For The Last Time, It’s NOT A Binary Choice!!

One of the reasons I pay a disproportionate amount of attention to sports and escapist entertainment is that there’s only so much bandwidth even I have for the urgency, determination, desperation and incendiary rhetoric that an election cycle tends to produce.  And even though I don’t live in a swing state, I still get more than a recommended daily dosage of it.  My far more invested roommate more often than not has a news channel–typically one that leans right–on the living room big screen while I’m cooking in our far too small and integrated kitchen space, so I’m acutely aware of what Fat Orange Jesus and his enablers are spewing.  But even when I’m away from that screen and invested in something like a late night talk show or a daytime game show, I can’t avoid the ubiquitous ads for the key downballot races.  I know far more about Derek Tran’s history of defending criminals and MAGA Michelle’s voting record than I ever would care to, and I don’t live anywhere close to their districts.

So I’m probably a bit more sensitive than most when I get otherwise well-meaning suggestions from lifelong friends who have a host of reasons and will tend to post rather lengthy social media posts laying out the rationale for their voting choices, which has been amplified lately as early voting has now opened almost everywhere and they proudly show off their “I Voted!” sticker.  Many will privately message me to reinforce their viewpoints, as if they were being paid personally by the party of their choice.  Some actually read these musings and have taken note of my unwillingness to embrace either FOJ or his opponent; in the latter case, there’s often a sense of true consternation.  It’s as if I’ve somehow let them down by not fully embracing their party’s choice, and it’s going to be my fault if we somehow turn into Berlin circa 1940 as a direct by-product of my mulish obstinance.

Look, as you might be able to tell if you are paying attention, there is no way on God’s green earth that I will cast a vote for my fellow Queens native.  Not that he needs my help at this point, anyway.  I despised his shtick eight years and the memories of sheer terror that overtook many of my Cal State Northridge students while I was trying to teach them on the night of November 8, 2016–several of them, I learned, were undocumenteds who were convinced they might be dragged out of their student housing once our class ended–haunt me to this day and likely will to my dying day.  And given what I’ve heard from his own mouth lately, I’m actually relieved I won’t necessarily have to deal one-on-one with anyone in a similar position next Tuesday night.

But as for his opponent–I have listened to her town halls, her interviews, her rallies.  I’ve been actually rooting for her to say something–anything–that speaks to ME.  Not to the demographics her party believes she must overperform in or to the causes they think will move her needle.  I’m not part of any of them.  And I certainly am not thrilled with how she dances around the idea of supporting Israel because, you know, that crucial suburban Detroit component of her African-American base is at real risk.  So sorry, I’m still looking for a meaningful reason to check off the box next to her name.   I have my ballot, but I’ve yet to cast my vote, so I’m still leaving open the possibility.

But I’ll tell y’all this much.  One sure way to get me to not vote for your candidate is to throw out the skewed logic of “It’s a binary choice”.

Look at the ballot.  At least on mine, there are six names of presidential candidates.  Including a few you might have ignored, but somehow the internet hasn’t.  And, no, I’m not including America’s favorite sexter, RFK, Jr.

Perhaps the most prominent of the alternatives is this lady, who–wait for it–the WASHINGTON POST’s Michael Scherer updated his readers on earlier this week:

A super PAC with Republican Party ties has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent days to support the Green Party presidential candidacy of Jill Stein in Wisconsin, in another sign that the supporters of the major parties believe her campaign could affect the election result.  Badger Values PAC, a new federal PAC founded by a longtime Republican operative with ties to Senate GOP leadership, has reported in recent days matched expenditures opposing Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and supporting Stein. In total, the group reported $982,905 in spending through Oct. 23, including at least $307,000 that names Stein in direct mail or other advertising. 

She’s apparently consequential enough to warrant attention from publications that fall into the left-leaning sector, such as THE DAILY BEAST, whose Josh Fiallo dropped this caveat of a piece on earlier this week:

Count Jill Stein’s own family as among the people who’ve begged her to bow out of the presidential race.

One of her two sons told The New York Times over the weekend that Stein “does not have the support of the family” when it comes to her “political activities.”

When she told us she was going to run again back in October 2023, we asked her not to,” the son, who asked to not be identified by name, told the paper.

Instead of complying with her closest loved ones’ request, the 74-year-old Green Party candidate is once again running—with no real path to victory—and has been painted as a “spoiler” candidate by Democrats.

But Stein isn’t the only option.  There’s one from a party I’ve actually heard of, the Libertarian, whose website describes their oar in the water thusly:

Meet Chase Oliver, hailed as the “most influential Libertarian” by Rolling Stone. His debate against Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker’s empty podium thrust him into the national spotlight, earning over 80,000 votes and forcing a runoff. Now, as the Libertarian Presidential nominee, he’s on a mission to deliver a bold message of liberty to everyday Americans. The two-party system is broken and overdue for a shake-up. With inflation soaring and housing costs skyrocketing, it’s clear the status quo isn’t working. America needs a new voice—one that challenges both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. That voice is Chase Oliver.

And then there’s this one that I needed to do a little homework on which Wikipedia was able to quickly provide: