United States | News & Politics

while a third party who makes it to the general only has to contend with the normal difficulties of the media.

When you look at how Democrats control primaries, it's almost entirely through their cozy relationship with the media. It was more direct in 2016, but in 2020 it was a consistent message from the media that Bernie was less electable and Trump had to be defeated.

If you were familiar with running as a third party in even local elections, you would know that just getting on the ballot as a third party is a massive effort. Also, the controls that Democrats have over the primary process, Democrats and Republicans together have over the general election process.

choosing that old guy over AOC for that committee seat

That has nothing to do with popular elections, but it does bring up a good point. Do you think AOC would have been more likely to get that seat if she were in a third party? Once you start getting people into office, you will still be dependent on coalitions with Democrats to get anything done.

A lot of anti-establishment voters went from Bernie to Trump, so I think the right candidate can maneuver this middle path

Here is the thing that drives me nuts. You are not proposing anything that hasn't been tried over and over again. Third party advocates point to the limited gains of progressives within the Democratic party, and ignore their own elong history of total failure. What you "think" defies pretty obvious reality.