Why do we have third parties at all in the US?

[Smith_3]

Really, when one looks at it, all they do is suck away votes from the large party that most resembles them, effectively hurting the cause they are trying to further.

I'm not saying that one should generally not have third parties, but with an election system such as ours they are completely useless if not harmful.

My suggestion would be to change the election system. But as long as it stands the way it does, I don't see why the system doesn't outlaw third parties from the outset, since that is what it seems to effectively be aiming at.

[Wiley50]

1. To get over our hangover from the first two n/t

[mrcheerful]

2. Third parties are made up of voters that were party members of the main 2

for the most part, greens are the break off group that feels the left hasn't gone far enough to protect the enviroment, Libertarians are a break off of those right wingers that feel the pukes haven't gone far enough to the right to enrich and protect them. The communist party is just a fringe of people that admired Marxism. The problem is with the current way government is run third parties if elected have no power and vote with either the D's or the R's in congress.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. There are exceptions. I registered as a Green as soon as I turned 18

[mrcheerful]

11. The party itself was started by disgruntled members of, wasn't talking about the people that

came in after the party started. The problem being americans are set in there ways, where as in TR's day they weren't as much, but still TR lost. The last new political party to start in the US was the republican party. There are those who loudly proclaim third parties will change america, but there hasn't been a third party in power since 1860 so we really don't have a clue on just what they will change or how they will change america.

Is that the way it will always be? Who knows, but I can only comment on what is not what will be, maybe sometime there will be another party besides D's or R's, but I'm not getting my hopes up on any real changes in america based on what we are dealing with now. BTW, think about the R party of Lincoln in his life time and look at how much its changed from 1860 until today. Even the D party has changed from where it stood in 1860 and where it is today.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. The only way third parties will ever get into power is if the Ds And Rs

change the system to give them a shot.

Think there's a snowball's chance that will ever happen?

[mrcheerful]

16. Not in my life time, I'm 51 and since 1967 have heard nothing but third parties are the future

by civics teachers, so far nada.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. I'm 37 and also doubt I will see something like that in my lifetime. America is

the land of choices. You can get your burger anyway you want. You can pick out the options you want on your new car.

But political parties? Not so much.

[stillcool]

3. We should have more parties..not less..

as it is we don't even have two. We just have an electorate that is uninformed and divisive.

[Hydra]

4. We should have more viable parties

I get tired of being told that being a progressive is a sin in the democratic party.

If you aren't progressing, you're either sitting on your ass or losing ground.

[Selatius]

5. The current election system likely won't change barring a violent revolution. Power concedes nothing

Power concedes nothing without a demand. Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are in it to win and hold power. They would not willingly accept the notion of electoral reform that would break their monopoly on power and allow other parties to become viable. They would have to be forced into agreeing with such reforms.

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. Agreed

[ramapo]

6. Outlaw third parties?

Why not outlaw second parties too and make it real simple? Why even have elections?

Third parties are pretty much irrelevant this go around but have had significant effects in the past, Ralph Nader , Ross Perot, and George Wallace have all had significant impact. I hate the 2000 Nader effect but that was the decision of voters.

[rcrush]

7. Bob Barr is my hero

He's giving the racist McCain supports someplace to go since they dont want to vote for McCain and they hate black people.

[Winterblues]

8. This is America, we can have as many or as few as we wish

Americans naturally gravitate into like minded Political Parties. Most "third" Parties are single issue Parties like the Green Party or the Constitution Party. Their issue is even in their name. When so much is at stake in so many different areas it boils down to who is going to affect the change we want or the policies we want. It is seldom when or if any single issue will dominate completely..

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Because two isn't enough...

but here they don't have the effect they have in other countries that have a parliamentary system which requires a government be formed from the various feuding parties.

With our unique bicameral legislature and separation of powers, I can't imagine how anything could get done if we had more squabbling parties in Congress-- it's tough enough now with just two parties at each other's throats.

[MiniMe]

12. In order for 3rd parties to be effective, they have to participate in the

electoral process more often than every 4 years for President. Run for Congress and Senate and local elections. If they do that, they may have some success. Until then, it is doubtful that they will have any influence on the electoral process other than a spoiler.

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. I can't speak for other third parties, but the Greens run for everything from dog catcher on up. We

have several on school boards here in Maine. :)

[MiniMe]

22. That's the way to do it.

For a long time, it was just Nadar in the election and then you wouldn't hear much else.

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. Yeah, it's been good to have the Libertarians and Constitution Party folks out there as well now.

[bemildred]

13. How many things besides politics do people give you free money for?

It's easy, it pays well, and you give people a voice, however small.

You are quite correct that we need a different election system, the present one is corrupt and corruptable.

[zonmoy]

17. Outlaw third parties and we might as well hand the keys of the nation over to the american nazi

party because at that point we would have little better than that.

The third parties exist because the main parties end up too corrupted to have all people vote for them.

[mirror wall]

18. We need legitimate third part opposition in this country.

It's shameful that we don't, frankly. While I genuinely like the Dem candidate this time (for a change), I think that democracy functions best when there are multiple voices challenging each other.

[TheKentuckian]

20. Lets make the Republiscum a thrid party

and make room for others to step up into the vacuum.

[undeterred]

24. I think that's the wrong question.

Our democracy would be a lot healthier if we had more than two viable parties with instant runoff voting.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. To give us choices outside the system.

"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all." --Thomas Jefferson to Francis Hopkinson, 1789.

"Were parties here divided merely by a greediness for office,...to take a part with either would be unworthy of a reasonable or moral man." --Thomas Jefferson to William Branch Giles, 1795.

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." --John Quincy Adams