Going Green: The importance of the 3rd party vote
A common narrative of this election cycle is that a vote for the third-party candidate is truly a vote for one of the two mainstream candidates. If you ask a Hillary supporter, Voting for Jill Stein is truly voting for Donald Trump. A Donald Trump supporter would say that a vote for Gary Johnson is truly a vote for Hillary Clinton.
Not only is this a nonsensical argument it is an out right lie. The two main stream parties are well aware of the growing unpopularity of the current system. They are also aware that if a third-party can garnish 5% or more of the popular vote that they will qualify for federal funding and future elections. This will affect not only presidential elections but it will affect down ballot elections as well.
Before this election cycle I was a Democrat. Since I've been of voting age I have always voted Democrat. When the 2016 election cycle began I supported Bernie Sanders. I did not feel that he would be able to accomplish much of what he campaigned on. Feeling as if we had all just been duped by the Obama hope and change message, I did not put much weight in what Bernie promised. With a Sanders presidency though, I at least felt secure in that Bernie Sanders would do all he could to avoid further armed conflict in the Middle East.
To me personally, I look at Hillary Clinton as a neo-conservative in a liberal's pants suit. Clinton's voting record is very much in line with the neo-conservatives who ran the Bush administration. I opposed Hillary when she ran in '08 and I was damn sure going to oppose her in '16.
As the Democratic National Convention drew near, it became clear that Bernie Sanders was not going to become the Democratic nominee. At this point I had heard of Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, but I did not put much weight into their campaigns. Before the DNC I had honestly believed that I would vote for Gary Johnson if Hillary became the nominee.
I traveled out to Philadelphia for the DNC as my first attempt at independent journalism. With all the controversy surrounding the inevitability of a Hillary Clinton nomination, I wanted to see how people would respond on the ground.
In Philadelphia this is where I truly became aware of Dr. Jill Stein and her campaign. I had heard rumors of her being anti-vaccinations and honestly wasn't sure what the Green party start for.
(Image Source - Facebook)
After attending several rallies organized by the Green party I became aware of a round-table discussion that Dr. Jill Stein was going to be participating in. Hearing Dr. Stein speak and investigating the green party platform I was sold.
I recommend that anyone who considers themselves progressive, liberal, a democratic socialist or even a socialist who feels slighted by the Democratic Party to vote for Dr. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. Left of center people want to argue that we must ensure Hillary wins because she is the lesser of two evils. I say that the only way to break the system is to build a new party. A vote for Dr. Jill Stein is a vote for the future. It is a vote to attempt to build a new truly left of center party.
Ask yourself this, do you you want a president that commits scandal after scandal?
Or would you prefer a president that takes a stand against corporate interests and joins the front lines of one of the most important protests of our time?
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Battles maybe won in a matter of days but wars are typically won over years.My question to you is, how long are you going to keep voting for the lesser of two evils as America falls apart?
Vote your conscious.
Vote Stein Baraka 2016
(Dr. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. Image Source - Facebook)
(Article by Jaimes Campbell)