You hear “Hillary Clinton,” they hear “Fascist Robot Lizard Woman.” Long criticized for their destructive force against Clinton and secret support for Trump by refusing to vote democratic, is the leftist extremist group also known as “Bernie or Bust.”
“Bernie or Bust,” or “Bernie or Nothing,” as well as radical groups such as the Green Party, have come under fire again and again for their stagnancy in the surprisingly tight race between the democratic and republican candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, this year.
Ultimately, whether Sanders supporters decide to vote this election year or not, the existence of third party candidates serves a deeper purpose: to illustrate the flaws in two party government and highlight the prejudice and disempowerment of those who do not vote. The United States is not a true democracy. The Democratic and Republican parties have “become a party dominated by elites,” says Rosa Clemente, a vigilant third party activist.
To simply run a campaign takes hundreds of millions of dollars. For this reason, the cabinet and the president of this country have consistently been members of the top one percent, or exhibited and benefited from characteristics of those of the top one percent in the United States.
Individuals who belong to the highest tier of financial status in this country will obviously not have the needs of the majority, the “99 percent” if you will, in mind. Simply being from a background of these privileges makes it difficult to understand and advocate for the needs of those of the rest of the country who come from a wide range of backgrounds and financial situations. The disconnect between candidates and voters becomes even more severe when factors including campaign financing through major corporations and causing politicians to align their policy with specific corporate agendas come into play.
Those who have chosen repeatedly not to vote are aware of the brokenness of the system constructed to concentrate financial and physical power in the same select few since the founding of the Land of the Free.
Addressing the fear of the democrats who say that those who do not vote are allowing for Trump to win is difficult.
Yes, it is a tight race between a monster and an even worse monster, but choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. Why is it that Germany, France, Austria, and India, among many others countries, automatically register all citizens of age for voting, while our country, which prides itself as the leader of the world, does not?
If we look deeper, the existence of parties deemed as “radical” or “third party” exist not only to cater to the complex palates of the people in this country, but to highlight the ways in which a two party system consistently neglects specific issues simply out of convenience.
“Bernie or Bust” makes a clear point. They will not stand for the falsity of a veil of democracy, cushioned by specific privileges for specific citizens, over a clear and simple bureaucracy.