An open letter to America from the Pennsylvania Veterans Party of America Chair Gary Garvine: This is why to vote for Third Party: The biggest objection to voting for a Third Party is the “wasted vote” argument — the idea that if you vote for someone who will not win, then the vote does not count. Voting for a third party, contrary to popular belief, is not a wasted vote. It’s a chance to tell the country — and perhaps even the world — what your vision of government and society really is. But how do most of us vote? Most of us vote the “lesser of two evils” — a defensive vote, rather than an offensive one. So what happens after you vote the defensive vote? Well, then you have sold out your personal beliefs. You have become a political prostitute. You aren’t standing up for what you believe in by voting “the lesser of two evils.” I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being a political hooker. If you think the Republican or the Democrat really does best mirror your beliefs, by all means, vote for that candidate. But if you don’t, and you still vote for them, you’re helping to preserve the status quo you probably despise. So What’s the Point of Voting? We vote to tell everyone else which choice best represents the direction which we want the country to go. When you vote, you gain a certain power that a non-voter doesn’t have; the power to change America. Hence voting lesser evil sends the wrong message; it’s sending a message of compromise. In effect, a defensive vote says “I will settle for a good America, not the best America possible.” I urge you not to settle. In other words, if you want change, then create change. The history of third parties in America is that they serve as the vanguard for new ideas. It is these ideas that make the world go round. If a Third Party begins to draw votes, one or both of the two big parties steal their ideas. The most successful third party in the 20th Century was the Socialist Party. While never winning any significant elections, their small but growing vote totals were a threat to the Democrats. Thus the Democrats, and then later the Republicans, adopted piecemeal every major tenet of the 1916 Socialist Party platform. So rather than waste your vote on Democrats or Republicans, cast a meaningful ballot that clearly says what you believe. #VPA #VPPA #VPofA @VetsPA www.vpofa.org www.veteranspartyofamerica.org www.chriskeniston2016.com
Mr. Suchman. Good points. I will take the liberty to add paragraph tags for easier reading. Thank you.
An open letter to America from the Pennsylvania Veterans Party of America Chair Gary Garvine: This is why to vote for Third Party: The biggest objection to voting for a Third Party is the “wasted vote” argument — the idea that if you vote for someone who will not win, then the vote does not count.
Voting for a third party, contrary to popular belief, is not a wasted vote. It’s a chance to tell the country — and perhaps even the world — what your vision of government and society really is. But how do most of us vote? Most of us vote the “lesser of two evils” — a defensive vote, rather than an offensive one.
So what happens after you vote the defensive vote? Well, then you have sold out your personal beliefs. You have become a political prostitute. You aren’t standing up for what you believe in by voting “the lesser of two evils.” I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being a political hooker.
If you think the Republican or the Democrat really does best mirror your beliefs, by all means, vote for that candidate. But if you don’t, and you still vote for them, you’re helping to preserve the status quo you probably despise. So What’s the Point of Voting?
We vote to tell everyone else which choice best represents the direction which we want the country to go. When you vote, you gain a certain power that a non-voter doesn’t have; the power to change America. Hence voting lesser evil sends the wrong message; it’s sending a message of compromise. In effect, a defensive vote says “I will settle for a good America, not the best America possible.”
I urge you not to settle. In other words, if you want change, then create change. The history of third parties in America is that they serve as the vanguard for new ideas. It is these ideas that make the world go round. If a Third Party begins to draw votes, one or both of the two big parties steal their ideas.
The most successful third party in the 20th Century was the Socialist Party. While never winning any significant elections, their small but growing vote totals were a threat to the Democrats. Thus the Democrats, and then later the Republicans, adopted piecemeal every major tenet of the 1916 Socialist Party platform.
So rather than waste your vote on Democrats or Republicans, cast a meaningful ballot that clearly says what you believe. #VPA #VPPA #VPofA @VetsPA www.vpofa.org www.veteranspartyofamerica.org www.chriskeniston2016.com