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The presidential race sure does seem like itll wind up coming down to Biden vs. Trump and a whole lot of people would rather have an alternative.

Heres an important early message: Even if you arent thrilled by the Republican and Democratic options come Election Day, dont vote for anybody else.

Were talking here about the attraction of third parties. So tempting. So disaster-inducing.

The lure is obvious. Donald Trumps terrible and Joe Bidens boring. Much more satisfying to go to the polls and announce youre too far above the status quo to vote for either.

The way so many people did in 2016, when Trump won the presidency thanks to the Electoral College votes of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Which Hillary Clinton would probably have carried if the folks who were appalled by Trump had voted for her instead of the Libertarian or Green Party candidates.

OK, ticked-off swing staters, how did that work for you in the long run?

This brings us to No Labels, a new group thats warning it might launch a third-party candidacy if it isnt happy with the two major party nominees.

We care about this country more than the demands of any political party, No Labels announces on its website. Its founding chairman, Joe Lieberman, told interviewers that his group believes the American people are so dissatisfied with the choice of Presidents Trump or Biden that they want a third alternative.

Yeah. But lets stop here to recall that Lieberman is a former U.S. senator, Democrat of Connecticut. Who ran for vice president with Al Gore on the Democratic ticket in 2000, hurt Gores chances with a terrible performance in a debate with Dick Cheney, then made a totally disastrous attempt to run for president himself four years later.

Hard to think of him as a guy with big answers. And about that business of voters wanting a third choice: A lot of them do, until it turns out that option throws the race to the worse of the top two.

Remember all the chaos in the 2000 Florida vote count? The entire presidential election hinged on the result. In the end, Ralph Nader, the Green Party nominee, got more than 97,000 votes there. In a state that George W. Bush eventually won by 537.

Now Nader had a phenomenal career as a champion of consumer protection and the environment. But this was a terrible finale. His candidacy gave Floridians who felt that Gore was not very exciting a chance to declare their disaffection. It gave them a chance to feel superior. It gave the country a new President Bush. And a war in Iraq.

I talked with Nader about his role much later, and he basically said the outcome was Gores fault for being a bad candidate. This conversation took place when the country was bearing down on the 2016 election, and Nader vowed not to vote for either Trump or Clinton. Theyre not alike, he acknowledged, but added, theyre both terrible.

Think that was the last time I ever consulted Ralph Nader.

The third-party thingy also comes up in legislative races. Remember the 2018 Senate contest in Arizona? No? OK, thats fair. The Democratic candidate was Kyrsten Sinema, who seemed to be in danger of losing because the Green Party was on the ballot, capable of siphoning off a chunk of her supporters. Even though Sinema had a good environmental record! Well, a few days before the election the Green candidate have I mentioned her name was Angela Green? urged her supporters to vote for Sinema. Who did squeak out a win.

As senator, Sinema became an, um, unreliable Democratic vote. Who you might call either principled or egocentrically uncooperative. In any case, it didnt look like shed have much chance of being renominated. So now shes very likely to run as an independent.

Another senator who frequently drives Democratic leaders crazy is Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who hasnt announced his own plans. But hes started to flirt with a presidential run. On a No Labels ticket? I dont rule myself in and I dont rule myself out, he helpfully told an interviewer.

Sigh.

Politicians are perfectly well aware of what effect a third option can have on elections. Back in 2020, a group of Montanans whod signed petitions to put the Green Party on the ballot discovered that the Republicans had spent $100,000 to support the signature-gathering effort undoubtedly in hopes that the Green candidate would take votes away from former Democratic governor Steve Bullock when he ran for the Senate. The irate voters went to court and a judge finally ruled that they could remove their names.

Didnt help Bullock win, but it does leave another message about the way too many options can be used to screw up an election. Really, people, when it comes time to go to the polls, the smartest thing you can do is accept the depressing compromises that can come with a two-party democracy. Then straighten your back and fight for change anyhow.

Dont forget to vote! But feel free to go home after and have three or four drinks.

Read more from the original source:
Opinion | Repulsed by Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump? Tough. - The New York Times