Dictator means "one who dictates"
it's just dictate with an -or ending.
It's applied to totalitarian rulers because such people have the right by their laws to dictate anything, including execution or jail of their opponents.
Putin and Obama cannot jail people who don't break the law on their soil, so not Dictators.
On to third Parties...
Maniac, how many hours have you put in?
I've put in a few hours for third parties. I've met people who have put in 8 hour days for decades to the Green Party.
There is absolutely a barrier to entry for third parties established by the two party system. It begins at the state level. The republican and democratic parties generally have a promised slot in every race in the nation and do not face stiff criticism of weakening the vote for the "real candidate". If the third party somehow overcomes this, their next barrier is money. The big two have an established system to fund their "grass roots", this funding exists because there is a return on investment. Third parties don't have a tradition of victory, so aren't able to build this support that funds otherwise weaker candidates. This means even third party candidates that are head and shoulders above the local two still face a tougher fight than otherwise would happen. Let's just say that this theoretical candidate has both gotten on the ballot in spite of regulation that makes it hard and the outside money didn't materialize. Now we run into an apathy wall. The majority of US citizens hold some views of each party. Very few are really solidly behind one side. A lot of these people are jaded by things that make them feel their vote doesn't count, so you don't get large turnouts. Who is likely to turn out though? Those who go for one of the two, so a larger portion of people who are against the election being "spoiled" than are really represented in the population.
What does this mean? It means the entry level jobs for politicians aren't third party friendly.
Q: OH, but what about...(enter argument here)
A: There was no Law in 1890 that barred women from work in factories, discrimination doesn't need to be in law, the minds of those in charge is usually enough.
So, no entry, no dominance. More of my friends liked Jill than Mitt or Barak, yet they still didn't vote 3rd party. A lot didn't vote. I don't know how that was better than "throwing your vote away", but it was their choice.
Still, you are right in the need to change things at a local level. Encourage IRV and proportionate electorial college distribution in your local states, and you'll see larger turnouts and more third party support. To say it's not rigged is probably false though. A system that isn't rigged will usually show accurate representation accross the board. There are enough registered independant and third party that government should have more from the lowest offices to the highest. Strangely, what is true for the country isn't true for the representation. Hence third parties crying foul.
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Topic: American Election Megathread - It's Over (Read 770227 times)