto mandate a 2-party system.

[Kruiven]

Besides the two main parties, the Vermont Progressive Party has the highest number of seats among State and National offices for any organized party in the country.

7/30 members in the state Senate
13/150 members in the state House

Also the Lt. Gov is a member.

Ah. Yep. From that Sanders documentary from PBS that I watched on a whim, they made Vermont seem like some haven of some sort in terms of not being this incredibly polarized area and generally nice. Or at least, that's how it came off to me. Who knows what the average American conservative would think?

But still, good on them for having more than two parties.

Sanders should really become a VPP member, it suits him so well. Not one of the major two main parties, but a strong fierce party. Also their logo is the amazing bull moose.