Should the US have a third party?

[BrianR]

What SamIam said!

Also, it is my considered opinion that we as a nation have made a total hash of two parties. We are not mature enough to handle three. Ask again in a few more decades.

[ZenGum]

Alas, corporate tax dodging is not an illegal "refusal to pay". It is exploiting existing legal loopholes to minimise the bill they get. And lobbying congress to make sure those loopholes do not get closed off. Grr.

[SamIam]

I'm not sure if this goes here or in the"Occupy" thread. For what its worth:

Occupy has started a fledgling third party. Interesting…

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Occupy Wall Street movement in protest of the perception of corporate influence in government has spurred demonstrators in Cincinnati to form their own political party.
Spokesman Tyrone Givens tells The Associated Press that he and other Cincinnati-based protesters traveled to New York's Occupy site to pitch the idea. He says the party is vetting six potential candidates for local office from Ohio, New York and Kentucky.

The party's website lists a 10-point platform, with items including reversing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision granting corporations the right to spend an unlimited amount of money on political campaigns, limiting the influence of lobbyists and prosecuting those responsible for the recent recession.

[TheMercenary]

Romney proposed we should have executed GM. Maybe they are people.

[regular.joe]

A little bit of quick research into the percentage of the population that votes shows that since 1960 there have been only 13 years that voter turn out has been over 50 percent and only 3 years since 1960 has that average edged up over 60 percent. Which means that less then 30 percent of the U.S. population, probably closer to less then 25 percent of the U.S. population elects any given Government official.

If 84 percent of Americans are not happy with the officials in office then some one is being a bit of a hypocrite. I say the system is working just fine. If they don't want to vote, but want to bitch about what the guys in office do with their time in office....fuck em.

The biggest reason that third party will not currently work is because of this low voter turn out.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by regular.joe

If 84 percent of Americans are not happy with the officials in office then some one is being a bit of a hypocrite. I say the system is working just fine. If they don't want to vote, but want to bitch about what the guys in office do with their time in office....fuck em.

You are making the assumption that these people can elect someone they will be happy with.

[footfootfoot]

I've avoided this thread for too long.

Yes, I think the US should have a third party despite the inevitable hangover.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by regular.joe

The biggest reason that third party will not currently work is because of this low voter turn out.

You don't think there's a possibility you have your cause and effect mixed up there?

[regular.joe]

That just sounds like a vicious circle.

[regular.joe]

I'm only making the assumption that 90-100 percent of a voting population can impact the vote greater then 50-60 percent.

[henry quirk]

If you wanna improve the 'system' (aside from just plain scrapping it): ban all political parties (when someone is elected, 'he' or 'she' is elected, not the bandwagon he or she climbed on to), and, implement a *real 'none of the above' option in every election from the federal level all the way down to the municipal.









*'Real' in that if NotA gets the majority vote, then all the losers go home and cannot participate in that particular election again in that particular cycle. This might mean a post would remain un-filled for quite a while...it might also mean the machine of governance will be stymied from time to time, for goodly chunks of time: fine by me.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by regular.joe

I'm only making the assumption that 90-100 percent of a voting population can impact the vote greater then 50-60 percent.

Especially if that additional 40-50% all cast their votes for a third party.

[classicman]

Here ya go Sam ...

The Bull Moose Party Progressives

We are a small group of individuals who believe neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are accurately serving
“the people” we are of the belief that we can improve the U.S. Government democratically. Some of us were
inspired by the Occupy movement while others have come to the same conclusion from other roads, and that is we
need another party to choose from. Ours will be a party based upon the belief that wealth, whether personal or
corporate does not give one the right to govern. Our system has become corrupted by allowing "our politicians" to
be bought by lobbyists. It cannot continue or we will find ourselves existing as only "Consumers". As of right now
the Bull Moose party consists of myself and a very few other dedicated individuals, that’s it, but we welcome all to
join us if you are of a similar persuasion- we have a charter for this party which outlines our stance on the major
issues, and our bylaws will shed some light on how we will function as an organization.

[SamIam]

Bully! Go, Teddy, go! He was a great character and a great American Progressive. But even Teddy Roosevelt couldn't get elected running as a third party candidate. (sigh) The resurrection of the Bull Moose Party does have a certain quaint charm, though.

[classicman]