This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
And The Most Popular Political Party In America Is...
Submitted by Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
The following poll results from Gallup represent the most significant domestic news story I have come across in 2014 to-date. Gallup polling in 2013 showed that the highest number of Americans now identify as Independents since it starting asking the question 25 years ago. Specifically, 42% identify as Independents, versus 31% as Democrats and 25% as Republicans. Even more interesting, the trend accelerated as the year progressed. If we look at quarterly results, in 4Q13 46% identified as Independents, versus 29% Democrat and 22% Republican.
This is huge, huge news and it seems that my long held belief that both the Democrat and Republican parties are set to completely disintegrate during this current 4th Turning. Earlier in 2012, wrote a piece titled, The Seventy Percent, in which I predicted that no matter who would go on to win the Presidential election, 70% of the public would be disappointed.
This sets up huge opportunities for non-conventional candidates to gain control of local and national office in 2014 and beyond. While I hold out limited hope for traditional politics, we must fight on all fronts for secular reform and the window right now is wide open.
From Gallup.
Forty-two percent of Americans, on average, identified as political independents in 2013, the highest Gallup has measured since it began conducting interviews by telephone 25 years ago. Meanwhile, Republican identification fell to 25%, the lowest over that time span. At 31%, Democratic identification is unchanged from the last four years but down from 36% in 2008.
The results are based on more than 18,000 interviews with Americans from 13 separate Gallup multiple-day polls conducted in 2013.
In each of the last three years, at least 40% of Americans have identified as independents. These are also the only years in Gallup’s records that the percentage of independents has reached that level.
Democratic identification has also declined in recent years, falling five points from its recent high of 36% in 2008, the year President Barack Obama was elected. The current 31% of Americans identifying as Democrats matches the lowest annual average in the last 25 years.
The percentage of Americans identifying as independents grew over the course of 2013, surging to 46% in the fourth quarter. That coincided with the partial government shutdown in October and the problematic rollout of major provisions of the healthcare law, commonly known as “Obamacare.”
Americans are increasingly declaring independence from the political parties. It is not uncommon for the percentage of independents to rise in a non-election year, as 2013 was. Still, the general trend in recent years, including the 2012 election year, has been toward greater percentages of Americans identifying with neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party, although most still admit to leaning toward one of the parties.
The increased independence adds a greater level of unpredictability to this year’s congressional midterm elections. Because U.S. voters are less anchored to the parties than ever before, it’s not clear what kind of appeals may be most effective to winning votes. But with Americans increasingly eschewing party labels for themselves, candidates who are less closely aligned to their party or its prevailing doctrine may benefit.
Full article here.
»
- 14642 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Yet, they still vote red or blue...
same as it ever was...
I can't wait to see who the Independent Party nominates in 2014.
I bet it's Larry Summers. Banker tentacles got it covered, don't you worry.
And The Most Popular Political Party In America Is...
The Progressive Party, of course, since it is the only political party. Blue Team and Red Team are merely the components, like a pair of shoes.
"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power."
- - George Orwell 1984
somehow 105% vote blue in many precincts
that's like 500% less than where I am
Gee, nobody but the diehard moon-bats and wing-nuts still wants to associate with either major political party. Surprise, surprise.
Thing is, "Independent" merely means "Malleable Swing Voter," as nearly every last one of those people will vote red or blue come "Selection Day."
When I was a kid, one of my friends dad told me that he "had voted for every President." All I wanted to do was to ask him how he could be so stupid.
Independents are the intersection of two circles, one representing hunter-gatherer liberals, the other representing the sedentist pharaonic conservatives, who developed from the hunter-gatherers. Independents are those in transition.
If you draw another, much smaller circle, intersecting the conservative circle, you have the libertarians, developing from conservatives.
.
Don't blame me - I didn't vote.
Clearly, sir, you would have been disappointed by the gentleman's response. Even if he had been able to draw from some hitherto unknown reserve of intelligence and wisdom, simply comprehending the question would have placed him into a menacingly alien frame of reference. In a best case scenario, his sanest response would have been simply to run off, shrieking in horror.
Just everybody vote independent, we'll throw um off their keesters.
100% of people who support Independent candidates still support their own slavery.
Your master's tools (voting) can never be used to dismantle your master's house. It's time to leave the plantation.
Soon it will be, "The Donner Party"
Heh. The graph is confusing to me since it capitalizes the 'I' in Independent indicating the actual party rather that the fact that 42% of people are simply saying "I'm not a Democrat or Republican" probably with a silent "Just leave me alone".
I would look at those 42% as a group who won't vote for anyone in particluar if at all...thereby being no factor or helping to entrench the Progressives by their absence or last minute swing by submitting to some Rock the Vote propaganda.
only because it's the current "paradigm". myself, I find the single-winner voting systems slightly antiquated, but that's my taste
yet the Brits have the same one, and they have more than two parties. in fact, at the moment no party has a majority in parliament and Cameron is supported by a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal-Democrats, with Labour in opposition
Cause the moment their is a party, there is no democracy.
The ONLY chance that the U.S. has at surviving is if the "two party" oligopoly (it's really a monopoly; read on) is broken up once and for all, and the multinational corporate puppeteers that control both parties (they use material insignificant social wedge issues such as the pledge of allegiance in public schools as the material to keep the sheeple divided) can no longer BUY POLITICIANS, THEIR STAFFERS, REGULATORS & ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
THERE IS ONLY ONE POLITICAL PARTY IN THE U.S. AND IT'S THE CRONYCOMRADE DEMUBLICAN PARTY, WHERE ALL OF "GOVERNMENT" IS DEEPLY CAPTURED/OWNED BY THE SAME BANKING/CORPORATE INTERESTS, AT PRESENT.
Yup... This is great news!
Decentralization in the face of declinging EROEI is really the only endgame... I don't see how the US stays in its current form more then 30 years. The age of broken promises is here, just most people are stuck in the denial phase.
I'm a independent repukeacratneolibshitmuffin. That covers all of the bullshit. And on occasion I enjoy shitting in my pants.
It is the perfect system for control by chaos and confusion. I'm gong to run for office soon as I shave my asshair off for the photo shoot.
Does "Independent" include 3rd parties? I'm betting it does.
Most people have realized things are screwed up but they're unable to trace it back to cental banks and the Fed.
The party that runs everything is the NWO-See Eye AA/Al Ki Dah-En Ess A-MIC Party. They run the show.
Elections do not matter because the Big Party has files on everyone.
Because in most cases they simply don't have a chance to vote for other candidates or know that vote won't mean anything at the state or federal level.
I disagree Laws,
Note that if the graph is accurate, it shows the Democrat Party has remained fairly stable over the entire time set. Note also that the Grand Old Party has a net loss over the same time frame. If this is accurate, I propose that Republicans are finally tired of being the "Progessive Lite" brand. Fear not, Christie will get US over this bridge!
Oh, wait a minute....
In most cases, they have no other choice.
Challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual!
Are you a Libertarian?
Take The Quiz to find out.
Your scope is off by about 1/4 click to the right. Unless you took that shot outside and the wind was slightly (un-noticably) blowing to the right.
How did you miss that last 10 points on the "personal issues score"?
Maybe. There are many very strong mind-altering drugs that I believe should, at the very least, require a prescription.
Caffeine, for starters.
Here are some examples. I vote, "maybe," instead of, "disagree," because part of me strongly believes in natural selection.
If morons want to use/abuse anything outside of its normal usage, then let natural selection carry them off indeed. Restriction of substance and restriction of information are sister tyrannies. There is no forbidden fruit except which we label as such.
Modern synthesized anasthetics are a sensitive class of drug. It takes great knowledge of chemistry to understand when/where/why to apply them. Definitely not for the average monkey trying to get high...
I vote, "maybe," instead of, "disagree," because the other part of me cares deeply for the average monkey trying to get high.
Coercion by force is still the slippery slope of Fascism. Trying to force others to adopt your ways will NEVER result in compliance. Instead it breeds social decay.
When I saw the chart you posted, I immediately knew it was due to fearing that people can't act like adults unless you put a gun to their head.
Welcome to DayCare World. Enjoy your stay.
.
Some people just feel better about themselves by supporting the capricious and arbitrary exercise of the full power of the state against people who are doing Things That Are Wrong®.
Feelings are the mattering bits, so the issue never quite makes it to the cerebral cortex for rational consideration. They don't want any control over recreational drugs, such as limiting sales to adults, because legalization "sends the wrong message to children". They prefer that children have easy access to recreational drugs via the thriving black market created by prohibition, because "sending the right message to children" makes them feel good.
It also allows a lot of parents to sidestep the difficulty of having to talk sensibly with their children about the issue. "Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?"
It's for the cheeeldren. It's always for the cheeeldren. Mmmmkay? So don't you even think about growing up, or else the terrists will get you!
I love you man. You gotta choose a side someday though. :)
There is a problem though becuase if natural selection only worked on the person overdosing or dying from the drugs that would be fine but there are always additional victims and most often innocent at that.
If people smoking crack or meth or bath salts were not able to drive a car and they all never harmed anyone it wouldn't be a problem. Even the pot smokers aren't immune since they make honey oil and blow themselves and their neighbors up sometimes.
I'm for people being free to do whatever they want but it's not always a victimless "crime".
Problem is, people don't kill behind the wheel too often from crack, bath salts, or even weed.
The elephant in the room is alcohol.
If you're not willing to restrict alcohol, then you better be consistent, or we will always end up where we are now.
Here's the average monkey trying to get high...and then jumping out of a window. Of course people need restrictions. You may have seen this video already,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2WtQRWCdmc
First rule of salvia: NEVER do it without a sober watcher on hand. These people are grade-A idiots.
"If morons want to use/abuse anything outside of its normal usage, then let natural selection carry them off indeed."
Is it natural selection or genocide? Like the Opium trade which created more and more addicts in China, until it eventually caused the fall of their ancient imperial order.
Natural selection, when looking at individual cases. Opium is a fucked up drug and can be harnessed for genocide. Just ask all the pill-poppin Americans how much they love their opiates.
statist! statist! nanny-state statist! ;-) LOL
MSNBC?
Oh God, my insurance will never cover em. Probably a good thing though.
I'm at the apex
https://pathofmusashi.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/the-ten-commandments/
I'm a statist dicktater. You are all officially required to have fun for three hours a day. All violators will by punished by tickle.
I tell statists all the time that I'm Emporer of the Universe, and that they had better do as I say.
Somehow, they never get the connection.
My red dot appeared close to the one above. However, I couldn't see privatizing Social Security. In the current context, that would be same as giving lots of loot to the primary banks.
on that test I usually result as a centrist (when I understand the issues discussed, which are very, very US-centric). yet that diagram has only two dimensions. imho there are three dimension of polical thought: conservative, socialist and liberal
I see your point but all 3 terms have decayed beyond hope of descriptive redemption. None reflect true political "thought". All 3 describe almost identical masses of grasping, statist opportunists.
An opportunist is the worst kind of motherfucker.
To complete this perspective : one nation state that botched up the Enlightenment legacy, and thru its preeminent position in timeline has in many ways served as example for statist plays; where the totalitarian core is hidden by the democracy facade.
France's DNA is based on two absolutes to define its top down culture : Absolutism of Nation state; aka legislature and executive RULE, Without Judiciary or Media independence of any consequence --no counter powers-- and Machiavelism of elitist mindset to ensure both foreign policy interests and internal control and fear meme benefit the ruling Oligarchy. France was supposed to have abolished aristocratic privileges. It has created an even more privileged meritocracy class now crony with the Corporates who recruit from the same meritocracy schools.
It is the most evolved form of neo- totalitarian statist construct that justifies its mantra all draped in Enlightenment ideology which hides behind the Machiavellian triple play, similar to what the USa has become since Nov 1963 as the USa is largely a meritocracy that is now top down Ivy league run, articulated as follows :
1° Make Universal laws that apply in principle, and are impeccable in form.
2° Make amendments -- often passed during midnight sessions or during national summer recess--- to counter the general principle for special cases; auto protection of the elites and their crony interests. (The US legislature openly tolerates a huge corporate lobby culture that moneys its private interests in DC; unlike in Europe).
3° Make non written further exceptions, involving illegal and criminal cloak and dagger plays, only known to inner circle of elites to push the protection loop further for "reasons of state" cases which ensure no legal action is taken for hanky panky by Elected leaders (in the interests of power cabal) that ensures immunity before law courts; think Iran Contra, Pinochet, hanging chads and JFK assassination. The WHOLE Saud OIL scam which guaranteed Oil resources for 40 years (amongst other asset classes) was based on this principle; like the Brit Opium trade and US MIC/CIA plays and Karzai handshake. Its a time honoured concept, now garbed in executive privilege and "reason of state"; like current Benghazi botchup which stays under the carpet.
Our current democracies and EU type structures use this model of triple play time and time again. Of course Neo con America has morphed totally and way beyond post 9/11 and Patriot act.
Machiavelli is truly our role model and Montesquieu the eternal fall guy, the idealists of progressive/libertarian dreams who believe in level playing fields and true rule of law.
Looks like the NWO is a further step down this road beyond the nation state construct. A terrific mixture of neofeudal Oligarchies and Absolutist and Machiavellian surrogate state structures that now openly bow to the moneyed Klass.
Awesome construct with all the usual ingredients of an inevitable fall : Hubris that drives them over the cliff and then the Holy Crusade tears them apart into every man or tribe for itself when the asymptote is breached.
The conservative, libertarian and progressive traditions take a back seat to this evolution IMO in all nominal democracies. As the elected are now more and more irrelevant to the true power structure which is private oligarchy controlled in coporates beyond state reach like Exxon and Google or Apple.
your statement is possibly correct, yet it's without the "...in the US" at the end. but again, what was the fate of the Whig Party (United States) ? or the National Republican Party? They were dominant, at a time. Presidents were elected on those tickets
Fuck I did it three times and still failed
I don't like pot or dope smokers - does that make me anti-Libertarian? I love Ron Paul.
No, because you don't have to approve of what other people do to their bodies. You just have to recognize that you have no right to point guns at them and make them stop.
100% libertarian and 100% hetero. Though I fully support any other combination of both. Let freedom reign and natural selection determine the outcome.
It would be interesting to see if the remaining free press could support an independent candidate with actual chances to win.
I thought we were the remaining free press.
.
The current system excludes any such candidate. There are laws in every US state which were written to make ballot access much more difficult and restrictive for anyone outside of the RedBlue Club.
Outlaw all political parties.
exactly, defy and deny everything the Bigs have been controlling and financing for decades
period
Re: Outlaw all political parties
You can't outlaw something that's natural. Political Parties are how the smart-n-savvy people screw the dumbasses.
Screwing dumbasses is how the smart-n-savvy get their loot.
Taking the dumbasses loot is what makes the world go `round.
United they stand
Divided they end up in prison
not natural? factions are one of the most typical human traits. and political parties are just that, in the political field, factions
it's just your indoctrination (or culture) that leads you to think in this very, very REALmerican way
put any group of humans somewhere for enough time that they start to know each other and you'll see factions arise. even the nuclear family of two parents and two children often has two factions. expand the group and you'll have more, with fluid understandings and coalitions for several goals
Humans are Political Animals. that's not from me, that's from Aristotle
Re: not natural?
Agree. That's what I meant. It IS natural.
my fault, I misunderstood. yet then I don't understand your cynical attitude to it. but perhaps it's me, I have visited countries with seriously hard dictatorships, which of course changed my perspective on the typical bunch of people you find in a political party in the West
Re; which of course changed my perspective on the typical bunch of people you find in a political party in the West
Democracy works only because "da people" really do get to pick which group of sociopaths lead them.
There's no option as to whether sociopaths will be leading or not. But, having the sociopaths compete as to which group gets to screw the dumbasses is the best form of government that exists.
But aren't there more irrational numbers than fractions? Draw your own conclusions from that!
And the most beautiful number of all (as nature demonstrates) is phi, an irrational number. (Divide a line segment into to parts of lengths a, b such as a/b = (a+b)/a, where a is the longer of the two segments) Makes you sort of think irrationality is the way to go with a political party.
If you like your political party.....you can keep your political party.
Moving the population to a nominal "independent" is a start but it is not enough. We will have to construct real alternatives.
This graph is bullish dictator.
One party, two different names.
I identify with the Proletariat party.
So Republican then?
At least 25% of those independents are saying that just to be trendy.
America is a sad joke in human history.
This graph shows clearly that the Independents have received massive QE from the Bernanke and have done a share buy back plan.
Independents = HFT /sarc
In case you're wondering why the viable candidates for President keeps getting loonier and loonier election cycle after election cycle, is answered in the first graph. Remember who is allowed to vote in primaries.
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
Emma Goldman
when will the Cabal roll the next selections
Most humans have one of two brain configurations: kick-ass daddy (Big-Gov loving fascists) and smothering mommy (Big-Gov loving socialists), which is why we (and most places on the planet) have two major parties: Crony Capitalists (aka Fascists) and Crony Socialist (aka Progressives).
If humans didn't worship authority we couldn't have the societies we have now.
Crony capitalists are not fascists.
In CAPITALISM the politicians do what the capitalists want.
In FASCISM the buisnesses have to do what the politicians want.
Americans get almost everything wrong.
Re; Americans get almost everything wrong.
I prefer to think of fascism as just another ISM word with lots of vague meanings.
In the end, there's only screwISM. The assholes screw the dumbasses. The "nice people" never win. How could they. There's an evolutionary advantage to being an asshole. That's why people talk so reverently about humans who behave like assholes.
Da guys are real asshole. Yeah, he's gonna go far.
what shepherd means is that on the european continent, fascists were those who pointed their fingers to both liberal capitalists and socialist workers and proposed themselves as a third way
authoritarian, yes. nationalistic, yes. with a social conscience, yes. against democracy, yes. that's the typical fascist ticket, or at least it's propaganda
why calling someone fascist that isn't proud of wearing that label? plenty of people here who do. and many more who did
again: fascists were/are against liberal democracy, financial capitalism, socialist planning and weaklings in general. strong conservative & tribal element and anti-progressive
one of the many reasons why they are mislabeled in America is - besides WW2 - because Mussolini talked about corporativism. but he did not mean "rule by the corporations", which for him would have just been liberal capitalism, he was referring to the medieval corporation, which is a completely different concept, more similar to a trade union in the old sense of the word
the idea was that capital and labour - thanks to a few beatings by the fascist leadership - cooperate for the good of the nation
Wladimir Putin poses as they did. strong, authoritarian, protector of the church from feminists, protector of the people and the family values, protector of the Motherland, calls oligarchs to press conferences in order to humiliate them, shows up to fire the inepts, etc. etc.
Re: strong conservative & tribal element and anti-progressive
Facsists: Kick-ass daddy, mean, authority worshipping, more males than females, Red Team.
Socialists: Smothering mommy, guilt-ridden, authority worshiping, more females than males, Blue Team.
Male and Female. One big happy FAMILY!
The human brain really doesn't have allot of different configurations when you boil out all the bullshit.
Wrong. The corporation is government. It purchased it via K-street.
make politics less profitable and you might get some real change.
Morons, as long as the politicians can be bought we will be a nation of men and not laws.
hedge accordingly (in a nation of men, all men are created equal, it's just that some men are more equal than others)
Politicians are bought and paid for in capitalism. You have a bunch of banksters and corporations buying their laws and buying their wars.
This has never been different in America.
Re: This has never been different in America.
How could it be different?. The smart-n-savvy people will do what it takes to buy influence (that's why they are smart-n-savvy and not dumbasses). A society where the smart-n-savvy people identify with the dumbasses in some way (say ethnicly) might not want to actually see the dumbasses die or suffer, but in a large diverse country like the US, the smart-n-savvy have nothing in common with the dumbasses and don't really need the dumbasses for protection from other country's dumbasses. So, the dumbasses in the US (and - say -China) are just another form of food for the smart-n-savvy people.
i guess it will never be realized that until the MoneyChangers r purged and the control of a REAL MONEY backed currency is re-established and under the control of those who r true representatives of the peoples will, no party will ever be relevant or ur REAL GOVERNMENT....
"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws" — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild
STOP WISHING ON A FUCKING STAR..........
You drive around in your caddy car car car.....keep wishing on a star star star......
I admit it, this is one of my intellectual wet dreams; to wake up one elction morning and see that all Republicrat and Demican candidates have lost or been booted from office and the GOP and DNC are filing for bankruptcy and disbanding.
Nancy Pelosi once said, "Elections shouldn't matter". It was the only time I ever agreed with her, although not in the sense that she meant.
the status quo still owns the american media complex who will continue to serve up a false paradigm.
what 3rd party can bring together those 42% (certainly diverse) "independents"?
will dreams and hopes continue to be crushed?
Unfortunately most " independents" are all socialists who support democrat policies like Bernie Sanders. There aren't too many independents who want to be independent.
Unfortunately, most people believe bullshit stories told by highly skilled bullshit craftsmen.
Government + bullshit = politics
Morals + bullshit = religion
Craft + bullshit = splatter art.
Sex + bullshit = romance
Bullshit adds value for the bullshitter to most human interaction.
Bullshit, ask for it by name.
I've seen Bullshit, it looks nothing the Chickenshit government we have now.
Oh look, there's some weapons of mass delusion!
The government exists to enrich the smart-n-savvy people by screwing the dumbasses. What other use is there a government? If the government somehow had any different function, the smart-n-savvy people wouldn't BE very smart-n-savvy, now would they?
I challenge all you Junkers to prove me wrong. If you talk to a lot of "independents" they will say things like " government needs to do this for the people or government needs to do that". It is a select few who will say "government needs to just get the fuck out".
Re; It is a select few who will say "government needs to just get the fuck out".
Most people like free stuff. And, most people love spending other-people's-money.
I wanna see this as a 'good news' piece.
If you like Jesse Ventura it is a good new piece. He metioned he would run if he was allowed in the debates. That, would be something to see. Of course, watching him get shot on live TV would be a bit of bummer.
I love when Jesse gets that head bob going, you can tell he's holding back about 200 hp of whoopass.
Heirarchies are susceptable to capture and corruption. Centralized politcal parties are part of the problem. They should be replaced by local or regional (within a state) groups who help good independents get on the ballot and win. Pair that with run-offs for all elections and government will look a lot different. Here is an example of a group I am working with locally to do that, http://www.arneighbors.org/. Go and do likewise!
There are no independents in modern day America. Few other places for that matter.
"A bundle of sticks is hard to break"
I hate Democrats and I love Libertarians.
Re: I hate Democrats
If you don't hate Republicans as much as Democrats you aren't a real Libertarian.
All the leaches living off of Big-Ag, Big-MIC, Big-Road, Big-Water, Big-Airport, Big-Energy, Big-Ed, Big-House, Big-Fin, Big-OldFart, Big-OldFartHealthcare, Big-AntiDrug, & Big-PoliceState are as bad as "those people" living off of welfare.
+10!!
I understand. I think of myself as an independent yet find myself voting for Republicans more often than Democrats. It is just because I like many other people vote for self interest and principle to varying degrees. I cannot find fault with someone voting for their own self interest even if I do not do so on occassion due to my beliefs.
"Ha Ha." Nelson Muntz, they think they have change.
As long as "independents" cower in fear of Team Red and Team Blue when it comes to election day, it makes no difference.
I remember about a month or so before the 2012 elections, there was one guy who called into Lars Larson's radio show (he's basically a more mild-mannered version of Rush Limbaugh, but still a dye-in-the-wool neocon) and gave a very good explanation for why he was voting for Gary Johnson instead of Obama or Romney.
Lars immediately cuts him off and tells the caller "I think there are some good things that Gary Johnson says, but a vote for anyone other than the GOP is a vote for Obama. You do realize that?"
The caller replied to Lars saying that his vote really didn't matter because Oregon was going to go overwhelmingly for Obama anyway, so he might as well vote for the one person he agreed with the most.
I forgot what Lars said after that, but it was somewhere along the lines of, "You know, this is why Republicans don't win as much as they should be in elections. It's independents and libertarians like you always taking away GOP votes and letting the Democrats win. If you all just voted for the Republican..."
The caller then said something (again, paraphrashing here) to the extent of "Maybe if the Democrats and Republicans weren't so alike to each other, we wouldn't be in this mess. No matter who's in office I get higher taxes, lower standard of living, more inflation, more regulations, etc. etc." and then hung up.
I'm pretty sure that caller still voted for Johnson, but there are many independents who just roll over for Team Red and Team Blue because of the stuff they get told when election day rolls around. "You better vote for Team Blue or you hate the poor!" or "You better vote for Team Red because voting for anyone else is a vote for Team Blue!" That's why we see such a high percentage of those represented as independent, but still vote Dem/GOP.
Re: it makes no difference.
It actually makes no difference because most people love big-gov. What they don't like is other people living off of big-gov.
We all love the socialism we're leaching off of, and invent really good duplicitous bullshit about why it's not really socialism.
Duplicity is the key to success, and self-delusion the key to happiness. The Red and Blue Team owners and supporters have lots of both.
I like your stuff.
What most libertarians don't get is that "Free market Ayn Rand anarchism" leads to assholes with lots of money doing what they want.
Money IS Power.
Re: What most libertarians
Libertarians are children (or semi-autistic). They can't comprehend that the adults win by using duplicity to screw the children. Humans complete with duplicity. You know you are an adult when you can screw the children and have a sound duplicitous sleep at night. The children run around - cluelessly - and scream about morals and the "correct" form of economic system. The adults laugh.
If they EARN their money then they should be allowed to do what they want with it.
They got that money because you CHOSE to give it to them.
Re: They got that money because you CHOSE to give it to them.
I'm sure most banksters would agree that they EARNed right right to purchase the government.
They can do what they want, really? Well, knucklehead. That is EXACTLY what they already do.
Money IS power, wether you approve of it or not is completely irrelevant.
The caller should have said "no the republicans lose because they offer no viable alternative other than the fact they are going to tell you who you can or can't sleep with".
I prefer to be positive and see a glimmer of hope for Libertarians.
Or a Constitutional Party.
Richard Pryor wins... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXEglx-or6k
Only two parties is much too simplistic, compared to Europe.
But I guess it fits the constituency ;-)
No shady deals in coalition Parlimentarianism?
Yeah, that keeps everything on the up and up...
There are many interesting papers on the parlimentary system and how minority parties on occassion can swing an election.
This just illustrates the dissatisfaction with both political parties -- unfortunately, both political parties have made it nearly impossible for an independent party or independent candidate to compete on an even level. A viable 'independent' candidate would likely do well in 2016 if the system let them. On a local level - the problem is still that 90% of candidates get re-elected - so these types of poll numbers are meaningless when it comes to actually changing Congress.
I'm voting for Al-qaida Party.
They have a vested interest...
Get it...? Vested?
Hahaha, I kill myself.
That gave me a good laugh
Why vote when the intelligence agencies still run the place?
Kangaroo Kongress or Kourt gonna get a spine in 2014?
Doesn't mean a hill of beans. I registered as an Independent in New Jersey and when I went to vote I was classified as Republican on the voter ledger. I asked the pool worker how that happened. She said that's how New Jersey classifies Independents. I then asked why I wasn't classified Democrat. Again she said "that's how....etc...etc.
But Congress is different. So in New Jersey there are only Republicans and Democrat voters. Independents are non entities.
voting is a scam until parties are not identified on ballots.
People should vote on candidates based on their merits not their theatrical allegiance.
Using Occam's razor as a guide, I propose chartering a party named "Independent" (rather than the term being a "catch all"). Might resonate with the major who describe their affiliation thusly. And I think this poll demonstrates how disgusted most thinking Americans are with the status quo. We're way beyond time for an actual, bona-fide "change" (not that fake Obama "Hopey and Changey" crap.
Unless those independent voters can find themselves an independent candidate that can also get an adequate slice of the $2bn cost of becoming the president of the US the above is completely academic.
I still find it interesting that many states ask for party affilliation. I guess it's just a matter of where you come from. In some countries they ask which church you belong to so they can tithe for you and the people for some reason go along with the idea. Since I have not actually lived in those place I am confused as to why the people go along with such as scheme.
I'm waiting for the TEA PARTY to ride to the rescue.
Last time I checked, the majority of them voted for Obama's 2009 troop surge war funding package. Last time I checked, TEA PARTY rock star Rubio was calling Snowden a traitor.
a vote for republican or a vote for democrat is a vote for nazis.