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What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President?

What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President?

  • Change, real change, would happen.

    Votes: 8 22.9%
  • Pretty much the same thing as always.

    Votes: 11 31.4%
  • Gridlock even worse than we have seen thus far.

    Votes: 9 25.7%
  • Something else.

    Votes: 7 20.0%

  • Total voters
    35
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Have you actually looked into them? Went to their websites...saw their issues?

It seems like to me that you are making an opinion without looking into it.

Look at the picture I posted:

Arrogant: You've clearly never read the evidence.

Again, I have - don't much care for it. It's simplistic.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Have you actually looked into them? Went to their websites...saw their issues?

It seems like to me that you are making an opinion without looking into it.

I have, I've looked in-depth at all of the 3rd parties that were running Presidential candidates this year and I have massive disagreements with every single platform out there.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

I have, I've looked in-depth at all of the 3rd parties that were running Presidential candidates this year and I have massive disagreements with every single platform out there.

At least you looked into it and found it wasn't for you.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

While I don't think there's a chance in hell of a 3rd party candidate actually getting elected, especially since no 3rd party candidate can get more than 0.5% of the vote, I don't think it would really change anything unless said candidate's party also took over the majority of the Legislature too. Otherwise, the President would be largely ignored, they could veto up a storm and grind the government to a halt or, more likely, they'd end up going along with the majority party and it would be business as usual.

I agree.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President?

  1. Change, real change, would happen. They would be beholden to nobody.
  2. Pretty much the same thing as always. They'd still have to compromise.
  3. Gridlock even worse than we have seen thus far. They'd have no friends and both parties would team up to thwart them.
  4. Something else.

The question presumes they would not have independent or members of their party on Congress of any size on which to rely.

I don't think modern humans are capable of electing good leaders.
Not right now, if a "good" leader were elected, it would of been by total accident.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

At least you looked into it and found it wasn't for you.

Most third party platforms are virtually identical to the platforms of either the Democrats or the Republicans, except for a couple of positions that they go to extremes on. They really have very little different to say and if you don't like extremist positions, third parties just aren't for you.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Just a president wouldnt change, to start we need to reconstruct our whole electoral process.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Please note that the Libertarians were not my intent in asking the question, it was intended to be a generic "What if...?" question, but I understand the conversation going in that direction as they are the best known of the current 3rd parties.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Please note that the Libertarians were not my intent in asking the question, it was intended to be a generic "What if...?" question, but I understand the conversation going in that direction as they are the best known of the current 3rd parties.

I don't think any current libertarian (or other 3rd party) candidates are worth voting for, but honestly, compared to the likes of Jill Stein.
Obama is a freaking genius.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Wow...what a horrible view. I completely disagree with you. The two party system is corrupt and ran by corporate special interest groups, but that is okay with you.

3rd Parties give different options to those issues you mentioned. Pretty simple when it comes to Libertarians...keep government out. There is no xenophobia so much as no entangling alliances. We're all for diplomacy and trade with nations...just against being forced by a group of nations to do something. Globalization is not good.

You need to learn and research a bit more because their issues are in black and white. It is more than generalizations. Its up to you as a responsible voter to understand them. To sit there and say the two party system is the best is naive and wrong.

Blaming the voters for being uninformed will not get your Independent guy elected. The Democrats and Republicans are able to get elected because they are highly organized and can raise enough money to get their message to the American people. Independents, presently, have platitudes.

For the record, I would have loved Jill Stein to be president. In reality she had next to no money, no organization, and was thus hilariously unelectable.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Gridlock. Congress would unite to blockade that president like nothing you've ever seen in your lives.

That was my first thought as well. Democrats and Republicans have a hard enough time pushing their agendas through. And that's when they have a straight legislative and executive majority.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Double-edged sword. The President of "No" can't make things worse. He also can't make things better. Essentially, it would result in a president treading water for 4 years with no real change, which - in my opinion - would be a loss overall in my book. Someone winning on a 3rd party platform would be elected by belief of change, which would be impossible.

Depends on the change voted for. If the change is for smaller govermnet and less spending the essintialy he doesnt have to have congress. If the change is along the lines of what obama whants or is inacting something NEW then hes gona have a problem. Remember the president can say no. And do nothing. This means they dont have to spend was is alocated. They can fire people, shut down departments, and SHRINK things Dramatically. Most people think along the line of what is required for new spending. Remember there is NO budget right now. Theoretically the president could refuse to pay any employees and shut the government down literally completely till one is passed with SOME ligimacay. They are also writing a blank check to the president if you look at the other edge to the sword. Of course a lot of people wont like it. Like I said if they vote for SMALLER goverment it can be done without congress. Bigger goverment requires congress.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Gridlock even worse, because he would get absolutely no partisan support from either party in Congress.

I would vote third party for president no matter what party for just that reason. I LOVE gridlock, the more the merrier. The less congress and the president does the happier I am.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Blaming the voters for being uninformed will not get your Independent guy elected. The Democrats and Republicans are able to get elected because they are highly organized and can raise enough money to get their message to the American people. Independents, presently, have platitudes.

For the record, I would have loved Jill Stein to be president. In reality she had next to no money, no organization, and was thus hilariously unelectable.


Democrats and republicans are able to get elected due to name recognition that the media gives them and that is only with the democrats and republicans the media wants. And there is the fact many states screw 3rd parties with stiff ballot requirements, and ban on write-ins .The only reason most people know who Obama and Romney are is because the media did stories on them, the media invited them to appear on talk shows and only did presidential debates with those two candidates. Jill Stein and other 3rd party candidates did poorly simply because most people don't know who they are and or because republicans and democrats prevented them from appearing on the ballots. Its not the money.Money buys ads but those ads are mostly run in swing states.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Democrats and republicans are able to get elected due to name recognition that the media gives them and that is only with the democrats and republicans the media wants. And there is the fact many states screw 3rd parties with stiff ballot requirements, and ban on write-ins .The only reason most people know who Obama and Romney are is because the media did stories on them, the media invited them to appear on talk shows and only did presidential debates with those two candidates. Jill Stein and other 3rd party candidates did poorly simply because most people don't know who they are and or because republicans and democrats prevented them from appearing on the ballots. Its not the money.Money buys ads but those ads are mostly run in swing states.
This is a pet-peeve of mine. Other than the normal criteria for qualifying for office, i.e. age, residency, and so on, there should be ZERO limits to write-ins. If I want to vote for John Schmoe for President, and John Schmoe meets the regular criteria, then my vote for John Schmoe should count.

Anyway, overall, I think you're 2/3 right. Money and exposure are huge when factoring who can be elected and who cannot, but there is also the fact that most 3rd parties and their candidates are on the outer-fringes of what most average people really want. I think what most people subconsciously want when they say they want a viable 3rd party is that they want a party more in the middle, between the Dems and the Reps, and no such beast exists.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Gary johnson
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President?

Definitely gridlock worse than we've seen. When Jesse Ventura was Governor, BOTH parties wanted to get rid of him. Once that switch went off, nothing got done.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Democrats and republicans are able to get elected due to name recognition that the media gives them and that is only with the democrats and republicans the media wants. And there is the fact many states screw 3rd parties with stiff ballot requirements, and ban on write-ins .The only reason most people know who Obama and Romney are is because the media did stories on them, the media invited them to appear on talk shows and only did presidential debates with those two candidates. Jill Stein and other 3rd party candidates did poorly simply because most people don't know who they are and or because republicans and democrats prevented them from appearing on the ballots. Its not the money.Money buys ads but those ads are mostly run in swing states.

I would not exactly call this a "solution oriented" response.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

:mrgreen: Empire
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

No way to tell. It depends completely who that candidate is.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

I would not exactly call this a "solution oriented" response.

Its not a solution oriented response. I am just pointing out that it is the lack of name recognition and the fact democrats and republicans in many states prevent 3rd parties from appearing on ballots, not the lack of organization or money that mostly contributed to a 3rd party candidate's loss. Although identifying the problem could lead to a solution, but that would requiring changing the Constitution to require media outlets to give equal time to all candidates or to no candidates at all.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Its not a solution oriented response. I am just pointing out that it is the lack of name recognition and the fact democrats and republicans in many states prevent 3rd parties from appearing on ballots, not the lack of organization or money that mostly contributed to a 3rd party candidate's loss. Although identifying the problem could lead to a solution, but that would requiring changing the Constitution to require media outlets to give equal time to all candidates or to no candidates at all.

The media outlets want money. This really isn't that complicated. I'm not saying I think the situation is ideal, just that the cause of the problem is a lot more boring and straightforward than you think.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

Until a third party comes along that can actually appeal to more than a few people on the fringe, this simply is not going to happen. If/when it does, what would happen depends largely on the candidate.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

I think that gridlock would be a strong possible outcome. With our hyper-partisan legislature and nearly everything falling along party lines, a leader with no party affiliation to the GOP of Democrats would likely face opposition from both sides unless the president strongly leaned toward one party or the other.

We had a microcosm of this in MN when the Reform Party candidate, none other than Jesse Ventura, got elected governor. He was attacked by both the MN Republicans and the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor). Ventura was all over the map (ideologically) and was the epitome of a middle of the road, centrist.

However, it's worth a try; we are experiencing nothing but grid lock already.

I think a third party candidate would have a much easier time in office if the 17th amendment were repealed.
 
Re: What would happen if an independent or 3rd party candidate were elected President

All liberal tax/spending bills will be vetoed, and social agendas will be approved (but not funded).
And the same COULD apply to irresponsible conservative (wars) spending bills..
NO, if we had an intelligent independent, things could be much better..
We need campaign and campaign finance reform NOW.
No more big money used to elect our officials !
 
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