An Immodest Proposal

Making your vote count in a locked-up state:

Election day is less than two weeks away and many people have already voted early, mailed in, or decided to stay home and vote over the internet on r/pol. Unless you live in one of these states, the process might seem less valuable than a fake Rolex at a Convention for the Blind.

My home state, California, is gonna be more locked up than a Puffy Party Freak-Off Platinum Sponsor (and probably was one). The whole situation seems pretty bleak to me. As a third-party voter, I went through the motions and elected to waste my vote the best way I knew how; I voted affirmatively of my beliefs and abandoned any desire to vote defensively, mostly because I couldn’t stomach it. I fully endorse Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party for the reasons so eloquently established by the Editor-At-Large of Reason Magazine,

Nick Gillespie

, but that is not the direct point of the article.

The Immodest Proposal I plead you consider today is not just to vote affirmatively, but even more heinously, to consider voting for Chase Oliver in your state if it is not one of the above swing states, and even if you hate him.

The point is to play the system for all it is worth, abandoning the concept of Votes-As-Endorsement, and to use your collective voting power to enact some good old smoky backroom election and party reform from the inside out, without party, congressional, or even local government approval. A true renegade scheme, like pissing at the urinal with your pants around your ankles. Feels good, man.

If this is the tap-out point for you in this article, Godspeed you and thanks for reading what you did.

Here is a link out for Trump Voters who no longer wish to read this.

and here is one for the K-Hive.

Ok, so you’re gonna bite huh? Now that you’re prepared for the most deranged political hot take of the 2024 election cycle, here’s why I think Californians and Texans should drop Trump and Kamala and vote for Chase Oliver, even if you hate him.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

My reasons are threefold:

Your vote will not affect the outcome of the state electoral college.

Votes have most often been won through fear. Many of those reading most surely thought “If I do what the crazy internet newsletter idiot says, the bad guy will win”. I urge those of you who felt that to reconsider. Earlier I referenced these states as the well-understood swing states in this election. Those are:

• Arizona

• Georgia

• Michigan

• North Carolina

• Pennsylvania

• Wisconsin

• Nevada

I understand the feelings you may have about this admittedly glowing red-hot take, but the campaigns of these candidates care less than an RN on FMLA if you don’t live in one of these seven states. California and Texas are in the can, rendering your political endorsement of either of the two major parties irrelevant. That alone would be enough to make serious change happen if only we were bold enough to bubble one in for the little guy.

Your vote can help grant more voices access to debate stages, campaign funding, and other resources.

Congratulations on getting this far. The hard part is mostly over.

Even securing a very small portion of the popular vote would drive more attention, funding, and election access to voices that will sharpen up the conversation.

Remember this debate? What do you remember feeling after watching it? Was it a sort of relief? Was it refreshing to see two candidates go to war over issues and policy rather than debasement and debauchery? A third person on stage might get run over by two bullies at each other’s throats the whole time, but they will move the needle toward things that more Americans care about in the same breath, which brings me to my third point:

More candidates at debates with appropriate funding force the Republicans and Democrats to field better candidates.

Campaigns love data, and that data helps drive parties to field candidates that can win. In the end, parties don’t seek to meet the needs of the electorate directly. They seek to win the election. By proxy, they are forced to see to our needs somewhat, but never seemingly enough to matter to us, leaving us with a bitter “promises abandoned” taste in our mouths after pulling the lever for the guy or gal that promises us they will free us from the potential of being destroyed by The Other Guy(TM).

A multi-front war forces the Republicans and Democrats not just to beat The Other Guy(TM), but both of them! The major parties will immediately and irrevocably be required to develop platforms, candidates, and policies that are stronger to have the same chance at “winning” the game that they have now, giving a definite advantage to neither of the parties, but a clear edge to YOU.

It also immediately split the room three ways, almost demanding the implementation of Ranked Choice Voting, as no candidate is anywhere near as likely to get the 270 electoral votes required to win outright. Either a runoff or RCV would be needed to establish the quorum.

Constitutional and honest election reform has the potential to be a purifying fire ripping through the diseased and overgrown forest of our electorate, sowing fertile ground for the next iteration. This leaves the strongest trees with the most fertile ground to feed ideas as they take root. My Immodest Proposal is the lightning strike (or hobo-sparked trash can) that can begin the process. Other meaningful election reforms (like RCV as mentioned earlier) will play an important role here, but they require approvals, votes by elected representatives, and other unreliable/unattainable input to achieve. This Proposal starts and ends with you.

In short, dear reader:

• If you aren’t in a swing state, vote for the libertarian candidate, Chase Oliver.

  • Even if you don’t like him, do it. It won’t change the outcome of the election.

  • If you do like him, please consider voting for him even if you do live in one of these all-powerful swing states.

• It will not affect the outcome of this election (and it isn’t intended to).

• I understand how this will infuriate some, and I apologize for the adamancy; I urge you to consider the implications below and do it anyway.

In return, we could gain:

• Better ideas and debates

• Better funding for additional voices

• Apply pressure on the major parties to field better candidates

• And the outcome of the election won’t change. You don’t have to eat 4 years of The Other Guy(TM) to give my Proposal a try.

That wraps the insanity in a pretty little bow. If this was interesting or convincing, please consider sharing this article or the ideas contained therein with your friends, family, and anyone who wants a way out of this political hellhole.