Crash course US politics

@sarabee1995 which leaves both in control! Since Americans can't do three. Two. That's all!

@sarabee1995 Same

@SinlessOnslaught who do you support?

@Roundandroundwego There's nothing stopping us from doing three (or more) except ourselves. 🤷‍♀

@sarabee1995 so no one that you can name. Everyone says that. So absolutely never. And we're saying no names on purpose. Lolz! I agree. And the results are quite satisfying. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people!
Nobody I can think of is who I support! And that's everyone! Online you don't have a single named hope, never.

@sarabee1995 Politics these days are entirely based of vibes, which means who controls the media controls the election. In theory you can start a third party, in practice it won't go beyond 1-10%

It's a problem not unique to the American democracy, unfortunately. Over there you have it worse because you can't even say "well if we manage to get to 10% they'll at least have to make a coalition with us"

@Roundandroundwego I think you are mixing up me and @SinlessOnslaught. You asked him who he supports, not me.

I said there is nothing stopping us from creating and supporting third parties other than ourselves.

@Elessar You're not wrong, but again, if enough people here or there decide they want something (third party or whatever), then it happens. We hold the power. We have just chosen as a group to cede our power to politicians. 😔

@sarabee1995 Nah, I was answering for why I third party isn't viable. You'd need at least one of the main two bleed enough to lose at least 51% its voter base, in first past the post. And then you need all those people to agree joining the third party (and not a fourth, fifth, etc.), and then win against the party that is left.

That's exceptionally difficult in normal times (before TV and the internet), basically impossible with the entire modern media industry deeply invested into discouraging any such effort.

In the entire US history, correct me if I'm wrong, it happened only once with the Whig party.

@sarabee1995 It's relatively easier to first change the electoral law (not saying necessarily to a whole proportional system, but at the very least a ranked choice system like Alaska's), and then spin up a third party, than hope a third party topples one or both the existing ones.

Though I don't see the electoral law changing being any realistic in the given status quo, and even less so a third party to get anywhere close to the 51% of electoral college votes required to win