Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has benefited from waiting to reveal where he stands as the swing vote in a chamber closely divided between Democrats and Republicans.
He’s taken the same approach when it comes to the next phase of his political career: The moderate Democrat has teased possible retirement, a run for reelection to the Senate or even a presidential campaign in 2024 — possibly as an independent candidate.
During a multi-day trip to West Virginia’s capital this week, the 76-year-old expressed growing frustration with the polarized U.S. two-party system.
The party system isn’t the problem. The ability for your stupid ass to be a spoiler candidate is the problem.
I think the situation we have with these tiny majorities is exactly because of the two-party system we have. Anybody in his state who doesn’t want a hard-right MAGA Senator knows they have to vote for him as long as he’s the Democratic nominee.
Ok but the two party system is why he can be a spoiler. He might be a dickhead, but he isn’t wrong that our first-past-the -post election system (which begets two party races) is a huge problem.
Ranked Choice would stop a lot of these dicks from running these spoiler campaigns. Wouldn’t be worth the effort at that point.
Yes ranked choice would be a huge benefit for many reasons.
…which is probably why Florida banned it.
Probably.
I should point out that RCV wouldn’t at all prevent people from running “spoiler” campaigns like this, it would actually encourage them. But they wouldn’t actually be spoilers the way they are now. They would just allow people a way to vote for candidates that more closely align to their actual beliefs without that also meaning that the lesser of evils would get a de facto vote out of it.
I think it would be disastrous for the GOP in particular, but honestly even Democrats are often against RCV because it would remove many of them from power as well.
The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day.
Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last a very young Mouse got up and said:
"I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful.
All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat’s neck. When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming."
All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:
“I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one question: Who will bell the Cat?”
It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.
–Aesop