Decided to post this one from the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.
-alternatives-stein-johnson-edit-0707-20160706-story.html]http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-clinton-[Sleezebag]-alternatives-stein-johnson-edit-0707-20160706-story.htmlEditorial: Can't vote for [Sleezebag] or Clinton? You have 2 legitimate alternatives
Editorial Board
July 6, 2016, 1:00 PM
In the best of all possible worlds, the U.S. presidential election would feature a pair of candidates who don't engage in juvenile insults or racially charged rhetoric, don't provoke the Federal Bureau of Investigation to offer proof of serial dishonesty and have no history of bankruptcy or complicity in White House scandals. Ideally, these two nominees would distinguish themselves with their integrity, coherent policy views and ability to address important issues in fresh, substantive and truthful ways.
Millions of Americans have been queasy contemplating the choice of Hillary Clinton and Donald [Sleezebag]. You may think voters are never happy with their options — was anyone thrilled by John Kerry vs. George W. Bush in 2004? — but this year is notably worse than the norm. The sorry arc of [Sleezebag]'s bloviation, and now the FBI's detailed demolition of Clinton's repeated untruths about her recklessness with classified U.S. information, only compound the plight of many American voters.
"Negative views of Mrs. Clinton are at least 12 percentage points higher than those of any of the four Democratic nominees since 1992," reported The Wall Street Journal about recent poll results. "Negative views of Mr. [Sleezebag] are at least 14 points worse than those of any of the last five GOP nominees." That was before FBI Director James Comey called Clinton's behavior "extremely careless" and [Sleezebag] offered peculiar praise to Saddam Hussein as a prolific slayer of terrorists. ([Sleezebag] didn't mention that Hussein also was adept at slaying his own people.)
In short, our normally polarized politics are more polarized than ever. Only 1 in 6 white males has a positive opinion of Clinton, while only 1 in 10 African-Americans looked favorably on [Sleezebag]. Much of the support each candidate has is really withering contempt for the other.
Well, American voter, things are not as bad as you may think. You have not one respectable alternative to these candidates but two. They are Gary Johnson, nominated in June by the Libertarian Party, and Jill Stein, who is expected to be chosen at the Green Party national convention next month. Thanks partly to the major party nominees, these two (who won the same nominations four years ago) are gaining the kind of attention that minor party candidates rarely get. Though neither is likely to be on the ballot in all 50 states, they will be options for the vast majority of voters.
RealClearPolitics reports that in recent polls featuring all four candidates, Johnson averages 7 percent of the national vote and Stein 4 percent. Those are impressive numbers, given that in 2012, neither broke the 1 percent threshold. It's not hard to imagine them rising this fall as [Sleezebag] and Clinton savage each other's records.
Stein, a Massachusetts physician and native of Highland Park, offers herself as the logical choice for supporters of Bernie Sanders, who shares her progressive views on many issues — single-payer
health insurance, green energy, raising taxes, campaign finance regulation, military intervention abroad and more. Back in April, she went so far as to invite the Vermont senator to work with the Green Party to "ensure the revolution for people, planet and peace will prevail."
Republicans dismayed that [Sleezebag] wouldn't promote free trade, cut federal spending, reform immigration or curb entitlements will be cheered by Johnson's platform. A former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, he compiled a record to back up his promises. With a Democratic legislature, the conservative National Review raved, "Johnson's main impact was in vetoing an astonishing 739 bills over his eight years in office."
The existing two-party system has been the mainstay of American politics for a century and a half. But the discontent felt this year among Democrats as well as Republicans suggests there is an opportunity for the Greens and the Libertarians to establish themselves in the national consciousness in a lasting way.
Can either win? Not this time. But that's no reason Americans disgusted with the major party choices have to settle on either. It's not "wasting your vote," as the old bromide says, to cast a ballot for a long-shot candidate because he or she offers something valuable that mainstream candidates don't. Attracting voters is how small parties get bigger.
A strong showing by Stein, Johnson or both might not transform America's political landscape. But it could push a reassessment of old policies that have acquired immunity from reform. It could put provocative new ideas on the national agenda.
It also could force the major parties, which have disappointed voters so badly this year, to do better in 2020 and beyond. If so, Democrats and Republicans might thank Stein and Johnson for running.
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Okay, a couple of things.
1) Dr. Jill Stein is the most successful woman presidential candidate in American history. ( Hillary has never stood for a general presidential election. )
2) While Gary Johnson did not technically get 1% of the vote in 2012, he did get at least 0.99% and since the vote is usually expressed as rounded to the nearest % or tenth of one, saying he didn't get 1 % is misleading, and usually an indicator of bias.
3) As for being on the ballot in all 50 states, Johnson was on 48 last time. I think the Greens were on 20 - 30. Both are striving for 50 this time. But at the same time, the establishment realizes what's at stake, and is being a pain in the butt about it. Ohio passed a law which de-certified the Libertarians, but they still expect to get Johnson on the ballot as an independent. PA tried to change the rules, but they have a pending court case on the issue, and 10s of thousands of signatures. It should happen one way or another. Illinois is likewise being obstinate, demanding 25,000 signatures, but The Libertarians have 50,000 ready for submission there, just for insurance. In short, the Libertarians are largely up to the challenge, but ClinTrump is making them pay for it, and their pockets aren't deep. The Greens already missed one deadline. Chances are they will be at least 6 states short. Their only hope is in the courts.
Can they win? Seeing as how the major parties haven't even confirmed their nominees as yet, and the ballots aren't printed, and early voting hasn't begun, nobody has been mathematically eliminated.
Both Stein and Johnson filed a lawsuit a long time ago about the standards for inclusion in the debate. If that comes through, the Greens could qualify.
I have a feeling that Stein, who is smarter and prettier than Bernie, would make Hillary sweat in a debate. I would dearly love to see Gary, the New Mexico construction guy debate the Wall with [Sleezebag]. Where are you going to get the water for the concrete in the desert? Which side of the Rio Grande are we going to seal off, or are we going to build it mid river?
Well, everything matters. Getting into the debates, having a good performance, and making it a 3 or 4 way race lowers the threshold, and kicks the election into the House, where I frankly think that Johnson's chances are best, and Stein's are the worst, of the four. Particularly since [Sleezebag] university goes to court after the election. But the house only considers the top 3 who have won at least one state.
While established parties will get convention bumps, I think that their general trend will be downwards as they go negative against each other, and the electorate realizes that they are both right about the other's disqualifications for the office. Plus, I'm sure [Sleezebag] can find more dictators to praise, and more Clinton scandals to talk about. Or Putin might release stolen e-mails. The trouble with that is that one candidate could potentially implode between now and November, and allow the other to reach 270.
In other words, I still think that this year, anything could happen. At the very least something that
never happened before will- We'll elect a woman, a 3rd party, or somebody with no elected government or military experience.
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