Third-Parties and Presidential Campaigns
Third party presidential candidates are at major disadvantage when it comes to getting votes and even one delegate. Part of that is because 48 of the 50 states throw all of their delegates at the one person who wins the majority of votes in that state. And part of it is because the major media doesn't like to cover them, hence the term "third party", even though there are more than three parties total (at least three less publicized political parties, making five total). There have never been only two political parties in the U.S., but for some reason the Republican and Democrat parties of late are the only ones getting any publicity. I'll admit, having only two choices does make it a little easier, but still--freedom of choice is getting pinched back, here!
This year, third party candidates have been getting more publicity, but still not enough to really give them a shot at the presidency.
Presidential candidates who are not in the Republican or Democrat parties need to start their campaigns ridiculously early, as to get the word out sooner. As in, I would recommend they start as soon as the next president gets into office in January. That would get them attention!
They also need to spend a lot more money. Instead of relying on major media sources, which are biased anyway, they should go to more local sources, all over the country. City papers, county papers, radio channels that broadcast more locally than country-wide. They need to communicate, not to the broad country, but to the people. They need to be up to date on every little thing that comes around and be much more informed than the major candidates are on the state of the people. This country, after all, is supposed to be run by the people, for the people.
Advertisements need to be posted everywhere, whether it's huge roadside signs, social media (Facebook, Twitter), search engines (DuckDuckGo, Google), newspapers, or radio. Even newspaper inserts (like stores do) work.
This is kinda obvious, but a catchy slogan that shows what the candidate stands for should be put up everywhere with the advertisements. It will help, for when people hear or see that slogan they know who it is referencing (like Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again").
Not only do these candidates need to announce their campaigns ridiculously early, but they actually need to be campaigning that early, too. This means travelling from town to town, speaking at town halls and convention centers and even in the streets, getting the word out and passing out flyers. They need to sacrifice all privacy, and spread the word about where they're gonna be at all times, so that they get media attention, or at least people who want to talk to them there.
These candidates have to work twice as hard for twice as long and spend twice as much, and also make information about themselves so readily available that someone just surfing the internet will find it. They have to make their lives so openly readable that searching for information on them is pretty much non-existent--the information is already at the readers' fingertips.
When the Republicans and Democrats start announcing their candidates, it is time for these third-parties to step it up so that they don't get forgotten in the sudden media frenzy over these higher profile candidates. They need to do something to get word out, and get some media attention. Don't be calm and quiet, be wild and bold and controversial. Throw political-correctness out the window--it gets you ignored. And don't target large groups of people, like homeschoolers or pro-lifers or "free-choice". Target the people, not the groups, and be open with them. Be personal.
And then, guess what: all of this, compared to the final half of the election year itself, will feel like absolutely nothing. When June rolls around, it's time to step it up for the final charge. Hopefully by now (after 2 1/2 or so years of campaigning), the third-party candidates have major media coverage, which will make it a whole lot easier to step this up. But either way, take the number of speeches done in the past part of the campaign, and multiply it by at least two - even better, three - and get the word out. Do whatever it takes to get interviews, and be extraordinarily prepared for anything that happens.
But all of this still could wind up being for nothing. Why? I'll tell you why.
Obviously, the biased media will affect how well they do, which is actually why they're putting in so much effort.
And then...
Since 1880, all states, except for Maine and Nebraska, have chosen electors on a "winner-take-all" basis. This means, simply, that whoever gets the most votes from a particular state gets all of the electors that state has.
Although the federal government doesn't regulate this, my question is this: why not do like Maine and Nebraska and divide the state into congressional districts (one for each elector), and then whoever gets the most votes from each district gets an elector? Wouldn't this be more like representation of the people?
And, it would eliminate "swing" states, because instead of a candidate suddenly scooping up a whole bunch of delegates from one state, they would have to campaign in each district to get that delegate, and earn each and every delegate they get instead of basically just getting whole states. Talk about a change in the way the election is run!
It would probably make elections a little tighter, meaning the House would probably have to elect the president, but it would also open up room for third-party candidates to come in and take delegates. This would make their voice known even more, and actually give them a shot at the presidency.
Of course it would be awesome if an elector didn't honor his pledge to vote mainstream and actually voted for a third-party candidate, but, uh, that's kinda dishonest, even if federal law doesn't make them actually honor their pledges.
That's the end of that spiel...
Credit to my fantastic husband for inspiring me to write this post, and also, while doing that, giving me what to say. I love you!
OK. Next month I am starting National Novel Writing Month (generally known as NanoWrimo). My subject? A.P. Indy. That's right. I'm writing a biography on the sire of sires, A.P. Indy. I finished my research on him already, and it all totals over 70,000 words, which means I should have an easy time getting up to 50,000 words next month. <fingers crossed>
I can be found on the nanowrimo site as bakingal, and this is my NanoWrimo debut. Personally, I feel a little overwhelmed by it already, as both of the last two weekends of the month will be non-writing weekends (we'll be out of town), but I should still make it - I've set a daily writing goal with those weekends in mind.
Don't worry - the blog posts will still get written and posted, so you'll still be hearing from me. I won't just disappear for a month!
Next week Geronimo and Victorio go home, and that means that Cookie won't know what to do with himself. But that's okay. After a few days, he'll be kicked outside during the daytime, and brought back inside at night. He will get to hang out with them yet next month, though, for one weekend during a reenactment, and the next for while we're out of town celebrating Thanksgiving with the other side of my husband's family.
Kelly has been getting pretty bold this week, so here are some photos.
This year, third party candidates have been getting more publicity, but still not enough to really give them a shot at the presidency.
Presidential candidates who are not in the Republican or Democrat parties need to start their campaigns ridiculously early, as to get the word out sooner. As in, I would recommend they start as soon as the next president gets into office in January. That would get them attention!
They also need to spend a lot more money. Instead of relying on major media sources, which are biased anyway, they should go to more local sources, all over the country. City papers, county papers, radio channels that broadcast more locally than country-wide. They need to communicate, not to the broad country, but to the people. They need to be up to date on every little thing that comes around and be much more informed than the major candidates are on the state of the people. This country, after all, is supposed to be run by the people, for the people.
Advertisements need to be posted everywhere, whether it's huge roadside signs, social media (Facebook, Twitter), search engines (DuckDuckGo, Google), newspapers, or radio. Even newspaper inserts (like stores do) work.
This is kinda obvious, but a catchy slogan that shows what the candidate stands for should be put up everywhere with the advertisements. It will help, for when people hear or see that slogan they know who it is referencing (like Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again").
Not only do these candidates need to announce their campaigns ridiculously early, but they actually need to be campaigning that early, too. This means travelling from town to town, speaking at town halls and convention centers and even in the streets, getting the word out and passing out flyers. They need to sacrifice all privacy, and spread the word about where they're gonna be at all times, so that they get media attention, or at least people who want to talk to them there.
These candidates have to work twice as hard for twice as long and spend twice as much, and also make information about themselves so readily available that someone just surfing the internet will find it. They have to make their lives so openly readable that searching for information on them is pretty much non-existent--the information is already at the readers' fingertips.
When the Republicans and Democrats start announcing their candidates, it is time for these third-parties to step it up so that they don't get forgotten in the sudden media frenzy over these higher profile candidates. They need to do something to get word out, and get some media attention. Don't be calm and quiet, be wild and bold and controversial. Throw political-correctness out the window--it gets you ignored. And don't target large groups of people, like homeschoolers or pro-lifers or "free-choice". Target the people, not the groups, and be open with them. Be personal.
And then, guess what: all of this, compared to the final half of the election year itself, will feel like absolutely nothing. When June rolls around, it's time to step it up for the final charge. Hopefully by now (after 2 1/2 or so years of campaigning), the third-party candidates have major media coverage, which will make it a whole lot easier to step this up. But either way, take the number of speeches done in the past part of the campaign, and multiply it by at least two - even better, three - and get the word out. Do whatever it takes to get interviews, and be extraordinarily prepared for anything that happens.
But all of this still could wind up being for nothing. Why? I'll tell you why.
Obviously, the biased media will affect how well they do, which is actually why they're putting in so much effort.
And then...
Since 1880, all states, except for Maine and Nebraska, have chosen electors on a "winner-take-all" basis. This means, simply, that whoever gets the most votes from a particular state gets all of the electors that state has.
Although the federal government doesn't regulate this, my question is this: why not do like Maine and Nebraska and divide the state into congressional districts (one for each elector), and then whoever gets the most votes from each district gets an elector? Wouldn't this be more like representation of the people?
And, it would eliminate "swing" states, because instead of a candidate suddenly scooping up a whole bunch of delegates from one state, they would have to campaign in each district to get that delegate, and earn each and every delegate they get instead of basically just getting whole states. Talk about a change in the way the election is run!
It would probably make elections a little tighter, meaning the House would probably have to elect the president, but it would also open up room for third-party candidates to come in and take delegates. This would make their voice known even more, and actually give them a shot at the presidency.
Of course it would be awesome if an elector didn't honor his pledge to vote mainstream and actually voted for a third-party candidate, but, uh, that's kinda dishonest, even if federal law doesn't make them actually honor their pledges.
That's the end of that spiel...
Credit to my fantastic husband for inspiring me to write this post, and also, while doing that, giving me what to say. I love you!
What's Up Next For Me
OK. Next month I am starting National Novel Writing Month (generally known as NanoWrimo). My subject? A.P. Indy. That's right. I'm writing a biography on the sire of sires, A.P. Indy. I finished my research on him already, and it all totals over 70,000 words, which means I should have an easy time getting up to 50,000 words next month. <fingers crossed>
I can be found on the nanowrimo site as bakingal, and this is my NanoWrimo debut. Personally, I feel a little overwhelmed by it already, as both of the last two weekends of the month will be non-writing weekends (we'll be out of town), but I should still make it - I've set a daily writing goal with those weekends in mind.
Don't worry - the blog posts will still get written and posted, so you'll still be hearing from me. I won't just disappear for a month!
Next week Geronimo and Victorio go home, and that means that Cookie won't know what to do with himself. But that's okay. After a few days, he'll be kicked outside during the daytime, and brought back inside at night. He will get to hang out with them yet next month, though, for one weekend during a reenactment, and the next for while we're out of town celebrating Thanksgiving with the other side of my husband's family.
Kelly has been getting pretty bold this week, so here are some photos.
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| Stealing food one night |
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| Arguing with Cookie (if you can spot him) |
 |
| Can you spot them? Cookie is on the left and Kelly is on the right. |
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| Eyeing the chairs (Victorio is partially in the foreground) |
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| Staring at me |
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