Originally Posted by
VelvetJones
I still hear it daily, especially in the media. The reason is that they'll still vote for Obama not matter what. I'm sure Obama has lost a lot of support from the middle, but no liberal is going to turn around and vote of Cain or even Romney. Not vote? Maybe, but never switch sides. That is the problem with our so called democracy. It's usually a choice between bad and worse. Eliminate ballot access laws then it might improve.
I think it's more because of the two party system, where all congressmen are elected directly. In other countries, only half of the house representatives are elected directly, and the other half comes from party lists in proportion to the popular vote. While that's not a perfect system either, at least it ensures that even small parties that only get a few percent of the vote will be represented in the house, and that in turn makes voting for a smaller party worthwhile. Ralph Nader for example would be a viable alternative to Obama for many, but in the current system, a vote for Nader is the same as not voting at all, and it would actually help the Republicans, as it did in 2000.