[Moby Grape]

It has ALREADY happened...in some states, the third party small percent was enough to give the election to the democrat, but the MOST damaging one so far was Ross Perot in 1992. Ross Perot did NOT take votes from democrats...all the post election data shows that Perot cost Bush the election, put a liberal socialist lying democrat in office with only 41% of the vote, gave us eight years of moral decay in the Administrative branch, massive judicial appointments, missle technology to China, and unchecked growth of terrorism....THANKS ROSS....thanks third parties.

[borkrules]

You realize, of course, that you are wasting your time with these 3rd party morons.

I wonder how many of them have taken some of their evident enthusiasm and energy and put it to work at the county GOP party level, to influence in a conservative direction the ONLY political vehicle we have that has a prayer of effecting real change. I'm guessing none. It's far too morally satisfying to strike a "holier than thou" pose and avoid dirtying one's hands with the sometimes unpleasant work of actual political campaigning and electioneering.

[inquest]

You're failing to make a critical distinction. Ross Perot was not a conservative, nor did he even try to make himself out to be one. The most he did was put a new flair on the same old anti-constituional ideology. I would not advocate voting for third parties just because they're third parties, but I do advocate voting for conservatives who respect the Constitution, even when there's a small risk involved in doing so. And it is a small risk because even if the Democrats end up winning some new posts, they won't be able to avoid the fact that the majority voted not only against them, but against their ideology. That has never happened, and it would be the beginning of a much more genuine change for the better.