Todd Lyden

There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution. Letter to Jonathan Jackson (2 October 1780), "The Works of John Adams", vol 9, p. 511 We were friggin' warned about the two party system. And we've ignored the admonition for so long, look at the election it has wrought us. This Anti-Media.org article from JP Sottile has it nailed in the title: "2016: The Final Season of the United States Reality Show."  The article goes on to compare what we are living in as the "Jumping of the Shark" in the show. Sadly, the truth is there and the reality to show for it: a LITERAL reality show candidate versus a woman who by most accounts has done literally almost ANY thing to be president. It's like selecting a presiden...

I come back to voting every election year, mainly because I am so thoroughly disappointed in the outcomes of our two-party system. And make no mistake, it is the party system that fails us. I talked about "how not to get out the vote"  - "vote even if you are disgusted?" UGH I've always liked this article about shaming "non-voting." I completely agree with the author:  "No one should have to justify exercising a right; rights, by definition, justify themselves. Nevertheless, for many people, not voting is an entirely rational choice: The cost of learning about the candidates and the issues often outweighs the benefit to be had from casting a ballot whose odds of making a significant difference in the outcome are infinitesimal." And for those that argue that you have a "civic duty to vote," please lay off the doody. I like what this guy has to say about the idea. Just because someone has the right to bear firearms does n...

As a former political science student and teacher, one thing that has ALWAYS bothered me about the electoral system in the United States: why does the public PAY for party primaries? I can understand the states being responsible for running their general elections to provide opportunity for their citizens to choose mayors, governors and all the way up to president, but for the life of me- why does the public pay for party primaries? FROM: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2016/8/3/very-few-americans-nominated-trump-and-clinton.html Look at that graphic above. You can see how it works here:  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/01/us/elections/nine-percent-of-america-selected-trump-and-clinton.html?_r=0 Only 9% of the American public selected either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump via the party primary process! So, 9 out of ten of us are paying for the privilege of the remaining less than ten percent to have a chance to participate in what are private organiza...

Yes, I am taking Voting to task. I am going to use the listing of 10 reasons to vote from YouthNoise  to illustrate some of the problems with the reasons to vote. Their #10: So you can complain. If you are eligible to vote, but choose not to, we don't have to listen to your whining!   Really? That tired old notion? Democracy is the ESSENCE of whining. I dare say, voting gives you the privilege of knocking back and granting laziness to people to let the chips fall where they may. "I voted." Whoopedy doo! If you voted for the winner, you will probably stop paying too much attention. If you voted for the loser, you will probably become disenfranchised and apathetic right? Maybe not, but the point is, win or lose, vote or not, you have the right and RESPONSIBILITY to complain no matter what happens in the voting booth. ESPECIALLY if you aren't in it.   #9 It's your right.   Young people, women and underrepresented groups all fought hard for ...

Seth Godin tries to make an emotional appeal  for voting this week in the run up to the election. And honestly, I can't be sure if he is mocking people for voting or sincere in his effort to get out the vote. Godin blames the lack of voter  turnout  in mid-term election years on  TV advertising . He suggests that it is only designed to suppress opposition voters. And then proceeds to blame the electorate for not figuring this out. The only thing that he really gets right is that the voters have " permitted selfish partisans on both sides to hijack the system." He highlights that both sides have gotten more and more flaky and that the campaigns are more and more nasty. Perhaps Godin needs reminding on American political history but it has been this way from the beginning. The second we had an entrenched  two-party system  here, we were stuck with this melodrama.  His emotional appeal at the end is just like every other...