Political Parties

[JimEverett]

I think out 2-party system has worked rather well. Certainly it has worked better than the multi-party democracies of Europe IMO.
For one thing, multi-party systems promote minority, and relatively speaking - radical viewpoints. Through many governments of France and Italy the communits welded great power despite never approaching the percentage of success the Reform Party had in this country.
Present day Germany provides a great example. One of the two main political parties had to govern with the Greens - who are a very small minority party. The Greens maintained a huge influence - far outstripping the number of votes they got. And the government suffered. Now the two major political parties have formed the government - and despite claims that it wouldn;t work, it is actually having much more success then the last government.

 

[Devildog]

More than a third party, I'd like to see more of an independence movement. Seriously, I don't think the majority of Americans should belong to a political party, but rather stay independent. The idea would be to make the political parties work for your vote, instead of presuming you will vote for them.

You should only belong to a party if you believe in every single issue on that parties platform. Otherwise, you should stay independent, and then vote for the candidate that most closely represents your view, or whatever criteria you think you want in a representative.

Heck, at this point, I'd be happy with a sizeable minority of active independent voters.... enough to keep the major parties honest.

This is the best post so far and I totally agree. The parties in this country know that most people are too apathetic for change. Until we start getting a solid independent movement, things will stay the same for a long time.

 

[BullDawg]

The "two party" system is a hoax.

/Republicrats

 

[Saint by the Bay]

The "two party" system is a hoax.

/Republicrats

True, but I think Jim hit the nail on the head. They are mostly a hoax because they have such loyal followings and they know they can get away with anything and still keep their "base" which equals roughly 40% of the voting population each.

 

[tomwaits]

True, but I think Jim hit the nail on the head. They are mostly a hoax because they have such loyal followings and they know they can get away with anything and still keep their "base" which equals roughly 40% of the voting population each.

And I think you hit the nail on the head with the phrase, "voting population".

 

[V Chip]

More than a third party, I'd like to see more of an independence movement. Seriously, I don't think the majority of Americans should belong to a political party, but rather stay independent. The idea would be to make the political parties work for your vote, instead of presuming you will vote for them.

You should only belong to a party if you believe in every single issue on that parties platform. Otherwise, you should stay independent, and then vote for the candidate that most closely represents your view, or whatever criteria you think you want in a representative.

Heck, at this point, I'd be happy with a sizeable minority of active independent voters.... enough to keep the major parties honest.

+1 Brazlian.

IMO a third political party will just add a third center of graft, corruption, and "go team" mentality. Just register independant and weaken the parties as well as make them stop being partisan and start focusing on issues that the independants will weigh more than a "R" or "D" or "L" next to their name.

 

[BullDawg]

Hate to be a pessimist here, but a legitmate 3rd party (one that holds more than a few seats in Congress and has a shot to win a Presidential election) will never happen. Well, at least as long as we have the current system that we do now.

The root of the whole problem is cold hard cash. That's how special interests groups got all of their power, and that's what influences politicians nowadays. That's also what is used to pay for advertising and media attention.
Even if there was a great candidate that stepped up, he/she would never have a chance because both parties would use their money and influence to block it, or would put on a negative advertising campaign like we've never seen before. To sustain a 3rd party, you'd need even more money. With that money comes the corruption that we have with the two party system today.
To me, it's just a vicious (sp?) cycle.