I think people advocate for third parties for the same reason that they buy Powerball tickets.

[LoZoccolo]

[LynneSin]

1. You get a recommendation for the BEST analogy of the year

good job!

Ultimately both can be a big waste of money with little results.

[LoZoccolo]

3. It also requires little effort while allowing you to daydream big before you lose.

[Ganja Ninja]

33. Nobody ever loses with our wonderful 2 party system.

It's working so well for us now. Isn't it just the greatest thing ever? Lets never change it.

[brooklynite]

2. Um, and the reason is...?

[LoZoccolo]

5. See posts #1 and #3.

[RandomKoolzip]

4. So why do people buy Oasis tickets?

[LoZoccolo]

6. Ask the thousands of people who bought them this year while no people bought Beatles tickets.

[Ikonoklast]

12. Masochism.

[ZombieHorde]

23. People only buy Oasis tickets on accident. nt

[KamaAina]

28. Because the scalpers are practically giving them away?

:P

[City Lights]

7. Do you think the human being and fish can coexist peacefully? nt

[LoZoccolo]

8. I think I know, I mean, ah yes but it's all wrong.

[theophilus]

9. Because hope springs eternal in the human breast and because

people are desperate for a better life. The life they have is a disappointment. Yup.

[G_j]

10. and hoping the Dem will end military wars, drug wars, hold war criminals & banksters

accountable, etc. etc. isn't?

[piratefish08]

11. I think it's because they can't afford $36K to express their concerns to our leader.

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-dinner-daniel-hedge-fund-managers-fundraising-2011-6

when nobody is left to listen on either side, what are people expected to do?

[Tippy]

13. Not true...I like to play the lottery But hate the idea of a third party....

[beardown]

14. People who advocate against third parties remind me of the orphan story.

Guy kills his parents and when he gets to court he asks for mercy because he's an orphan.

The big two have set up a system that makes it extremely difficult for third parties to gain access
to the club and then say third parties aren't viable because look how much trouble they are having gaining access.

Is the Democratic party better than the repub party? Yes. But there are almost daily postings here playing the old
voting for the lessor of evils card. Remember, it's often times the supporters of the Democratic party that play
this card.

When you acquiesce to the vote for the lesser of evils theory, your destination never changes, only the route
you take to get there.

[pipi_k]

15. Well, maybe...plus...

the (IMO) naive belief that things will be way better with a third party.

Which isn't to say that they wouldn't be. For a while.

But people forget that politicians are human. Imperfect.

It's so warm and fuzzy to romanticize someone and make him into a hero for the people. Incorruptible.

But politics is usually always synonymous with corruption. Just like big business. Maybe I'm a horrible cynic, but that's what I believe.

And how ironic would it be if some third party candidate turned out to be even more corrupt than the guy he replaced...it could happen.

[LoZoccolo]

18. That's a good angle that I hadn't even thought of.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. And as you have no concept of why people buy Powerball tickets

you equally have no notion of why people would advocate for a third (or more) party.

Your greatest mistake is in the first two words of your statement.

[Stuckinthebush]

17. No, I think the OP is spot on

People buy Powerball tickets as a hope for a change in their lives without understanding or caring about the odds of actually winning using this strategy.

Advocating for a third party is about hope for a change in the political system without understanding or caring about the odds of that actually happening.

[LoZoccolo]

19. I would post my Powerball number for Saturday but people would try to sabotoge my prize.

[NoGOPZone]

20. because of dumb TV commercials? nt

[Fumesucker]

21. I think people advocate voting for the same reason that they buy Powerball tickets..

A forlorn hope that it might actually lead to a better future for them and theirs.

[RaleighNCDUer]

30. +1

[mmonk]

22. I think at least one party should support the public interest.

[CrispyQ]

24. You can't win if you don't play.

If we never advocate for a party that represents labor & the People, then we'll never have representation. This 'go along to get along' bullshit, has gotten us a democratic party so far to the right, that many of us don't even recognize it anymore.

I don't kid myself when I buy a lotto. I don't have any genuine hope that it will pay off, but still, on the off chance that something might happen . . .

Thom Hartmann says this about third parties:

"Alternative parties have an important place in American politics, and those in them should continue to work for their strength and vitality. They're essential as incubators of ideas and nexus points for activism."

The teabaggers are a perfect example. At first their message of less government resonated with a lot of people, but when the reality became apparent, dismantling medicare & vital social services, suddenly they are not so favorable anymore.

There are huge numbers of people ready for a genuine populist message & someone who will fight for populist policies. The dems continue to move right in an effort to sway the independents & undecide-eds, when the biggest pool of voters out there are the non-voters. By alienating/ignoring the far left, the dems risk increasing that pool of non-voters.

[LoZoccolo]

27. Why don't all those people that you talk about just vote in the Democratic primary?

[Fumesucker]

32. Because leftist populism is anathema to the Democratic party.. n/t

[LoZoccolo]

34. Why is that stopping them?

[CrispyQ]

36. Your choice:

1. Neither party resonates with them.
2. They aren't politically engaged.

I see a lot of both.

[JackDragna]

25. At least a Powerball ticket won't send my relatives..

..out to die in the name of the "war on terrorism." Nor will it appoint Wall Street execs to its government. Nor will it torture people. Nor will it push for a weak, ineffectual health care law. Nor will it claim "austerity" in the name of draconian spending cuts and tax cuts for the rich is the way to go.

Just as those who play the Powerball often fail to grasp the tremendous odds against winning, so too do those who rail against third parties fail to see how their own party has been compromised by a group of people who have zero intention of acting in their best interest.

[kctim]

26. Hope

Its all about hope of getting EVERYTHING one desires.

[WatsonT]

29. Poor understanding of probability?

[CrispyQ]

37. Bumper sticker:

Lottery: A tax on people who can't do math.

[grahamhgreen]

31. Really? The Rupublicans were a third party at one time - look at them now, they've taken over ours.

[CrispyQ]

41. Nice!

:thumbsup:

[Le Taz Hot]

35. Really adds nothing to the grown-up discussion,

does it? :shrug:

[LoZoccolo]

38. Third parties are all grown up.

[Fumesucker]

42. Are you trying to argue that the Republicans are all grown up? n/t

[LoZoccolo]

43. They seemed more grown up when they were a third party.

[Fumesucker]

44. That sounds rather like an argument *for* third parties..

And I'm pretty sure that's not what you intended. ;)

:hi:

[Unvanguard]

39. I don't think that's right at all.

People who buy Powerball tickets do so out of the hope that they'll win. People who vote third party don't do so out of the hope they'll win; they do it to express distaste for the other options. Their error is that they think voting is about expression rather than about policy.

[whatchamacallit]

40. Well, that's what you get for "thinking". n/t