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"Of course you are assuming a REAL, focused, third party would be a failure. That assumption has never been tested since no such party has existed."

American history is littered with single issue (or small number of issue) parties that lasted one or two elections, but which don't usually rate even a footnote in the standard US histories. Unfortunately, your proposal has been tried a huge number of times, and the results have been (almost uniformly) abysmal. The Reform Party helped elect Bill Clinton. The Dixiecrat Party failed to stop Truman. The Henry George Single Tax Party (only tax real estate) went no where, though it threw some real scares into local politicians for a time. T. Coleman Andrews ran in 1956 on a platform to abolish the income tax (Independent Party?).

The most recent third party to survive in the US is the Republican Party. It began with a smaller number of issues, but has expanded its issues over time to try to achieve and maintain a large enough coalition to win elections-- the necessary precondition to accomplishing anything.

It began with a smaller number of issues, but has expanded its issues over time to try to achieve and maintain a large enough coalition to win elections-- the necessary precondition to accomplishing anything.

It has accomplished a left leaning aganda. Ever bigger government and failures by the boat load. Unconstitutional programs and intrusion. Nixon expanded the government by leaps and bounds and they haven't looked back since.

You can have 'em.