[TwelveOfTwenty]

Scholars speculate that Ross Perot's 1992 third party candidacy gave Bill Clinton victory, since Perot garnered 19% of the vote that most likely have tilted to George H.W. Bush. If Clinton had not been elected, 9/11 could have been avoided through Osama Bin Laden's capture, and the financial crisis of 2008 could have been averted through absence of the Clinton administration's manipulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Worth repeating.

[Tublecane]

Can I spurn third parties and damn the Two Party System at the same time? Because however worse Ross Perky made things for me or Ralph Baser for lefties, the system does not work. It quite plainly tabors Big Government. Not even the so-called Reagan Revolution put more than a dent in the New Deal/Great Society.

Romney/McCain/Bush/Dole/Bush/Ford/etc. being marginally better does not make them good. We will lose the Republic, if we haven’t already, playing this way, whether or not new parties can help. Simply put, democracy doesn’t work.

[SpaceBar]

On the plus side, the Obama forced labor collectives will have separate barracks with extra food rations for Gary Johnson voters.

[cripplecreek]

You might want to take a look at the future of the GOP before trashing 3rd parties. I realize that they have no chance today but the GOP of tomorrow is a place where men like Bill Clinton would feel at home. In fact, I’m not so sure he would be all that unwelcome today.

Basically the choice of the future is the maxists (current democrats) or the democrats (republican party of tomorrow).

[ari-freedom]

3 parties = even more opportunities for crony corruption and government spending than 2 parties.

[elkfersupper]

There is a President memorialized on Mount Rushmore who was elected as the nominee of the Bull Moose Party.

[morphing libertarian]

I believe Romney will lose in the electoral college.

I will then put money and time into another party

The goal is to build a Conservative party and let the moderate GOP be the third smaller party

[discostu]

I’m not looking for an ideal candidate, I’m looking for a non-atrocious candidate. Not many of those lately.

[Kimberly GG]

I will reluctantly give Romney my vote. I refused McCain and did a write in, but something’s got to give. IMO Romney is just the lesser of the evils. What has my country come to? I’m coming to loathe the media and politics of this nation.

[Utmost Certainty]

The country is invariably adrift to the Left as the Republocrat duopoly brokers an electoral game of forced dilemma between the proverbial giant douche & turd sandwich every time.

[momf]

If WE, THE PEOPLE, had enough backbone to throw out the congresscritters when they showed they were not there for us, the electoral college for critters, but for themselves, i.e. furthering their own benefits, ignoring our thoughts, furthering their power and prestige, etc. AND kept them informed of our thoughts on given positions, I think we would have a tad more control.

We have never been ruled by edict before, and I for one don't like it. We have live in countries where we were on our best behavior and the local customs were not ours. When living there became intolerable, we left and came home. We have no place to go...therefore, with God's help we have to fix this mess AND be vigilant it doesn't happen again.

[Reily]

We do not have a parliamentary system!

The Founding Fathers wanted to minimize the influence of “factions” (their term for what we would call political parties!). They knew that human nature was such that there would be a tendency for “factions” to arise. The system they designed, the system we currently have forces “factions” toward the minimal number, which is two. At first we had disorganized “factions” the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Over time the “factions” took on more organization and structure as well as different names and ideologies (Sometimes the ideologies switched places!), the system they built always drove “politics” toward the minimal number of two!

Yes one is less then two but then you would have a one party state and “politics” wouldn't;t exist!

The idiots who cry about the horrors pf partisanship I always ask them if they prefer a one party state, like say North Korea? That's when they get mad at me!