Quote:
Originally Posted by ottyhotties
I'm with you I would love to see third party independents rise too. But how does it happen? One party will split like Whigs did into Republicans and we're still left with a two party system. For all you people talking about how a two party system is bad and things can't change in a two party system, how do you prevent a new party from swallowing a former party?
The only way to prevent it is to become a parliamentary democracy and totally re-write our constitution. That's why I don't waste my vote on independents it's a default vote to the more powerful party at the moment.
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We actually came close to having a third party not too long ago when Perot ran. He started the reform party and actually got a lot of votes. Of course he was kind of a lunatic and came off as such, but they still had a lot of power after that first election. They got some congressional reps elected, a governor and many local reps elected with that party. But then the party fell apart and they lost all credibility later on when the leaders of that party started suing each other.
To have a legit third party you simply need everyone who doesn't vote or who says it doesn't matter who they vote for to actually vote for a third party candidate. If all of those people voted libertarian this last election he wouldn't have won, but he would have made a lot of noise and it would have put the party on the map. They then could focus the next 4-6 years on local and state elections as well as maybe challenging in some congressional districts while choosing and grooming a good presidential candidate.
But I don't see it happening unless you get another person who has a ton of money and is willing to spend it to create a party and put it on the map like Perot did.
In the end as much as many people claim to want change they really don't, they just like to bitch and blame others for their problems.