True Democracy vs American Aristocracy: Protest Voting

Super Tuesday on March 5 showed one very promising trend in the political life of the US: a protest voting campaign swept across several states. About 250 thousand Democratic voters chose to vote «uncommitted» and did not support either Biden or his competitors. In that way the voters tried to influence the policy of the US democratic government regarding the war in Gaza Strip.

«After 100,000 voters chose “uncommitted” over Biden on their primary ballots in Michigan, the protest spread quickly to Alabama, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Colorado. At least 50,000 voters chose “no preference” in Massachusetts, and more than 87,000 in North Carolina. In Minnesota, which has a large Muslim population, nearly 50,000 “uncommitted” votes had been counted as of late Tuesday night, putting “uncommitted” in second place after Biden.»

Bravo. At last.

Who to vote for if I dislike both main candidates?

Unfortunately, Democratic voters in these states used their potentially enormous (but unknown for them) power unknowingly, showing their attitude towards the rather narrow issue of Israel's war against HAMAS. Actually, it works, of course, but this method is very effective for resolving the internal problems of the US also.

All Americans can (and even should) impact their government on any issue «… in order to form a more perfect Union...» if they consider the current union is not perfect enough. This is how it is written in the Preamble to the US Constitution.
This is true democracy.

However, the main question the American voter is facing now remains the same like it was 4 years ago — who to vote for if both main candidates are not suitable for the US presidency from my subjective point of view?

From my few conversations with American acquaintances, I learned that they did not know what to do in such situation. They feel driven into a corner apparently because they grew up with the idea that they have to vote – for affecting the state of affairs in the country somehow. As a result, many of them vote at the last moment for the lesser evil, as they already did in 2020, and then they are upset about their “choice.”

Actually, you don’t have to vote, you can. As a matter of fact, the entire election process in the US is rigged for a long time. You play cards with a sharpie and you won’t win. This is impossible if you keep playing by the cheating rules. But you can change the rules of the game.

Nobody forces Americans to vote for any party/candidate. The people are free to vote “against all” or not to vote if they dislike all candidates. Big election turnout is needed just by the ruling parties in order to justify their stay in power “on behalf of all the people.” And the people can express their attitude to what is happening in the country by voting not only “for” somebody/something, but also “against” (as the other side of the same coin) or even by not participating in the election at all.
So the answer to “America's biggest election question” is simple.

Both America's major parties are a problem for the country.

The inconvenient truth for all Americans is that the Republicans (Mr. Trump, in particular) seem “good” on some issues only because the Democrats are bad there (and vice versa). In fact, it is a struggle between the bad and the very bad. Both major US parties have no understanding of America's current problems, where they came from and how to solve them. Their common main task is to remain in power for as long as it is possible and keep making money off of the blind, ignorant and very hard-working American people (I apologize, but it is what it is).
In this sense, both parties are very similar to each other.

Each party has its own «Achilles’ heel»: it is the immigration for the Democrats and guns, abortion and LGBT for the Republicans.
They also have common problems - the economy (debt, inflation and corruption), healthcare, climate change, diseases and natural disasters. As you can see, the parties have more common problems, i.e. they cannot cope with governing the state successfully.

In fact, it is just the poorly managed economy —national debt, inflation and corruption – which is the main reason for the division and degradation of the country, the rest ones are secondary.

The people perceive national debt as something normal, inflation as a natural disaster, corruption as a mysterious inevitable evil, not suspecting that the creators of the first, second and third in the country are their elites - Democratic and Republican parties of the US.

A choice without a choice.

In the upcoming presidential election, Americans will again vote for “the lesser evil» which never leads to anything good because no matter what the outcome is, you get evil anyway as a direct result of your vote. This is what I call “a choice without a choice” and a guarantee of the continued degradation of the country. I have already written on this topic here and here.
This article could also be called «Never Vote for Lesser Evil 3.0».

If Mr. Trump comes to the presidency in 2024, I think he will very likely split the country into separate states during his term. It is not as bad as it seems, but Americans probably don’t want that now.
If Mr. Biden wins, the divided country will keep stagnating and degrading over the next 4 years and later (I don’t know when) will also inevitably fall apart.
Is that really what Americans want and are ready to vote for?

So, America in 2024 will really face the choice between "bad and fast" and "bad and slow" path to collapse (if there will be no financial collapse of the US federal government earlier).
I don’t know what is better (or worse) here, let everyone decide for themselves.

Unfortunately, the majority of American voters who are now jumping on the primaries and caucuses of both major parties do not see this «choiceless choice” despite the fact that the illusion of choice exists only in their imagination.
According to the Constitution, the President of the US is elected by the Electoral College, not by the people, i.e., representatives of the same Democratic and Republican parties agree behind the scenes on who will be the new president. Yes, the decision is made taking into consideration the results of the general election, but the will of the people is not the determining factor, it is simply an advantage in negotiations between two parties. That is why, in particular, the democracy in the US is considered “flawed” one according to the London-based «The Economist Group”.

In addition, the country remains divided approximately in half, and if Mr. Trump loses in coming November it will be easy for him to declare the 2024 election “stolen” again, because the courts have still not punished him for this obvious lie. In this case, there will be spreading internal conflict in the US up to a very likely civil war and the division of the country into the states as a result.
If Mr. Trump wins the election, he will try to overhaul the complete US system which may help avoiding the inner conflict or civil war and keeping the country intact only in the case of establishment of a dictatorship.

The «Uncommitted» or «No Party Affiliated» voters.

Fortunately, there are Americans who have already seen the harm of having both Democrats and Republicans at the helm of the country. And there are a lot of them.

This group is called «Uncommitted» or «No Party Affiliated» and it comprised about 43% of the US adults in 2023. This is a huge underrated strength. Representatives of this group, apparently, simply do not participate in the primaries and caucuses of both major parties, and in some states (like Florida) they are not even allowed to vote (like me) just because they are «No Party Affiliated». If you want to vote, sign up for a party. This is called «Closed Primary State.»
That's why I say that the game is rigged and the US is ruled not by democracy, but by aristocracy, represented by Democratic and Republican parties under the guise of “flawed democracy".

So what should those 43% of the US adults do if they (like me) do not share the point of view of any US party?
You need to vote correctly - “against all”, or in my case (in Florida as the “Closed Primary State”) - boycott the elections.

It turns out that there is a third way.

The Americans still do not understand their power and the power of "against all" voting or conscious boycott (if there is no “against all” option on the ballot) of the elections.
1. The election process in the US is rigged. Really, what is the sense of voting if you have a choice of 2 candidates/parties, both of whom you don't like? This means there is no choice, and that is why both main parties of the country unanimously (here is a rare example of unanimity) shout “go, vote and show your civic position.” They know that no matter who (among the two of them) you choose, they both will remain in power and keep making their money being in government or in opposition, and yet they can change places at the next elections and so on endlessly.

In this case, it is easier and more honest for the people to vote “against all” or not to vote at all than to vote for “the lesser evil.”
Well, imagine that you have to marry a fool or a scoundrel. There are no other candidates. The average marriage lasts around 8 years in the US. These are 2 presidential terms. In the presidential election, you choose someone who will determine your life over the next 4-8 years and this should be taken seriously.

So who will you choose for the 4-8 years long marriage - a fool or a scoundrel?
Yes, no one. It is better not to get married at all for not suffering for at least 4 years with one guy or another. Both of them bring you just the problems.

2. If many Americans who believe the situation in the country is worsening will vote “against all” or simply boycott the election, what do you think happens? The Americans have never tried to do so before.

Something unexpected and very unpleasant for the elites will happen:
- the President of the US, elected just according to the vote of one or two million relatives and cronies of the elite, is strictly speaking illegitimate, and this will be clear to everyone inside and outside the country. His decrees are not legitimate because they do not reflect the opinion of the people of the US.
- an illegitimate US President can only appoint illegitimate judges to the US Supreme Court.
- The US Congress (and the laws it adopts) is also illegitimate if it was elected only by relatives and friends of several hundred of Representatives and one hundred of Senators.
- The US elite will no longer be able to express their opinions on behalf of all American people, either domestically or abroad. It will be a disgrace and complete fiasco internationally.

This is very good “shock therapy” for the elites.
All three branches of government in the US will be paralyzed just by the conscious correct “non-voting” of the people... Anyway, they are almost paralyzed for a good while, so this may bring them to their senses.

And here it really becomes clear that the main character in the country is “We the people...” as it is written in the US Constitution. That's how it is intended to work.
And there is no need to do something special or work too much.

Conscious inaction.

Unfortunately, the people of the US (like in any other country) do not feel their enormous power which I call the “conscious inaction” and, most likely, will not be able to implement what I am speaking about here, although it is quite simple to understand.

Every citizen must honestly answer whether he/shy is personally satisfied with the state of affairs in the country or not. If yes, go and vote for Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden, it won’t change anything, but in this case you don’t need any changes because everything is fine with you. The country will keep moving in its direction (from my point of view, like a lost ship with 2 incompetent and quarreling captains at the helm).

If you feel that something is wrong with the country, try to understand what exactly it is and look for a politician who shares your fears, explains everything to you and then vote for him. Well, you won’t find such a politician/political party in the USA now. And since there are none of them, vote “against all” or don’t vote at all if you don’t like something in your life in the country. This is fair and correct «conscious inaction». Let politicians think and offer you ways to solve your problems, that's their job for their money.

And a very important point: it would be much better for the people to find time to think and formulate for thyself what they want to rebuild in the country, discuss that with the neighbors and tell to the politicians what should be done. Because… If you don't know exactly what you want to get, what it's name and how it looks like, your politicians will foist whatever they want on you (that’s something they do very successfully all the time).

«We the people”.

«We the people...” are the main character of any country, not the presidents and parties behind them. This is written in various ways in the Constitutions of different countries, and the people’s problem in those countries is they cannot implement this fundamental principle, despite it is written in the main law of their land. It is written, but not implemented because the people 1) do not care and 2) are pushed away from real decision-making process by their elites.

It is “We the people..” that makes any country rich and happy by choosing and controlling its elite correctly or poor and unhappy by doing this incorrectly or not doing this at all.

To correctly select and control your elite, you don’t need anything special. You need to listen only to yourself, and not what the politicians tell you, and look only at your family, and not to what the politicians and their political technologists show you.

This is essence and purpose of true (not flawed) democracy.