"In some sense, I do think voting independent is throwing away your vote, because instead of voting for the person you dislike less "


^^^huge problem with the american system. in france they have two rounds, round 1, all candiates are in

round 2, if noone got more than 50% in round 1, then the two best candidates fight in round 2. that way, voting for a 3rd party is NOT throwing away your vote

I'm actually fine with the current system; I'm not convinced it is a failure of the election system that causes our current problem.

For example; look at France; it isn't like their leadership is any better then ours.

not at the moment, but they don't have a 2party system, you do.

a 2 party system is NOT a democratic system, it has certain qualities that makes it an oligarchical system.

imagine a system where, every election, if no party gets at least 60% of the votes, then the old party retains power. this system is undemocratic, altho it is pretending to be.

it is insane to have a 50% rule to get into congress and call it a democratic system.

I guess that if people were alowed (that is, it was not wasted) to vote for whom they liked. then there would probably be at least 20% candiates from other parties / independants. but, the system makes it almost impossible to get to a position of power unless you align yourself with 1 of the two parties. no 3rd party candidate have been elected for president ever, and no 3rd party ever will, unless the system changes.

^^ also, if a 3rd party ever makes it to the top, one of the 3 parties will fall to obscurity within 2-3 elections.

The UK proved voting 3rd party isn't throwing away your vote, the lib dems now have more power than ever in the coalition.

European nations are much more homogeneous compared to America, this is part to sheer geography that has created massive cultural differences between parts of the nation. Also our population, infrastructure and economy dwarf any single European nation. America works because of stability and relative moderate shifts in styles of government, to institute a much more volatile coalition system similar to those in use in Europe would be disastrous in my opinion.

The big changes we need in the US are first to scrap the electoral college system since it is antiquated and go to a straight popular vote for the President. Also I would love to see some politically neutral method to how we create congressional districts, gerrymandering is a despicable practice that has been used to disenfranchise voters for far too long.

One of the biggest reasons I think for much of the problems in the US of America is how divisive and polarized the vocal idealouges in both parties have become. The US is a moderately conservative country built on personal and economic freedoms, the leadership of both parties have strayed from these core issues for far to long. Ever since Bill Clinton co-opted the moderate issues of the Republican party, the Republicans have continued to move to the right instead of attempting to reclaim any of the middle.

http://www.fec.gov/press/bkgnd/fund.shtml

"Since no third party candidate received 5% of the vote in 2008, only the Republican and Democratic parties are eligible for 2012 convention grants, and only their nominees may receive grants for the general election when they are nominated. Third party candidates could qualify for retroactive public funds if they receive 5% or more of the vote in the general election"

Clearly voting for a 3rd party has an impact. If the alternative party can get 5% of the GE then they get $$$ which will get them more votes the next cycle and so on.

EXPERTS ARE HIRED GUNS, THINK FOR YOURSELF BO

(great hijack btw dc)

God yes I hate the electoral college system. Firstly: A single person's vote in Wyoming counts almost 4x as much as a single person's vote in Texas. This SHOULD NOT be the case.
Secondly: winner takes all is STUPID. I think Maine and Nebraska? are the only states that split electoral votes.
I completely agree about gerrymandering.

These are interesting BTW:
States vs. countries based on land mass: http://www.insidervlv.com/landmass.html
Based on GDP or population (interactive map): http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/01/us_equivalents

that interactive map is cool

One down....one to go.