It's November Again. Almost.

Man, this election year is a doozie, isn't it? I mean every election year is annoying and teaches us a lot about ourselves and our friends and neighbors, but this one...

Now, I'm about to spout off a bunch of political stuff. Please remember that I don't study politics, nor do I consider it a worthy field of study (Note 1), but as a citizen I guess I'm forced to face these clowns. So take my comments for what you will and please remember that nothing I say here will have any affect on the outcome of the election.

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell you why voting for a third party is not a wasted vote and why the major parties want you to think it is. Then I'm actually going to predict the outcome of the election and tell you why I think it will go down like that. Now's your last chance to back out and stop reading.

The Third Party

It has been a long time since both major parties have produced such poor candidates at the same time. I really liked a piece I read in the Chicago Tribune that said this about the republican party (Link): 

"The mystery and shame of Trump's rise — we have red, white and blue coffee mugs that are more genuinely Republican — is the party's inability or unwillingness to repulse his hostile takeover." 

They said this about Hillary: 

"Clinton's vision of ever-expanding government is in such denial of our national debt crisis as to be fanciful. Rather than run as a practical-minded Democrat as in 2008, this year she lurched left, pandering to match the Free Stuff agenda of then-rival Bernie Sanders."

I also don't think we've seen third party candidates this strong in a long time. I particularly like Gary Johnson. He's not perfect, but who is? So we're here at the intersection of poor major party candidates and strong third party candidates. Unsurprisingly, we're starting to see statements from the likes of Bernie Sanders saying you shouldn't vote third party because this is no time for a "protest vote" (As if your only motivation for voting third party was as protest). This could as likely read "I gave this up so my party could win, don't negate my sacrifice." 

I also like this one from the Washington Post . This one states that a third party vote is not only wasted, but unprincipled. I suppose that is to say, "if you vote third party, my candidate may not win and you, therefore, have no principles."    

These kinds of attacks are coming from both parties. This is no surprise. Both parties are scrambling a little because of the situation. Both are losing ground in the polls with the folks who are not on one end or the other of the political spectrum. Both major parties don't want you to believe a third party vote is worthwhile because both realize this is an actual threat. Particularly more this year than it has been in a long time. Largely in contemporary history this is true. When is the last time a third party was on all 50 state's ballots? This year, however, has the potential to be historic. (Indeed, it already has been with the libertarian entry on all ballots and with the non-quality of the major party candidates.)

The bottom line is that I agree with these guys who say that the only truly wasted vote is an unprincipled one. No matter who wins. 
So, now you've come to the part where I predict the future and make other loud-mouthed and uninformed claims.

Who's it going to be. We have a guy who makes no effort to stifle the ignorant things coming out of his mouth, a woman who has shown capability as an administrator, but whose honesty and dedication to national security we are all right to seriously question, and the third party guys. 

I'm only going to talk about Johnson/Weld for two reasons. They are the only third party on the ballot in all states, and I like them the most. Also, I'm not interested in exhaustive research. This is my blog not a newspaper. I can say what I want.

These are two guys that have also shown ability for administration. Johnson did good things as a governor. Now, 2012 taught us that America doesn't care how good you were at being a governor, so that shouldn't matter. He's willing to give it the old college try, and to me that's more valuable than someone like Hillary who can do somethings, but surely has her finger in all the pies.

That being said, I actually think Hillary will win. As many have said, she is better connected, better at politicking, and probably better at rigging elections. I do not think Don will win because I think there are few enough people that are buying into his lines. Now, it seems like the people that like him are the people that have come to feel like they have no voice in politics anymore, the extreme right. 

The real problem with the republican party today is its failure to recognize change in the world and to unify along a common thread to make headway and actually deal with stuff. Instead there is so much in-fighting that the best candidate they can come up with is Donald...F**g...Trump. 

So, I think that Hillary will win and Johnson will come in second. And this may mark an inflection point on the demise of the republican party. A turning point election where it became doubly clear that new thought processes are required to meet new challenges. 

Remember, just because the two parties have been the main parties for decades, that doesn't mean they didn't at one point supplant another party. It's happened a few times in American history and saying it's impossible is foolish.

Thanks for reading. I'll be watching on election day.

Note 1: Please don't take offense. Study something good like history, economics, art, physical science. This is where the answers to political questions are found.