Perceived Need for Third Party Reaches New High

[amrchaos]

Come to think about it--most modern democracies have loose-knit parties!!

 

[waronwhistleblo]

 

[OKTexas]

A better idea would be to eliminate PAC's and change the way elections are funded. As it stands, the politicians are beholding to those who finance their campaigns, which invariably means special interests and corporations. If the parties were funded by tax dollars, their obligation would be to the taxpayers and those in Congress and the Senate wouldn't have to spend half of their time fundraising. Corporations and the wealthy wouldn't hold the same level of influence over politicians.

Canada had a system whereby parties received $2.00 per voter and private donations were limited to $1000 per campaign, but once the Conservatives achieved a majority in the House of Commons, they cancelled the voter payment and went to a US style of fundraising, thinking they could bury the other parties financially. The taxpayer funded elections were, IMO, more democratic. There hasn't been an selection since the law was changed so there's no evidence yet as to how the system will be affected.

Funding should be limited to the area the politican represents that would stop a bunch of crap.

 

[OKTexas]

The dems should purge themselves of all the leftist, socialist that want the federal government to be all things to all people and address every woe in the freaking world. Yep that should do it.

Yep, the Democratic party believes the government belongs to the people's and can be used for the betterment of the people.
The Republican party believes government should leave citizens on their own, but aid business.

The federal government should only be concerned with managing the union and doing only those things a state can't do on their own, that's their jobs. They shouldn't be taking my money to help someone else buy a car, house, a freaking phone or subsidize their damned kids.

 

[Duped]

Both parties suck - that's for sure, but liberalism like all the other isms is insane. How about the independent party? We are so screwed!

 

[sfcalifornia]

We don't need a just a third party, we need a fourth, fifth and sixth party. In other words, we need to abolish the electoral college and encourage a more parliamentary system of government. The two party system is 100% due to the electoral college and until it is abolished, we will ALL have to compromise part of our political beliefs in order to "settle" for the candidate which most closely suits our preferences. That's ridiculous. I would rather vote for a candidate who matches 80 to 90 percent of my political beliefs than settle for a candidate who matches 30 to 40%.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Yep, the Democratic party believes the government belongs to the people's and can be used for the betterment of the people.

The Republican party believes government should leave citizens on their own, but aid business.

?Dutch sandwich? grows as Google shifts ?8.8 billion to Bermuda

 

[Dot Com]

As Dragonlady touched on, in our system, only those who belong to (or caucus with) big parties can bring home the bacon. So only they can get serious campaign funding, so only they can win.

Thus, for 3rd parties to be viable, campaign finance reform is required first.

And no, it won't destroy democracy. Most modern democracies use some degree of public funding, and they haven't devolved into totalitarianism.

^ that

we can't even think about giving people other choices until the money-issue is resolved.

 

[blackhawk]

You have other parties Libertarian and Green for a couple of examples of course they are so far outside the mainstream they make themselves irrelevant if there was a party that could bridge the idiocy gap of the far left and right I would support them in a heartbeat.

 

[candycorn]

I disagree. I'm an Indi and I'd love to have a third party. I'm sure other Indi's would as well.

Same here. Currently however, we don't have 2 parties; we have one party in my estimation.... Which Democrat I will vote for in the primaries is the only real choice nationally. The Party bosses have determined that a Democrat is A, B, C, D, E ... and their counterparts on the other side have determined that a Republican is A, B, C, D, E ... If you want a Democrat who is pro voter ID; you're going to be waiting a long time; the bosses who determine the candidates that will receive funding wouldn't hear of it. If you're waiting for a pro-choice republican...pack a lunch (for the rest of your life).

So you decide what is important to you and gravitate to one of the two major parties and you all but ignore the other (nationally anyway).

 

[JakeStarkey]

I will give ACA up if Citizens United is overturned.