Distant Third

Given the recent news cycles concerning Donald Trump, President Biden and the general chaos that surrounds the Presidential election in November, one could be forgiven for allowing Robert Kennedy Jr. to slip one's mind. I certainly had until I came across this sign.

Depending on how many votes he ends up garnering in swing states, and whether that number is larger than the margin of victory, if his involvement in this campaign cycle is remembered at all, it will be as a spoiler by supporters of whichever major party candidate comes in second. Were he not a member of the Kennedy family, he'd would have garnered pretty much zero attention. The Libertarian Party and the Green Party, among others, are also attempting to contest the race for the White House. Most people don't even know that they've involved, let alone who their candidates are.

Being a "third" option for President of the United States may be a way to attempt to appeal to the disaffection that a segment of the electorate expresses every four years, but it's not a very useful thing overall. And I say this as someone who has voted for what is likely more than my share of "third party" candidates. These smaller parties would do better, I think, starting small and working towards the top. People understand the President to have immense power, but that's at least partially an illusion; Congress is where the action is. And a President who has little support in Congress won't be able to get much done.

But a mayoralty here, a state senator there and a county executive or two thrown in doesn't seem important enough for people to actually pursue; not when they're busy attempting to make a statement about something or other. For all that the Democrats and the Republicans come across as bickering children at times, they do actually have to do at least some of the work that's required to govern in the places where they hold offices. The smaller parties don't have that responsibility. And that may be why they don't have the backing to so much as influence the broader debate.