Two-Party System

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Fandango’s Provocative Question # 229

If you are American, have you ever voted for a presidential candidate who was neither the Democratic or Republican candidate? Would you like to see more third-party candidates and a movement away from predominantly a two-party system?

Fandango posed a good question. Sad to say without giving my age, that in my lifetime that I’ve only seen a presidential candidate that was neither a democratic nor republican three times. George Wallace, John Anderson, and Ross Perot. They were on the Presidential ballot as independents.  

Back in 1968 when George Wallace ran for President, the only thing that I cared about was getting my feeding bottle from my mother every time I cried to let her know that I’m hungry. Its ironic, that at that age, is the only time that one can be considered the President in the household, your parents cater to your every need upon making some noise.

In 1980 at the time when John Anderson ran for President, the only political aspiration I had was to vote for my High School freshman class president. Hell, I don’t even remember who he was or if I ever voted. But, in essence, the only thing that mattered to me at this point in time was shenanigans that one gets involved in during high school years.

1991 When Ross Perot was an independent presidential candidate, yours truly was just starting out as a government bureaucrat. Political awareness was better, but Bill Clinton was the man.

As far as the two-party system is concerned, the truth is that America has a multi-party system. There could be more third-party presidential candidates, but most of those third political parties tend to want to be under the umbrella of the Democratic or Republican parties.

Anyone of those other parties can fall out of the umbrella if they choose too. I suppose they don’t want to take the effort that would be needed to operate independent of the democrats and republicans.

If you look at it, there are so much fighting among the republicans and democrats that their conduct is being emulated. Don’t you find it ironic that the Democratic party colors is blue and the Republican party colors are red.

This sure sounds a lot like the infamous Crips whose colors are blue and Bloods whose colors are red. Expect for the Democrats and Republicans domination moves are played out on a larger scale.   

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  2. You forgot about Ralph Nader in the 2000 election. He got almost 2.9 million votes, and most of them would likely have gone to Al Gore in a very close election with George W. Bush. As it was, Gore got a half a million more votes than Bush. Were it not for Ralph Nader, Al Gore, and not George W. Bush, would have been our 43rd President. How different would the last 23 years have been if Gore had won?

    Liked by 1 person

    • You’re right I did forget about Nader…
      If Gore won, I believe it wouldn’t have stopped Bin Ladden’s plans, but America probably would not have invaded Iraq.
      I still would probably be deployed once instead of twice….

      Liked by 1 person

        • Yeah, I believe (from a site I was reading a day or two or so ago) it was less than a 200-vote difference between the two at a certain point of recounting — which got thrown out although I disagree with it having been thrown out.

          Plus, 308,000 Democrats voted in Florida for Bush. Yikes. And…

          From Wikipedia: In the 2000 presidential election in Florida, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore […] Nader received 97,421 votes in Florida (and Pat Buchanan and Harry Browne received 17,484 and 16,415 respectively), which led to claims that Nader was responsible for Gore’s defeat. Critics[who?] rarely mention Buchanan (who should be considered due to the butterfly ballot) or Browne.

          My point of view is that the butterfly ballot in Florida — which I recall from way back then being lined up in a really bad way — was enough to mess the whole thing up for us then.

          Still, it is a consideration that Republicans are usually trying to mess things up in any such way now. (Nevertheless, Democrats couldn’t bring themselves to pass voter protections).

          Also my point of view, people were fed up with any stank of Clinton on more than one level and just switched to the Republican conservative instead of the Democrat conservative.

          However, Bush was horrid.

          I mean Cheney.

          Liked by 2 people

  3. Hello True George,

    That is strange, there have been non-Democrat & non-Republican presidential candidates on my ballots the last several presidential elections, and probably even before that.

    I voted for third party candidates in the last three presidential elections.

    Remember Jill Stein with the Green Party?

    She was on the ballot two presidential elections in a row, I think, but I could be wrong; not in the last election, though.

    In the last presidential election, the Green Party did not meet the deadline in time for my state, so they were not on the ballot in my state.

    Kayne West & various other candidates I had never heard of were on the ballot, from various political parties I had never heard of from: communist parties, socialist parties, libertarian parties, far right parties, and maybe one or more independents.

    A mentally unstable & unqualified Kayne West got third place in my state, I think, sadly, as in he should not have done that well, in my opinion.

    Liked by 1 person

      • Also, I just think that a lot of the people in my state are just tired of the two main political parties (especially the Democrats, since my state is mostly Republican, unfortunately), and they probably voted for Kanye West as a beep you to the system / those two parties.

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          • Yeah, that is one of various reasons that Donald Trump won the vote in my state, I did not vote for him, of course, but I can understand some of the reasons for those who did.

            Even when he lost, I saw more Trump Flags & Confederate Battle Flags than American flags, sadly, when driving through my state to a dentist appointment in a city many miles from where I live.

            I crossed various cities / towns along the way, mostly rural areas.

            One Trump flag was on top of a grain storage building or something, I wondered how did they get it up there.

            Trumpism seems more like a religion, among other things.

            Like

              • Oh, yeah! I forgot, you start with cult et cetera, and have to work your way up to being a religion.

                Though, in college, I remember it being murky / unclear / inconsistent for a clear agreed upon list of what it takes to be considered a religion exactly.

                Like

              • Don’t you find it ironic that the Democratic party colors is blue and the Republican party colors are red.

                This sure sounds a lot like the infamous Crips whose colors are blue and Bloods whose colors are red.

                Apt comparison, yes.

                Expect for the Democrats and Republicans domination moves are played out on a larger scale.

                Liked by 1 person

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