I went a little overboard with this, so I guess I might as well post it. Here's some stuff from a dataset of left-wing third party and independent US Presidential campaigns that I made.

The US is doomed to a two-party system until we enact electoral reforms that move us away from first-past-the-post elections. But that doesn't mean that leftists haven't tried! A total of 11 million votes have been cast for the presidential campaign of left-wing third parties and independents over the last 50 years, averaging about 848,000 per election.

These leftist third party (LTP) efforts can be divided into six ideological tendencies:

Green Party (64% of LTP votes) - The progressive and eco-socialist Green Party is the largest leftist third party in the US.

Independents & Others (15% of LTP votes) - Leftist independent candidates and a handful of other parties that don't fit neatly into the other groups.

Other New Left & Ecosocialist (12% of LTP votes) - Other parties which are ideologically comparable to the Green Party, but which exist separately from it.

Marxist-Leninist (4% of LTP votes) - The two main electoral parties advocating for Marxism-Leninism in the US today.

Trotskyist (3% of LTP votes) - The two main electoral parties advocating for Trotskyism in the US today.

Old Left (2% of LTP votes) - Two leftist parties which played a major role in the early 20th century but have since experienced a major declined in significance.

Independents and Other New Left parties tend to pop up with a strong performance every few elections, but they fail to sustain their momentum. The Old Left has declined over time, and the Trotskyists have also struggled to make a mark in the 21st century. Marxist-Leninists suffered a complete collapse in support after the fall of the Soviet Union, but have been growing consistently over the last six elections and are now the second-largest bloc. The Green Party emerged after the Soviet collapse and quickly took over the role as the lead of the LTPs, although it's success peaked in the 2000 election with Ralph Nader.

The Green Party's dominance here is hard to ignore. Of the 8 elections they've participated in, they've received the majority of LTP votes in 6 of them. The only exceptions were 2004 and 2008, when the Green Party was frequently smeared as a spoiler by the Democratic Party and Ralph Nader was running as a third-party candidate on non-Green tickets.

Beyond the Green Party and the various independents, the most successful parties were:

The Peace and Freedom Party (8.9% of the LTP votes), effectively the leader of the "Other New Left" parties (though they haven't run a candidate since 2012).

The People's / Citizens Party (3.2%), progressives who had a strong run from 1976-1984.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (3.1%), who are the primary drivers of Marxist-Leninist votes after the collapse of the USSR.

The New Alliance Party (2.8%), an unusual socialist party sometimes accused of cult-like behavior that nonetheless had a strong run from 1984-1992.

The Communist Party USA (1.3%), a staple of the old left which had a consistent base of support for its candidacies from 1976-1984.

We don't need to speculate on what could happen if a bunch of people decide to stay home or vote third party, because they did that in 2016 against THIS EXACT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE, and we all enjoyed four years of hell culminating in an attempted coup as a consequence. And three years and counting of the aftermath since, including the destruction of abortion rights across much of the country. To say nothing of the ones who didn't make it through, like the migrants who died in detention, or the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of preventable Covid deaths.

And now fuckers are saying, "Well, we better do it again just to make sure we get every last bit of the world we haven't burned down yet".

While the agricultural manufacturing giant pointed out in a statement that this is no admission of wrongdoing, it agreed to pay $99 million into a fund for farms and individuals who participated in a class action lawsuit. Specifically, that money is available to those involved who paid John Deere’s authorized dealers for large equipment repairs from January 2018. This means that plaintiffs will recover somewhere between 26% and 53% of overcharge damages, according to one of the court documents—far beyond the typical amount, which lands between 5% and 15%.

Pile 1

You- they feel like you’re letting them go and you’re trying to heal, they feel like you’re reserved with your feelings or they feel the need to be that way with you. They feel like they’re too emotional about the connection or that they’re smothering you and they feel like you don’t care enough about them. They feel like you’re focused on your goals or finances, for some of you they feel like you’re immature and spiteful.

Third party- they feel like the third party is fun to be around or that they bring out a carefree energy out of them, they feel like they have a lot in common with the third party and they both don’t take things too seriously. They feel like they have a weak spot for the third party and they feel insecure about the connection, they feel like the third party is patient or understanding.

Signs- Aries/taurus.Initials- H, E, A

Pile 2

You- (angel number 7/777) they feel like the connection is stagnant and they feel like they missed a opportunity with you, they feel like things didnt go the way it should’ve and they got some clarity about the connection when they took a step back. They feel like they can have a lot with you and be very abundant/happy, they feel like you need to take a break from the connection or they need to. They think about you often.

Third party- they feel like the third party is different from people they normally date, they’re not sure if the connection has room to grow or the connection is already over. They feel skeptical about the third party and what they have to offer, they feel like it’s nice to talk with them and they get along. They feel like there may be potential in the connection and they’re physically attracted to them, they may have known each other for a while or they have history.

Signs- Aquarius/pisces. Initials- K, P, O, T, V

Pile 3

You- they feel like you’re very supportive/helpful and you’re a good friend, they feel like you don’t really speak your mind even if you’re upset. They feel like you’re generous and you help them a lot, they think the connection they have with you is abundant and they feel really comfortable around you

Third party- they feel like trapped with the third party or they can’t trust them completely, they feel like their connection is risky and unpredictable. They feel like the connection isn’t abundant or stable but they feel like they met the third party for a reason, they feel like they can’t express how they really feel with the third party or the third party doesn’t express themselves.

This Saturday (19 Aug), I'm appearing at the San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books. I'm on a 2:30PM panel called "Return From Retirement," followed by a signing:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festivalofbooks

Does anyone like the American two party system? The parties are opaque, private organizations, weak institutions that are prone to capture and corruption, and gerrymandering's "safe seats" means that the real election often takes place in the party's smoke-filled rooms, when a sure-thing candidate is selected:

https://doctorow.medium.com/weak-institutions-a26a20927b27

But there doesn't seem to be any way to fix it. For one thing, the two parties are in charge of any reform, and they're in no hurry to put themselves out of business. It's effectively impossible for a third party to gain any serious power in the USA, and that's by design. After the leftist Populists party came within a spitting distance of power in the 1890s, the Dems and Repubs got together and cooked the system, banning fusion voting and erecting other structural barriers.

The Nader and Perot campaigns were doomed from the outset, in other words. Either candidate could have been far more popular than the D and R on the ballot, and they still would have lost. It's how the deck is stacked, and to unstack it, reformers would need to take charge of at least one – and probably both – of the parties.

But that's not cause for surrender – it's a call to action. In an interview with Seymour Hersh, Thomas Frank (Listen, Liberal) sets out another locus of power, one with the potential to deliver control over the party to its base: social movements:

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/ordinary-people-by-the-millions