There appears to have been “interference” in Tuesday’s runoff election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, in which Republican candidate Troy Balderson has a narrow lead over Democrat Danny O’Connor.
This is how Seema Iyer, a reporter for Channel 6, the ABC affiliate in Columbus, described it.
Were they Russians? Well, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted that yes, indeed, she believes the result was a clear sign of “Russian interference.” In the end, her candidate lost.
The only thing she lacked was evidence.
“Actress, gun control activist and international security expert Alyssa Milano laments Putin’s vote in Ohio,” the report said. State Redarticle headline.
Others, however, followed the venerable rule: When in doubt, blame the aliens.
NO illegal aliens, but a real, candid visitor from outer space — from “a planet orbiting a star in the Pleiades star cluster located in the constellation Taurus.”
This is, IfGreen Party congressional candidate John Manchik was grave when he posted this identification on his Facebook page.
He wasn’t.
He now assured the waiting world that he was indeed fully man.
“Leave me alone,” Manchik replied to Iyer’s question. “Sometimes you post stupid things on Facebook.”
Ms Iyer also felt the need to ask Manchik about possible Russian influence, though she admitted her question was “ridiculous”.
So Democrats can’t blame Russians or aliens for their narrow defeat last week.
Instead, they will not point the finger at the Little Green Men, but at the Green Party.
In a long, strange TV interview with Manchik – ironically, conducted not beforeelections where it could have provided valuable information to voters making decisions, but instead the day came After— Seema Iyer suggested the Green Party candidate was “interfering.”
Noting that 1,100 votes cast for the Green Alternative, representing just 0.6 percent of the total votes, “could have been cast for [Democrat] “Daniel O’Connor,” the reporter asked, “What do you say to the Democrats who say it’s your fault Daniel O’Connor didn’t win?”
“I couldn’t care less,” Manchik replied. “Because there’s really no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is a corrupt, corporate political party with billions in corporate cash, just like the Republican Party.”
Iyer has repeatedly tried to get Manchik to say he prefers a Democrat to a Republican. The problem is, he doesn’t.
He doesn’t see any significant difference.
When Iyer explained that “the Democrats are saying that…the Green Party took our votes and those votes could be used to elect a Democrat to power, and they could make real changes that would be good for Ohio,” I almost burst out laughing.
“That will never happen,” Manchik replied, more seriously — meaning that Democrats will not make “real” or “good” changes.
The candidate succinctly outlined his “primary reason” for running for office as a Green: “to give the people of the 12th District a real voice in their unchecked government. That’s something neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party will do.”
The Green Party platform may seem indigestible. It certainly seems so to me. But members of this compact party have explained a million times why they are not Democrats and why they consider Democrats to be a huge part of our undeniable political mess. Thisand also in terms of their support for initiatives and referenda and other reforms of the democratic process with a lower case letter, I support the Greens.
If the Democrats want the Greens out of their way — and of course sometimes the Republicans want the Libertarians out of their way — there are a couple of ways to do that. Attract the Greens by actually implementing some of their policy positions, maybe. Get their votes.
On the other hand, Democrats and Republicans can avoid being coddled by Green and Libertarian candidates in their quest for high office. Simply implement a better voting system than the one we have now: voting by classification method.
Maine voters have twice approved ranked-choice voting, and many cities across the country operate it. Using this method of voting, voters can rank candidates… and if their first choice doesn’t win, their vote can be transferred to a second or third choice.
If, in a tie-breaking vote, more than 1,000 Ohioans who voted for Manchik preferred his Democratic opponent over his Republican opponent, their votes would ultimately go to the Democrat.
The problem is that even if all the Green Party votes went to a Democrat, he would still lose. In Ohio’s 12th congressional district, the Green Party candidate received 1,129 votes, but Republican Troy Balderson led Democrat Danny O’Connor by 1,564 votes.
Arithmetic has never been the Democrats’ forceful point.
And America needs more of this kind of interference in our elections. by Americans.
