America just enthusiastically elected one of two candidates that they could not stand, because they didn’t want to see the person they could not stand even more win.
Election 2016 is clear evidence of the illness that is plaguing this country. There is no doubt at this point that the two party system is a cult. No rational country would do what we just did, and I don’t just mean elect Trump, but I mean force a choice between someone like Trump and someone like Clinton.
So where do we stand? What can we do going forward? Unfortunately we did not reach the five percent mark required to ensure the Libertarian candidate a place on the ballot in every state or federal funding. However, Gary Johnson did manage to pull in over 4 million votes. That is almost four times as many votes as he received in 2012. Jill Stein has pulled in over a million votes, almost as many as Gary Johnson pulled in for 2012. There is growing momentum for other choices. We need to keep that momentum going. We need to show everyone that it is not because some of us decided to vote third party that Trump won and Clinton lost, but rather that refusing to reject the cult is why we had Trump v Clinton in the first place.
We also need to explain how voting for a third party can make a difference. So many people thought that voting for a third party candidate was a waste, even as they wasted their vote by voting for someone that they knew would win or lose their state. That is unacceptable. Every vote that was thrown away like that could have brought us closer to the 5% mark needed to assure listing in every state and federal funding for the party. And just 15% in the polls during the general election assures that a candidate can participate in the debates. How different would this election have been if more than just Trump and Clinton were debating on TV?
For more immediate concerns, we need to keep a watchful eye on every action taken by this new administration. We need to ensure that freedom is restricted as little as possible. That means watching for any legislative measure that may impact free trade, constitutionally guaranteed privileges and protected rights, or give the federal government even more power. We need to constantly let those in office know that we are not going to tolerate any bull. We need to work at the local levels to keep as much control of our lives here at home and out of Washington.
We have a long journey ahead of us. The next four years are going to be very difficult. We may see attempts to accelerate the destructive force of government that we have seen acting for years. But we can and must fight back. We can and must educate people for future elections and future generations. We must not give up.