Kitca wrote:
Queen Alixana wrote:
and that right now it's more imperative to vote for a candidate that can actually win
This perception is why we will never have a truly viable third party in the US. Third-party candidates are considered unelectable by default to most people presently and I don't see the perception changing any time soon.
Not really. The structure of the Electoral College is why we'll never have a truly viable third party. It's also why Alixana is absolutely right. At least as far as presidential candidates go, it's more important to vote for the guy on your "side" that can win, then to vote for someone with great ideas (from your perspective) who has no chance.
Under the EC system, it's more important for smaller political groups to align themselves with one of the two major parties and use their voters as a block to help them push their issues forward. By splitting off they only marginalize themselves, their issue, and ultimately cost other similar issues by pulling votes away from the closest common party. The 2 party system really requires that different political factions work together for common cause. Unfortunately, you'll get the occasional Nader or Perot who don't seem to get this...