We are so focused on the Two Political parties that we forget or do we know that there are more contenders for the Presidential position. Why do we not hear them speak?
We listened to Ralph Nader tell the truth and saw him make things work yet we do not allow him to speak before the American people in the same capacity as the two political parties. Why are their words kept from the American people?
We do have free speech…that is censored by Main Stream Media that is owned by Corporate America who buys the vote that has the most profits to lose, the greed that takes down the house from within.
If all those who did not want either of the top two would vote for who they wanted and not to keep the other out…we just might see another political party in office.
The deck is stacked against smaller parties, no question. But, I’d also argue that some of these parties lack good internal organization, rarely even presenting or supporting local candidates in smaller elections. With the exceptions of the Libertarians and the Green Party, most smaller political groups have no grassroots support. If they can’t even get a basic organization, it’s hard to justify why they SHOULD be included in, say, the debates.
But, it does happen. Ross Perot and the Reform Party actually made a good go of it in the ‘90s (before the group was hijacked by Pat Buchanan’s conservative Christian following), even getting a Governor in Jesse Ventura. Nader has certainly made his attempts, although he seriously has become a parody of himself in the last two elections.
I agree that the Libertarians, with some more polish, have the potential to be more successful than they are. They have what, in my mind, would appeal to more people if they could get more organized. I’m a centrist, so I don’t really agree with their philosophy, but I can appreciate their point of view.
The Green party is in complete disarray, evidenced by the near ludicrous choice of Cynthia McKinney for this year’s pathetic attempt. At what point does a group of people become desperate enough to nominate a defeated congressman best known for slapping a Capitol cop who believes 9/11 was a conspiracy?
I agree with Steve, the best chance for a third party was Perot’s success in 92 and they allowed themselves to be high jacked.
I’d be thrilled with a Common Sense centrist party, but it ain’t gonna happen.
To me the whole 2 party system is entrenched by the Electoral College. Neither party will want to give up their ‘winner take all’ approach to state votes. This stupid way of ‘voting’ not only doesn’t allow any 3rd party to make inroads, it doesn’t serve the one-person one-vote that democracy demands.
It has been my contention for a while now that the two major parties are each so diverse and have grown too large to sustain themselves. Like cells whose surface area and appearances are much too small for the vastness that they contain, they need to split. Both parties. The Republicans are not all moral majority Christians whose only issues are Roe v. Wade and saying prayer in school. Nor do they all want less government and more tax breaks for the wealthy. Democrats are not all godless people who want to separate church and state. Nor are they all nutjobs who want the government to give them free tickets to ride, nor just people who want to hug trees and stop all industry for one spotted owl. Neither side are best represented by their extremists. Then maybe they’ll be a party that represents me. Or you.
A friend of mine called a few days ago and opened with “when are people going to wake up and realize that a two-party system means that there will be polarization?” Of course. Americans seem to love the black-and-white answers and NOTHING is ever so simple. Like George W. Bush proclaiming “You’re either with us or you’re for the terrorists” it’s idiotic and about as American as Hollywood.
So how to affect this change, from a one-or-two party system to a multi-party system that truly represents a democracy. The forging of alliances and bonds because no one party is in power. A president from one party, a VP from another party and an executive cabinet made up of many parties, many viewpoints.
First, trash this stinking Electorial College, I say. Go back to one-person/one-vote. Allow my vote to feel like a voice again. If you’re going to vote for McCain in Illinois this year, face it. YOUR VOTE DOESN’T COUNT. If you’re from Oklahoma and you vote for Obama, YOUR VOTE DOESN’T COUNT. It’s an antiquated system and should be junked. Also, all this stinking redistricting of people in high density areas in shapes that look like trails of smoke. District people in clean and simple ways. Try zip codes. Try geographic differences. Use mineral deposits, I don’t care, just stop screwing with the electorate to maintain a two-party system of power.
As soon as this election is over i’m registering as an independent or certainly un-registering as a Democrat. The whole two party system makes me sick.
If enough people voted other than top two, alternatives might be taken seriously.
Sure, that’s obvious, but two questions:
Who would I, as a centrist, consider representative of my views? The Greens are far left and the Libertarians are far right.
Why would I possibly enable a McCain White House? In four years if there’s a viable option I may take it, but there’s too much to risk with this election.
I have to admit that I do not know the difference in the Republican or Democratic parties. I do know right from wrong and truth before lies.
In my experience with the Corporate World and working for a Political campaign in the past I saw that he who has the most money makes the rules.
Growing up in the town that Hershey built I know the difference that one person can make in the World. Whose principles were to better the lives of the people in the Community not to create wealth for his EGO.
Only when enough is enough and we stand together as citizens of the U.S. and become responsible for holding our Government accountable, will we regain the Freedoms our Forefathers laid out in the Constitution.
Good thing that the planets are aligned to make this happen. Get ready for the change!
The situation seems to be that there have been no viable candidates in a third party since H Ross Perot and he did it, apparently, with tons of his own money. As for the two parties we now have, they are both far from monolithic in spite of efforts to make them appear so. Both parties have a centrist element that overlaps. It is this centrist element that most of us tend to gravitate toward and where a candidate can truly attract voters from the opposite party.
Regarding the Libertarian Party, not so that they are far right. On social issues many Libertarians differ from social conservatives or the so called Christian Right most notably on the abortion and gay rights. Socially, their right on the money but on the economic front I have grave misgivings about what they think is a workable system.
Ideologies are what hinders our government from progressing on our behalf. To adapt and adhere to any particular dogmatism is the wrong way to go for our leaders who represent a very broad spectrum of thinking. The over use of labels to discredit various ideas is doing us a disservice. A viable Democracy should be an open discussion of the pertinent issues of the day and all quarters should be heard and considered.
Somewhere it has been said that a democracy requires a well informed electorate. Where is that to be found? Not at either extreme, rest assured, for those on the fringes of the process will not even look at anything their opposites are thinking. They will take as fact any rubbish their heroes fling at them even in the face of pretty convincing evidence they are simply false.
In a sense the information highway has served the forces of division by providing a way to perpetrate lies and misinformation that is all too readily accepted by partisans. How many of us actually examine what our favorite commentators are saying? Most of us are like kids at a football game stirred into a frenzy by these professional cheer leaders. The web has served to exacerbate this problem.
Listening to Palin’s speech on URTV she made a comment about being born in Columbia but she was made in the United States of America. Research states Sarah Louise Heath Palin’s birth in 1964 is in Sandpoint, Idaho. Does anyone know what she meant by this comment?
Listening to Palin’s speech on URTV she made a comment about being born in Columbia but she was made in the United States of America. Research states Sarah Louise Heath Palin’s birth in 1964 is in Sandpoint, Idaho. Does anyone know what she meant by this comment?
I suggest you may have heard wrong. She was talking about Columbia University and a possible connection for Obama with a radical professor.
Transcripts are available but could not find a video. In regards to the charge I ask so what? The Palestinians, in my view, have gotten the short end of the stick. Yes, Arafat and the PLO employed terrorism as a weapon against who they saw as their oppressor. It’s a problem for any minority or disenfranchised people to be heard or to fight for what they believe is rightfully theirs when they are without a country or an army.
A reminder to those who would think poorly of such tactics, this nation was born with the help of terrorism. It was also an integral part of the war between the states. I have long believed that Israels maltreatment of the Palestinians is the root cause of the mess we’re in. We, in effect, left the Israelis to their own devices. What choice did they have? A settlement ought to have been attempted by the international community, very early, like when the fighting began with the British to expel them.
Tom, before I respond to this, may I ask what this has to do with what glolady brought up? Are you talking about Ayers and his tactics?
Who’s Ayers? Nope, was about Palin smears around a Professor at Columbia who happened to be a spokesman for the PLO few years back and a ...? trying to track down something Palin said on TV. Look aback at glolady’s posts. We may not be talking on the same page.
Thanks, are you recruiting posters for your blog? Truth be told, I could not watch 2 minutes of that woman speaking let alone an hour. She reminds me of a cousin who was a snotty little [word for female pooch] I harbor no impulses toward committing violence against women but I have to say, Sarah pushes me close to the edge like I’m going out today to buy a Sarah Palin Barbie doll to beat the crap out of. After I’m finished I’ll leave the remnants for my RAT terrier to finish off.
