Are We Doomed By 2 Careerist Mainstream Parties To Always Choose The Lesser Evil In Our Elections?

Earlier today, we saw how horrible parties and horrible candidates drive voters crazy, in Britain crazy enough too vote for fascists rather than the lesser evil between the Conservatives and Labour (Conservative-lite). Nevada has an even better idea— the “None of These Candidates” option that they began in 1975. The only problem with it is that even in most voters choose that option, the candidate who gets the most votes still wins. In fact, in the 1976 Republican congressional primary, Walden Earhart won the nomination despite this result at the polls:

• None of These Candidates- 16,097 (47.3%)

• Walden Earhart- 9,831 (28.9%)

• Dart Anthony- 8,097 (23.8%)

In 2014, there was a similar result in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, where None of These Candidates won a plurality (30%), besting the runner-up Robert Goodman, who became the party’s nominee with 25%. In 1978 None of These Candidates won the GOP congressional primary and the GOP Secretary of State primary and in 1986 None of These Candidates won the Democratic Party primary for state Treasurer. This year, None of These Candidates won the GOP presidential primary (Trump not being on the ballot).

The option doesn’t get used nearly enough by voters in general elections, one of the top races having been the 2016 presidential race between Hillary and Señor T, in which None of These Candidates took 28,863 votes (2.6%). That was more than Hillary’s margin of victory.

• Hillary: 539,260 (47.9%)

• Señor T- 512,058 (45.5%)

• Gary Johnson (Libertarian)- 37,384 (3.3%)

• None of These Candidates- 28,863 (2.6%)

In 2012, the two establishment parties ran exceptionally bad candidates and this was the result:

• Dean Heller (R)- 457,656 (45.9%)

• Shelley Berkley (D)- 446,080 (44.7%)

• David VanDerBeek (Independent American)- 48,792 (4.9%)

• None of These Candidates- 45,277 (4.5%)

What would happen if None of These Candidates was a national option this year? Pew Research headline Friday: Biden, Trump are least-liked pair of major party presidential candidates in at least 3 decades. 25% of Americans don’t want either one of them— and that was even before Trump’s new status as a convicted felon! These two are even less palatable for votes than 2016 (Trump, Hillary)— 20%.

• Slightly more than a third of Americans (36%) have a favorable view of Trump and an unfavorable opinion of Biden.

• Nearly as many (34%) have a favorable view of Biden and a negative one of Trump.

• 25% have unfavorable views of both candidates, while just 3% feel favorably toward both.

Zach Basu calls that 25% of Americans “double haters” and noted that “Top strategists say the race is likely to be decided by 6% of voters in six swing states. Many of them will hold their nose and pick a candidate they dislike in November… Whichever candidate can mobilize more ‘double haters’ to back them in November could have a decisive advantage in the Electoral College, given the razor-thin margins… The Biden campaign sees that and other polling data as evidence that the president will win over this critical bloc of voters by the time Nov. 5 arrives. ‘They may dislike both candidates, but the intensity on Trump's negative is higher,’ Democratic pollster Jefrey Pollock told Axios. ‘A campaign that has the resources to persuade those individuals has some advantage.’”

Most of the races the DCCC is most excited about are also "lesser evil" elections. Almost all of the DCCC challengers in California, for example, are putrid and unworthy of being members of Congress. These are worthy House candidates this cycle. But among DCCC candidates 25 DCCC Red to Blue candidates, I count just one I feel enthusiastic about-- Sue Altman (NJ)-- and 4 others I might vote for if I lived in their districts. Some of the others, like Rudy Salas and Adam Gray in California, have proven themselves to be corrupt conservatives while they served in the state legislature— exactly the kind of crap the DCCC always stives to recruit. Twenty of 25 of the DCCC top priorities stink so badly that I'd rather abstain than vote for them. In other words, the "lesser" in "lesser of two evils" isn't enough of a motivator!

The Michigan Senate primary does offer a clear choice! On the one hand you have a garden variety pointless, AIPAC puppet Democrat, Elissa Slotkin, who has accomplished nothing in the House and now has the establishment behind her in her quest for an undeserved Senate seat. On the other hand, you have someone who isn't a career politician and lobbyist suck-up, Hill Harper, progressive union organizer, actor (The Good Doctor), lawyer and single father. His campaign released this video by GMAC Cash yesterday: