LS wrote:
It's very simple: the U.S. is and always has been a two-party system. One or the other WILL govern. Third parties always elect the worst of the options. There is no alternative to a Republican Party that is responsive to the people, no matter what Beck says. And the more he says that crap, the more he's damaging any real hope for salvation here.
If that were true, there would be no Republican party today.
The truth is that third parties can succeed, but only when formed out of one of the existing major parties. If 50 to 150 principled, Republican Congress critters, along with a significant number of Republican Senators (10 or so), and a significant portion of Republican state and local legislators and executives (30 to 50 percent of the total Republican population in these positions) were to say, ”The Republican party has left us, We represent conservative values, smaller government and personal liberty.“ If they then formed a new party dedicated to those principles, They could probably succeed. They would need to bring new candidates to their party to contest elected positions held by both Democrats and Republicans. They would also have to act in a way that visibly supports their declared principles and not compromise their principles by allowing anyone who doesn’t support their principles to declare themselves part of the new party.
Historically, that’s pretty close to how the Republican party was formed in the 1850’s. Whigs who opposed slavery (the Whig party was divided on the issue) and other parts of the Whig platform split off to form the Republican party. Within 3 or 4 election cycles, the old Whig party disappeared, and the Republican party grew to become the “other” half of the two party system.
I’m not sure which way is the best for the future. If I were sure we could bring the Republican party back to its roots and principles, that would be the less risky path. But 2010 is a big opportunity. There is a lot of “Throw them all out” rage this cycle that could be harnessed by strong, principled leadership that wants to establish a new conservative alternative. To the topic of this thread, Beck is actually stoking those emotions.
The problem is there is a lot of inertia in the Republican party. Look at Florida (Crist v. Rubio) for one example. There, the primary for an open Senate seat is wide open right now. The polls have Rubio closing the gap in the Primary. Polls for the general election that ask Rubio vs. Meeks have Rubio winning that match up (Crist also beats Meeks). This in spite of the fact that Crist has $4.3 Million in campaign funds, and Rubio is still struggling to get his first million. And party “leadership,” including the Republican National Senate Committee are behind Crist. Crist, the governor who embraced Obama to thank him for the Stimulus back in February.
| From the desk of cc2k: |
This is the constant and unremitting lesson of third parties: they elect DEMOCRATS.