The October 13, 2013 New York Times has this discussion on whether the election of 2014 might result in more independent and minor party candidates being elected.
The October 13, 2013 New York Times has this discussion on whether the election of 2014 might result in more independent and minor party candidates being elected.
The sad thing about that article is that only ONE of the NYT’s debaters is even open to the possibility that independent or third party candidates have a shot at this. Worse, the whole discussion seems focused mainly around independents, as if parties such as the Greens and Libertarians aren’t deserving of being recognized as political parties. It’s a bi-partisan hackfest in there.
Were I to somehow have enough credibility to join that debate, I’d be stressing historical successes by third parties (ie, 1860, early 1900’s) along with the fact that Obama’s policies aren’t much different than Bush’s were. In fact, given popular anger and the efforts of journalists like Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald to expose the corruption of the Establishment, this might be the biggest opening for third parties and independents in decades.