Third-Party panic ensues across liberal media as pundits portray 'threat to democracy'

 Third party candidatures have caused great consternation among left-leaning media pundits as they have warned of threats to democracy and suggested that people supporting such candidacies are throwing away their votes.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent candidate for the White House, and Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is considering a run himself, have raised concerns that they Can snatch valuable votes from the President. Provide victory to Biden and former President Trump.

Tara Setmire, senior adviser to The Lincoln Project and a frequent guest on MSNBC, said Wednesday that this election will be no different from past third-party spoilers.

"I think third-party candidates are spoilers. History could potentially repeat itself, and now more than ever, the idea of a third party is a threat to our democracy. This is not the time for . I understand the frustration that American voters have. People always express a certain amount of frustration toward the two-party system, but that's the system we have. We're not in a position right now where we have two candidates Who are an equal threat to our democracy,'' he said.

Setmire said Trump was "a threat to our democratic system."

He scolded voters who think Biden is too old and said they need to "take a step back" and look at alternatives.

"Third parties don't work. They're spoilers. If you want Donald Trump to win the election, go ahead, throw out your ballot and vote for a third party. If you don't do that, and you destroy our democracy. Want to maintain and work to improve it within our system, maybe later on, there may be an opportunity for ballot access or a third party or whatever, that's fine. But right now, for our democracy The danger is so great that no third party candidature can be played with.”

The co-hosts of "The View" also recently sounded the alarm, as Sunny Hostin blamed third-party candidate Jill Stein for Trump's victory in 2016.

"I just found out today that when Jill Stein ran and it was Trump versus Hillary, there were three states, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where Stein's vote total was greater than Trump's margin of victory. So wouldn't she probably have been a part of it? , Hillary Clinton would have been president," Hostin said.

Co-host Ana Navarro said she remembers when Ross Perot was considered a spoiler against President George H.W. Bush, although some experts argue that Bill Clinton would have won even if Perot had been in the running in 1992.

"In this case, you have Joe Biden, a sane, decent, normal human being, fighting against a man who is an existential threat to democracy and the foreign world, the international world, the universe. So this is not normal." , 'Oh, you know what? We can put a spoiler. We can risk running [Joe] Manchin around,'" Navarro continued.

Biden calls 'no labels' presidential bid a 'mistake' that will help Trump

NBC reporter Vaughn Hilliard recently confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his past comments, which included concerns that Ralph Nader's Green Party could hand the White House to Republican nominee George W. Bush in 2000. Democrats have long lamented that Nader's victory that year prevented Al Gore from winning, as he lost by less than 600 votes in the pivotal state of Florida, while Nader received nearly 98,000 there. Votes were received.

Kennedy, who voted for Biden in 2020, was asked whether he would drop out of the 2024 race if polling showed him taking votes from Biden and helping Trump, or vice versa.

"I'm not going to drop out of the race," he told NBC. "I think Americans should have a choice – that they should not be forced to choose the lesser of two evils. They should be able to vote in a democracy, or for the candidates they like. , who inspire them and who they want to run for."

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Democrats are also sounding the alarm on third-party candidates in terms of Biden's re-election prospects.

"The past month has seen a lot of Democrats realize that RFK [Jr.] and [Cornell] West are real electoral threats, not just curiosities, and the Middle East crisis is partly driving this, especially in West's case, " A Democrat involved in blocking the third-party effort told the media outlet. "RFK's problem is not that he gets 18 percent. The problem is that he gets 3 percent or 2 percent or 1 percent."

Biden aides have reportedly considered creating an organization to respond to third-party concerns.

Democratic strategist James Carville said in late January that third-party candidates were going to get a lot of votes in 2024, citing voters' disappointment in both Trump and Biden.

"The third party is going to get a lot of f--- votes in 2024. I'm just telling you," Carville said. "Unless something actually changes, and it's hard for me to see change."

"It's very hard for me not to see an uninspired election with a third party doing really well," Carville said.

Speaking about the "No Labels" effort with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in early January, former Hillary Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmeri used the use of "veep" to describe the "arrogance" of her third term. A quote was used. Party efforts.

"There's a line from 'Veep' that I think sums up the goal and the courageous ego of the 'No Labels' effort. That is, we're on life support, just like democracy is on life support, and I think people are pulling that. Plug in to charge your phones," she said.

He said the attempt was too "dangerous".

No Labels reached out to Chris Christie regarding a potential third-party, bipartisan presidential ticket

"Spoiler third-party candidates are an essential component to any Trump victory, and that's why they've been silent about No Labels and RFK," Third Way Democratic strategist Jim Kessler told The Hill.

"That's why the Biden team needs to make it clear that anyone considering a third-party candidate is jeopardizing not only their vote, but our democracy," he said "

A recent national poll found Biden holding a six-point lead over Trump in a possible November re-election, although other recent polls show Trump with a lead over Biden.

But a Quinnipiac University poll released last month indicated that the president's advantage over Trump has narrowed in a multi-candidate general election field that also includes Kennedy.

The poll also shows Republican presidential nominee Nikki Haley leading Biden by five points in a hypothetical November contest, but Biden has a slight lead over the former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador in a crowded field of contenders. The lead has been gained.