Gallup Polls has been asking the U.S. public if they feel a major new party is needed, ever since 2003. The latest such poll shows 58% responding “Yes”, 35% “No”, and 7% undecided. See this story. That is tied for the highest response ever recorded in this poll. Thanks to Peter Gemma for the link.
Many people when asked will give lip service to supporting a “third party” yet when election day rolls around will slip into the same old routine they’re accustomed to and support the “lesser evil” instead of voting for the (sometimes) ballot listed “third” choice.
http://tinyurl.com/23asyc6
Or coming up with another alternative, that deciding not to vote.
#1: Many Americans who start out backing a third party or independent candidate decide, late in the campaign, to “go home” and wind up voting for one of the two major party candidates.
The poll question was about a third MAJOR party. The history in the U. S. is that one of the two major parties fades out before it is replaced by a new party. The Federalists ceased circa 1815, and we had the “Era of Good Feelings” until the early to mid-1820s. The National Republicans broke away from the party that is today called the Democratic Party.
The Nat’l Republicans were dead by the time the Whig Party began in late 1833. And the Whigs were as good as dead when today’s Republican Party was founded in 1854.
We’ve finally emerged from the political morass of the “security state”, when all poltics were subordinated to “9/11 fever”. Now maybe with the economic crisis and people feeling a little freer to speak their minds, now maybe we can have an affect on politics again.
Steve Rankin and Darryl W. Perry, are both correct in their comments. If, the voters were convinced the candidates of such a new party could win, and of course they supported philosophically such candidates, such a party would be successful.
To suggest a new party cannot elect someone is simply defying historical facts. 3rd party and Independent candidates have won in many 3 way races throughout the US. But in practially all of these races, the candidate was popular, had the money to campaign with, and the people liked what the candidate stood for.
I give three somewhat recent examples: Wallace winning 5 Southern states in the ’68 Presidential election, Jesse Ventura winning the governorship of Minnesota, and Michael Bloomberg winning re-election as Mayor of New York, with almost 1/3 of his vote coming from a 3rd party.
So yes, there is hope. Maybe the economic times will get bad enough people will discard this “I don’t want to throw my vote away” nonsense. Any time one votes for the “lesser of two evils” or votes for someone who they don’t agree with philosophically, they are still “throwing their vote away.” But I guess they justify such by saying – especially if the candidate won – we’ll “my” candidate won. And even in a two way race with only major party candidate, if your guy loses, you’ve “thrown your vote away.” It is silly how some people justify why they vote certain ways.
I’ve attempted for years to get 3rd parties to prove they can win by starting locally. I’ve suggested each select one small rural county with about 15,000 voters which elected county official on a partisan ballot. Make this a prototype, and keep working until they elected all or a majority of the public offices in this county. Not only will this dispell the myth 3rd parties can’t win, but hopefully the success in the prototpe county will spread to the next county and finally throughout the state.
But, like many of my suggestions, most 3rd partisan will scoff and move on. Seems like they prefer losing so they’ll have something to gripe about.
Well, we’ve solved this problem in Nevada;
It’s called the ‘Independent American Party’.
And we do focus on local races.
When will the Gallup pollster MORONS ask the public about the ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymanders in the U.S.A. and State regimes ???
About 97 percent of the standard gerrymander districts are de facto ONE party regimes — in the Stone Age — having party hack arrogant control freak Dictator legislators.
P.R. and App.V. — before it is too late and the EVIL gerrymander monsters start Civil WAR II and/or World WAR III.
Cody: I just looked at your IAP website, and while I will have to congratulate you folks on fielding a number of candidates, this is not exactly what I was referring to. I said “select one small rural county with about 15,000 voters which elects county officials on a partisan ballot and keep working until all or a majority of them are elected to the public offices in this county.”
I notice in Eureka County, only IAP candidate, incumbent Jackie Berg, is running for re-election. Surely there must other offices in Eureka County to be filled this year other than the office she is seeking re-election to?
Instead, you are attempting the “shotgun” approach by attempting to elect local officials from a dozen or more counties. Unless you guys have at least $25,000 for each of these candidates in those counties, you are kidding yourself.
But it’s your party and your money. You guys do what you think best. Instead, if there are other offices in Eureka County to be voted on besides the one Jackie Berg is seeking re-election to, you would have been building the party better by fielding and financing candidacies for each office to be filled.
Just think of the political waves you folks could make if the Wed AM headlines of Nov 3rd read: “IAP Candidates Sweep Eureka County.” This is the way you build a party. Getting 5% or even 10% of the vote – and losing with a dozen or so candidates, won’t get you those kinds of headlines.
Oh well, 3rd parties usually have “prima donnas” for leaders anyway.
#5: Since you believe so strongly in third parties and independents, can we assume that you never vote in Democratic or Republican primaries?
Bloomberg in 2009, of course, had the Republican line as well as the Independence Party line. Despite spending millions, he only won by some 5%.
There were a number of factors in Ventura’s 1998 win (37% to 35% to 28%). He had celebrity status; he was allowed to participate in all the debates; and Minnesota has same-day voter registration. The latter enabled Ventura to get a lot of votes from young people.