Ezra Klein and Matt Miller discuss whether or not a new major political party in the United States would be beneficial, in this post on Ezra Klein’s blog. Both are writers for the Washington Post. Klein does not support the idea of a new party, but Miller does.
Ezra Klein suggests that when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected in California, that was the same type of event as the election of a third party president. His example is not convincing. If Schwarzenegger had run as an independent and been elected, his years in office would have been far different. But, he was elected as a Republican, which did not shake up California at all. California has had many Republican Governors in the past 30 years. In fact, California has had Republican Governors for 23 of the last 29 years. The last time California had a third party Governor, California politics did get shaken up. The last California third party Governor was Hiram Johnson, elected as the Progressive Party nominee in 1914.
Hiram Johnson was elected as a Republican in 1910. The initiative, recall, direct primaries, and female suffrage were passed during his first term. He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in California in 1912. He did not finish his 2nd term, having been elected to the US Senate as a Republican.
Hiram Johnson was the Progressive Party’s nominee for vice-president in 1912; he was the Progressive Party’s nominee for California Governor in 1914; and he was jointly the nominee of both the Progressive Party and the Republican Party for US Senate in 1916.
Many of Johnson’s reforms were passed in 1913 and 1914, when he was a registered Progressive.
The Republican Party nominee for vice-president in 1912 was James S. Sherman, who died just before the election. The Taft electors voted for Nicholas Murray Butler for vice-president in December 1912.
Although I like Ezra Klein, I thought Matt Miller bested him in that debate. Klein kept talking about a third party (presumably AE) becoming a spoiler against Obama. At one point, he said Ross Perot “helped elect” Bill Clinton, when that’s actually a myth.
Exit polling showed Perot drew equally from Bush and Clinton. Thirty-eight percent of Perot voters said they would have voted for Bush, and 38 percent said they would have voted for Clinton–if Perot had not been on the ballot. The fact that a third party might be a spoiler is not a reason not to do it. It’s a reason for election reform.
More, less or same government ???
Something new or different for any New Age *major new* party ???
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
I think a Yes/No voting system would be beneficial. People should be able to say yes or no when voting (even if they lean that way). Mix approval voting with disapproval voting, candidate with the most votes wins!