Other Parties Besides the Democrats and Republicans

[Rainbow Mage]

Because let's face it, this two party system is getting old, stagnated, and corrupt as hell. What other parties are there besides the Republicans and Democrats? I know about the Independents, I know about the Socialist party, the Communist party, the Libertarians. What others are there? I am seriously considering switching my affiliation to Socialist, because I have to be true to myself. Democrats may support some Socialistic ideals, but not nearly enough, and they're very to the right as well, not as right as Republicans, but still right. Your thoughts?

 

[Revoltingest]

It makes sense to find a party where you feel at home.
The Libertarian Party gives me that.

 

[Smoke]

I kind of like the SP-USA, but I can't vote for them because they're not on the ballot in my state.

I generally vote Green if given the opportunity, though I just couldn't bring myself to vote for Cynthia McKinney.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Do you guys feel the other parties have a serious chance of making a difference? This is something that worries me most. I may switch my affiliation to Socialist, seriously.

 

[Revoltingest]

Do you guys feel the other parties have a serious chance of making a difference? This is something that worries me most. I may switch my affiliation to Socialist, seriously.

I eventually figured out that I can't predict what is best. Do I vote for the lesser of 2 evils, or for the perennial loser I prefer? In the
former I have a vanishingly small chance of affecting the outcome of an election. In the latter I register my support for what I believe.
I've decided that since I can't know which is best, I'll just vote the candidate who reflects my values. I'm happier as a result.
Worrying about it is useless.

 

[Smoke]

Do you guys feel the other parties have a serious chance of making a difference? This is something that worries me most. I may switch my affiliation to Socialist, seriously.

I don't think we're ever going to see a Green, Socialist, or Libertarian president. Even a congressman is kind of pushing it. But I think third parties are valuable in sending a message to the major parties. The more people vote Green or Socialist, the more the Democrats know they're losing the progressive vote. The more people vote Libertarian, the more Republicans know they're losing their free market constituency. I see it as a means of protest and possibly a means of applying pressure.

The Democrats, at least, can't claim it doesn't have any effect, after so loudly blaming Ralph Nader for costing them the 2000 election, even though Gore couldn't even carry his home state.

 

[T-Dawg]

I generally vote Green if given the opportunity, though I just couldn't bring myself to vote for Cynthia McKinney.

I've heard people say this a lot... can someone explain to me what was wrong with Cynthia McKinney? I don't really know much about her...

 

[Smoke]

I've heard people say this a lot... can someone explain to me what was wrong with Cynthia McKinney? I don't really know much about her...

She was the Congresswoman who walked around a metal detector at the Capitol, which she was entitled, as a Congresswoman, to do. The policeman didn't recognize her, she refused to respond to his calling after her, he grabbed her arm, and she punched him in the chest. That's pretty questionable, but up till there I could sympathize with her, if she'd just said sorry, she didn't realize he was calling her, didn't realize he was a cop, or whatever. Instead she tried to blow it up into a whole sexist, racist controversy where she was being picked on because she was a black woman, and that's where she lost my sympathy.

It's pretty much where she lost everybody's sympathy, and she eventually made a kind of back-handed apology of the "it's regrettable that this happened" type, and I despise that kind of apology, too. Apologize for real or stand your ground.

She also associated herself with the New Black Panther Party, which is listed by the SPLC as a hate group. The NBPP is anti-semitic, McKinney's father is anti-Semitic, and McKinney never seemed to have any problem with either one.

She also has a disturbing tendency to believe in conspiracy theories.

I just thought she'd be a complete disaster as President, and even knowing there was no way she'd get elected, I thought voting for her would send the wrong kind of message. (I.e., I'm so anti-Bush that I'm completely insane.)

It was a shame, though, because she was virulently anti-war and anti-Bush, and I liked those two things about her.

 

[Darkness]

Single-member plurality voting systems tend to give power to a two-party system. If you really want to change the system, you should be advocating proportional representation. That would probably make third parties more viable on the state and local levels, eventually working their way up to representation on the national level.

 

[Father Heathen]

I like the idea of third parties rising and become viable contenders, but first they must gain popularity and influence at the local level before having a shot at the national level.

Edit: What darkness said.

 

[JMorris]

Do you guys feel the other parties have a serious chance of making a difference? This is something that worries me most. I may switch my affiliation to Socialist, seriously.

if the left keep voting for the dems, their going to keep being disappointed. & if libertarians keep voting for the reps they'll have the same. you cant change anything unless you start changing who you vote for. tho, if a 3rd party won a major election, i doubt they'd be allowed to take office.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Why wouldn't they be allowed to take office?

 

[JMorris]

Why wouldn't they be allowed to take office?

im sure the ruling two parties would find a reason. faked voters fraud or something like that. lol, im not saying that with any certitude, it just seems likely to me, given how much the major two have worked together to keep out other parties.

 

[Mister Emu]

House of Rep would become even more important if third parties gained enough to actually win several states in a presidential election...

 

[Mathematician]

As others have said, the best shot at defeating the duality between ******* and elephant is to reform plurality voting. As of right now, the only viable option for third parties is to either be sponsored by a billionaire or form a coalition within existing parties and break off.

The SP-USA is okay; a recent controversy emerged after the party tried to kick Brian Moore (its 2008 presidential candidate) out of the party. There's constant infighting between the social democrats and Marxists. In fact, that seems to be common for virtually all socialist parties in the US. There's probably twenty of them all representing the same spectrum of ideologies.

 

[Smoke]

tho, if a 3rd party won a major election, i doubt they'd be allowed to take office.

They won't be allowed to win a major election. The two major parties make very sure to stack the deck against third-party candidates.

 

[Darkness]

They won't be allowed to win a major election. The two major parties make very sure to stack the deck against third-party candidates.

It is precisely why third-parties need to stop making idiotic attempts for the presidency. They need to focus their attention on one state or district.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Strange to think that once in our history there was actually a unified Democratic-Republican party originally formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in around 1792 opposing the Federalist party.

The party broke up into factions of which Andrew Jackson led the Democratic party and Adams and Clay led the National Republicans and Whig Parties. The modern Republican Party was formed via a coalition of anti slavery-Whigs and members of the Free Soil Democrats and No-Nothings.

Based on our history, it seems that it takes major issues to cause the formations of new parties, and the zillion billion dollar question is what unresolvable issue(s) exists today would be strong enough to warrant and enable a new party to form and forcefully put itself in the limelight as a serious contender that can tackle those issues? Can even a new party have a snowballs chance so due to political entrenchment?

Of course, a lot of this is due to lobbying that started harmlessly enough in the First Congress during the late 1700's by the common citizenry of which to have their issues heard, but later morphed into the horrible shadiness of today perpetuated by groups trying to push things through before the public catches on of which this has been snowballing ever so more out of control, that which will continuously remain a non-issue/concern with elected officials belonging to any party for the obvious reasons.

Due to this cancer the party I would personally join would be the one who's mission statement would include a serious reformation of lobbying, and the imposition of term limits in government to stop all this madness that's going on. As of now, I honestly quit all parties until one of them comes to their senses if ever that will happen, or a newly formed one that actually sees the trees in the forest and knows what direction to take without the need for political platitudes. -NM-

 

[Darkness]

I am all for starting and fighting for a vibrant labour party in the United States. Me thinks it is an easier platform to run on than a straight-up socialist platform. Considering the demand for jobs and the attention the unemployment rates have garnered the time is actually quite ripe for a labour party. Hmmm... maybe I will attempt to start a labour party at my University as a sort of club.

 

[Mathematician]

The Green Party is basically America's labor, though.

Really if people would stop being naive opportunists a noticable coalition could form to challenge the Democrats and Republicans for at least some media attention. We don't need a Communist Party, a Socialist Party, a Socialist Liberation Party, a Reform Party, a Constitution Party, etc. The Libertarian and Green Parties are the largest competitors. Neither of them appear corrupt. Stick with them.