Why Do Americans Keep Voting for Republicans and Democrats? Are They Stupid?

Mainly because we have a two party system in this country. Also Republicans and Democrats write our election laws and they do so as a mutual protection act. If there is one thing all Republicans and Democrats agree on, it's no viable third party will ever rise to challenge them.

Then there is financial, corporations, wall street firms, lobbyists, special interests, huge, mega money donors, etc give their tens of millions, hundreds of millions to both major parties. No donations to third party candidates or to independents. Even when a third party can get, over come 50 different state election laws to get their candidate on all the states ballots, a miracle and a half just accomplishing that with take millions and usually some lawsuits. Their still outspent by the two major parties, using 2016 as an example, 2 billion dollars, 1.191 trillion for Hillary, 646.8 million by Trump, to third place spender, Johnson 3 million. What chance does a third party have of attracting voters when it is out spent 2 billion to 3 million? Then the media ignores all third party candidates. Hardly anyone knows who these folks are outside those who are avid political junkies.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-presidential-campaign-fundraising/

Even when voters really, really dislike and don't want either major party candidate, the two major parties are very adept at the propaganda of convincing those voters who might vote third party that their vote will be a wasted vote as their candidate can't win. What is amazing that in 2016 6% of Americans did vote third party, that included 12% of independents, some 9 million people. When one considers these third party candidates were just an unknown name on the ballot for the presidency, getting 9 million people to vote for them is quite an accomplishment. Most of those nine million voted for them only because their last name wasn't Trump nor Clinton.

 

Ranked voting intrigues me, but before we can get to that point, I think we need to dump the primary system in its entirety.

Dumping the primary system in it's current form may actually fix some of the issues on it's own though. At this point, I prefer open primaries and top 2 in the general.

 

The old smoke filled rooms were better. The election season was around 90 days, not four years.

 

ya, he was around 20%, but that particular year (at least IMO) all 3 candidates were generally like-able, I think bush got hurt by the no new taxes, clinton being charismatic and bush was already in his 12th year, people were ok with change.

Where in 16 there was a tremendous contrast, and johnson was a bonehead.

But basically what i'm saying that local, regional, state or federal level, i'm 100% behind any independent candidate that isn't a complete idiot, but I don't think any more than 3-4% share my position on that, for whatever reason we're stuck with only D's and R's, despite the fact that the I's voting block is massive.

 

never was a fan on general principles, but I wouldn't freak out if it was implemented in my area. On paper it seems to make sense but I just preferred one vote vs someone getting 1 vote and the other getting .7 of a vote or whatever. If they implemented it i'd probably still just vote for 1 person and skip #2, #3, assuming i'm allowed to do that.

 

To make any significant change in the candidates, one has to take the money and the time spent out of campaigning. It is insane that campaigns last for over one year, and that millions of dollars are spent by candidates. Limit the time and money, and you will have a new breed of candidates. Perhaps, ones that are worthy of the vote.

 

Still a much better choice than what the Dems were offering.

 

An unlikely assumption.

 

I didn't say 'better' candidates - I said a new breed.

Look at the dem race for the nom...their existence in the race is dependent upon raising money.

 

Who said anything about voting for Dems?

 

We have a two-party system because that's what Americans vote for. They are either too stupid or cowardly to choose anything else.

 

That's why Americans elected Trump - and AOC.

 

We have the two party system not because Americans are too stupid or cowardly, but that it is entrenched. Third party candidates play Hades just to get on the ballot while Republicans and Democrats have automatically ballot access. Then there is the financial aspect. I hit that before. If a political party along with its candidates are totally unknown because they can't either get ballot access due to existing states laws or don't have the financial support to get name recognition, the media doesn't cover them, no one knows they exist. No one is going to vote for them.

Believe it or not, a majority of Americans yearn for a viable third party. 57% of Americans say a third major political party is needed, that the Republican and Democratic Party no longer represents them.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/244094...utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

The problem is what Americans want or they are stupid, it's that our two major parties have total control over our election system. They have a monopoly and they aren't about to give that monopoly up by relaxing the election laws to make it easier for a third party to gain ballot access or to gain publicity.

To put it simply, the deck is stacked against any third party rising to the level of viability. Both major parties will work together to crush any third party that even looks like it has a chance of becoming viable. That is in both major parties best interests.

 

We don't vote on principles here we vote on people. And sometimes you have to compromise. That's a good thing it leads to a more harmonious existence.

 

First, the good people have to volunteer to become targets... I mean candidates. Most good people don't have hip-waders high enough to survive it.

 

Translation: Please Republicans and Independents, please don't vote.

 

Your continuous use of 'stupid' pretty much paints a picture... of you. Perotista covered a lot of the issues in his post as to why it's not just a walk in the park to unseat the undesirables in the political world.... even though a group may dislike a politician, there is always another group the adores them.

 

Really.

Who was the last presidential candidate you voted for.

Who will you vote for in the next election.

 

It's group dynamics. Individually we would not necessarily vote for Democrats or Republicans to the exclusion of all others, but because we are in a very large group and imagine (rightly) that a majority of the group will vote Democrat or Republican, many of us choose to go along with this in order to support the "least worst" candidate between those two parties. In this mindset, any other vote is "wasted."

 

Two-party politics have taken over. The founders of the US warned against a party system like this due to them simply becoming polarized, and yet, here we are with only two parties to vote for that have an actual chance of winning. It's become "Lesser of two evils" in essence.

Liberal stupidity?
Or Conservative stupidity?
Pick one. Both just as stupid and cancerous, you just pick the one that's the least cancer.

Both sides have their stupid ideas on how to run things. One of the reasons I refuse to join or call myself either of them.

 

There is nothing "harmonious" about the US political system.

 

This might be the worst translation in history.

 

Sure.

 

So I should pretend that people who eat from the same crap-filled trough over and over again aren't stupid? Why sugarcoat it? Millions of Americans are stupid. It's a fact. Pretending otherwise isn't going to help anyone.

 

It's entrenched because Americans voted for it.