Posted on 09/26/2014 10:14:52 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
A new Gallup poll out this morning, September 24, 2014, found that 58% of Americans strongly want a third political party choice in the candidates because the two older parties "do such a poor job" representing the people. This number is little changed from a Gallup poll asking the same question in 2007. The third largest political party is the Libertarian Party, yet its candidates face unfair hurdles of ballot access and media exclusion. Many states in the nation purposely raise the bar for Libertarian Party candidates to have their name printed on the ballot alongside the Republican and Democratic candidates.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
There is a reason why third parties historically have never gained much traction in the US and why the US will remain a basically two party system for the foreseeable future:
Here in the US we have winner take all elections. Doesn’t matter whether you are running for governor, US Senator, congressman, mayor, or dogcatcher. You win by as much as one vote, you get elected. In the case of the presidency, you can get elected if you lose the popular vote but win the in the Electoral College. This has happened four times in our history.
In many parliamentary democracies such as in Europe for example, third parties can get traction. In such parliamentary systems a third party, if it whens enough votes, can obtain seats in a nation’s parliament or legislature. For example-—say in Germany-—a voter can vote for a Green Party candidate without risk that he is diluting the power of the dominant left party the SPD. That is because various parties on the Left can all come together and form a governing coalition. Same applies to parties on the right or conservative side.
Here in the US, if you win you win, if you lose, you lose. Third parties are not awarded any special consideration or roles in governing coalitions simply because the won a certain amount of the vote.
So...third party votes here in the US are effectively throw away votes. If you vote for a conservative third party candidate, you end up siphoning votes off from the GOP and your vote effectively becomes a vote for the Democrat Party. And likewise is the case for a left leaning voter who casts his vote for a left leaning third party candidate.
As long as we have a winner take all electoral system, third parties in the US will never gain much traction and will only serve as potential spoilers especially in tight election contests.
I don’t vote for Parties. I vote for Candidates.
And if there is no conservative running - I don’t vote.
They hate the todays GOP but are open to the conservative side of issues. Those are the voters who would be there for the taking if the GOP can be totally re-branded.
We need a second party, first.
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That was my first thought as well. The Dems and Reps are just two sides of the SAME coin as both support big government.
We need a small government party that emphasizes personal responsibility.
>> I just want to vote for someone like me before I pass to my just rewards.
I, on the other hand, merely want a chance to vote for someone with my same *principles*, but one who isn’t such a hotheaded impulsive shoot-from-the-lip a-hole. :-)
Those are the voters who would be there for the taking if the GOP can be totally re-branded.
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This is just not going to happen. The GOP is what it is. There’s no changing it.
You, me, Washington, Adams - pretty good company.
You do know what is happening now in a number of places, don’t you. The incumbent Democrats are running phony third party candidates to try draw votes away from Republican challengers. We have that going on here, where the supposed “Reform” candidate is a recycled former Democrat mayor who is pretty obviously running just to try mess up the Republican.
“The Right and the Left are forced to move to the center to compete and then you’ll have one big mass.”
Huh? The ‘Right’ is to far to the ‘Left’ as it is.
Third party will not happen because the elites have set up a two party system. The biggest problem is limiting House representation to 435 members.
I like to use the Bible analogy:
Does Satan not rule over Man before the 2nd coming?
IMHO, maybe it’s time to let the People hurt a bit (being more than 50% happily voted this way); and many more FAIL to vote either way.
Even though the democrat party has been converted from "the working man's party" to a socialist monolith, that change was facilitated by the inclination of politicians to accrue for themselves money and power.
For the GOP to go where it has to go would require politicians to put personal interests aside and actually do the right thing.
Fat chance of that happening.
We need third parties AND something like the Australian ranked ballot system.
http://www.joeydevilla.com/2013/08/19/an-amusing-comic-that-explains-australias-ranked-voting-system/
Having decided that the lesser of two evils is still evil. So in 2012 we voted for the Constitution Party. They have a great platform, I just wish they would run a canidate with national recognition. And get some money behind them. But unless there is some sort of miracle the GOP will be stuck with a Romney/Bush/Christie RINO as the nominee and homie dont vote down that street no more!
Freegards
LEX
No —we need 3rd party—The old Canard of the right that a Third party will make a Democrat Victory (Used to step on the Conservatives) or the old Canard used by the Left that a 3rd Party (on the left) will make for Republican Victories—Remember all the parties were once 3rd Parties of some sort. Look at UKIP in England. No—we need an active Conservative Party Nation wide. Not a place holder but a choice-—The two big parties have moved together until there are few differences. A Third Party would force the GOP to the right. Force them to drop RINOs.
Liberty Party—with the likes of a Sarah Palin could do wonders for the Right. The Tea Party helped the GOP in 2010—until it was targeted by the Left MSM and the Right. That crime alone should force the issue. We have not forgotten. The Dole-McCain-Romney canditates forced on the GOP should be enough (Each of them would be better than Obama-Fraud) The Republican majority have been betrayed just as our brothers in the Democratic Party have been betrayed by the Progressive-Communists of the Left. Unite to toss out the poison that has corrupted the USA.
Lets bring back the Whigs! They had good polices! What about the Federalists! Washington was a Federalist. How about the Know-Nothings! Wait—we have that party, but they call themselves Democrats now.
And we have republicans running as conservatives who then vote like crony crapitalists.
This is silly. We have third and fourth and fifth and sixth parties on the ballot now. People rarely vote for them, but they are there.
Forget it, while they say they want a third party, 97 percent stick with the two old ones.
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