President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

One of the most disconcerting things about the ballot in NY now is that the state is down to only four recognized political parties, and it is really just two, because in 95 percent of cases, the Republican is also the nominee for the Conservative party and the Democrat is also the Working Families party candidate.

On my ballot, there is an election for state court judge for which you are electing 12 people, there are only 12 candidates on the ballot and each of them is listed as a Republican, a Democrat and a Conservative! That isn't an election, it's a coronation.

Almost all of the wacky third parties that used to populate my ballot have lost their ballot access in the last decade and it has left me with no options. I used to go to the poll, look at some Democratic incumbent hitched to the gravy train for life, see a Republican opponent that made me want to puke, and then I'd choose between third party candidates from the Green Party, Independence Party, Liberal Party (if it wasn't the same as the Democrat), Libertarian party, Reform Party, Serve America Movement and Women's Equality Party. The wackier the better and more likely to get my vote.

The problem is, none of those parties have spots on the ballot anymore. The only third party now -- for 2 races -- are some morons from the "Medical Freedom Party" who are trying to make their opposition to vaccines into a reason I should vote for them.

Even for the bigger races, this year my choices are particularly bad, because the Republican party doesn't even try, so it is the least serious group of candidates I have ever seen. It breaks down into morally bankrupt office climbers (who wouldn't stand up to the Trump idiocy) or unaccomplished people who were the only warm bodies around willing to waste months of their life (rather than having a career or doing something productive) for an office they have zero chance of winning.

So this year. ... I am reduced to writing in names for a bunch of offices rather than leaving the ballot blank. It's actually a fun exercise, particularly for the Congressional seat that is open in my redistricted area, because of some of the famous / well-known characters that I know live nearby.