4 ms·

A large number of Democrats voted for Trump by not voting at all. They made a choice to let Trump win, just to tell Hillary (and the Democratic Party) that the

by woof 9y ago

A large number of Democrats voted for Trump by not voting at all. They made a choice to let Trump win, just to tell Hillary (and the Democratic Party) that they didn't like her! https://www.forbes.com/sites/omribenshahar/2016/11/17/the-non-voters-who-decided-the-election-trump-won-because-of-lower-democratic-turnout/#2d0d5ce053ab https://www.forbes.com/sites/omribenshahar/2016/11/17/the-no...

philliphaydon 9y ago
There's also voters who regret voting trump and voters who say they would switch from Hillary to trump.
boomboomsubban 9y ago
This ignores the other parties, which can explain most of the disparity. In Michigan, other candidates got about 1% of the vote in 12 and 5% in 16. Even if it helped Trump win, labeling them "spoilers" just ensures that our terrible system will have this happen again.
- refurb 9y ago
  Is the system terrible because the person you wanted to win didn't?
  - boomboomsubban 9y ago
    No, I can't imagine wanting either of those people to win.
    - woof 9y ago
      But you still have to choose between those two. By voting -preferably.
      - larelogio 9y ago
        Do you "have" to? Not voting is a form of expression as valid as any other. You really don't have to accept a very bad candidate and by doing so you signal future candidates the availability of "free" votes. Now, I admit that voting NULL is a stronger message, but is it really an option?
      - boomboomsubban 9y ago
        No. They are the people saying I need to choose between them. Supporting either is not in my interest, they will not earn my vote by being slightly less abhorrent.
- ashark 9y ago
  Our system stabilizes at two parties. Other parties aren't viable until/unless they hit a point where they can eat one existing party, or large parts of both. This happening will in short order kill one or both existing major parties, some brief chaos will ensue, and we'll end up with two parties again. Labeling does not cause this. Fixing that would be great (most sensible solutions would probably also fix our massive gerrymandering problem at the same time) but is unlikely to happen any time soon.
  - boomboomsubban 9y ago
    >but is unlikely to happen any time soon. It's guaranteed not to happen as long as you vote for the big two parties, making sure it doesn't is one of the things that gets bipartisan support. While I agree a win for a third party likely end with the new party entrenching itself like one of the current two, that seems like the best way to get a new party devoted to fixing this to emerge.

by woof 9y ago

philliphaydon 9y ago

There's also voters who regret voting trump and voters who say they would switch from Hillary to trump.

boomboomsubban 9y ago

This ignores the other parties, which can explain most of the disparity. In Michigan, other candidates got about 1% of the vote in 12 and 5% in 16. Even if it helped Trump win, labeling them "spoilers" just ensures that our terrible system will have this happen again.

refurb 9y ago
Is the system terrible because the person you wanted to win didn't?
- boomboomsubban 9y ago
  No, I can't imagine wanting either of those people to win.
  - woof 9y ago
    But you still have to choose between those two. By voting -preferably.
    - larelogio 9y ago
      Do you "have" to? Not voting is a form of expression as valid as any other. You really don't have to accept a very bad candidate and by doing so you signal future candidates the availability of "free" votes. Now, I admit that voting NULL is a stronger message, but is it really an option?
    - boomboomsubban 9y ago
      No. They are the people saying I need to choose between them. Supporting either is not in my interest, they will not earn my vote by being slightly less abhorrent.
ashark 9y ago
Our system stabilizes at two parties. Other parties aren't viable until/unless they hit a point where they can eat one existing party, or large parts of both. This happening will in short order kill one or both existing major parties, some brief chaos will ensue, and we'll end up with two parties again. Labeling does not cause this. Fixing that would be great (most sensible solutions would probably also fix our massive gerrymandering problem at the same time) but is unlikely to happen any time soon.
- boomboomsubban 9y ago
  >but is unlikely to happen any time soon. It's guaranteed not to happen as long as you vote for the big two parties, making sure it doesn't is one of the things that gets bipartisan support. While I agree a win for a third party likely end with the new party entrenching itself like one of the current two, that seems like the best way to get a new party devoted to fixing this to emerge.