Hamburger or Hot Dog?

Hamburger or hot dog?  No, those are the only choices on the menu.  Well, there are those other things, but they’re weird and nobody ever picks them.  But really, normal people wonder how they got on the menu at all, and decent people would certainly never waste their meal on one of them.

The preceding paragraph sounds kind of narrow minded, doesn’t it?  As much as I may like the occasional hamburger or hot dog, I like a lot of other things too.  Well I don’t get political at all on this blog ever, but today I want to point out that there are other choices on this year’s presidential ballot.

“What?!?  And waste my vote?”  Well sunshine, I hate be the one to tell you, but according to recent polls (http://www.electoral-vote.com) in 27 of the States the direction of their Electoral Collage votes are already locked down tight, and in another 14 states there isn’t much question as to where their Electoral votes are going either.  So relax.  For individuals in non-swing states (such as Mississippi or Massachusetts) it doesn't matter how we vote in the general election.  Our electoral votes are going for one of the Big Two, period, and you already know which one.*  Therefore most of us are free to vote for any other candidates with no electoral repercussions, and hopefully send some message to the major parties.  (That is, if you want to send some message.  I don’t know, maybe you don’t.  In that case, enjoy your hamburger or hot dog.)

So what are the other choices?  According to Wikipedia the major third parties are (in the order presented) are the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties.  “Major third party” being defined as non-hotdog/hamburger and having an independent state organization in the majority of states.  Here’s the list of everybody else.

If that was TLDR, John Stossel gives five minute interviews with three third party candidates (again, in the order presented, I'm trying to stay neutral here): Constitution, Libertarian, and Socialist.  Don’t ask me where the Green candidate was, or how a non-major third party got on Stossel’s guest list.  I’m just throwing out what he presented.  If you want more, there’s always Wikipedia.

Anyway, think outside the box this year.  A lot of people aren’t happy with the Republican and Democratic candidates, but are afraid of letting the Really Bad Other Guy win.  And if you live in a swing state you might give some consideration to that voting-from-fear argument.  But the majority of us can turn the Electoral College to our advantage, and vote for who we really want while not having to worry about wasting our vote or tipping the election in a bad direction.

*Maine and Nebraska do allow their electors to split between the two major party candidates by Congressional district, but even there you probably know where your district stands.  Same working rules, just a finer granularity.