On November 29, an NBC/Gen Forward poll was released. The respondents were limited to persons age 18-34. The results are that 71% of persons in that age group believe a new major party is needed; only 26% disagree. Men were slightly more likely to favor a new party than women.
Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
Lots of people will say that they favor a new political party, but when the discussion gets down to what such a party should represent, it gets very muddled. In truth, what is needed is not one, but several new parties to accommodate the divergent points of view of those who reject both the Democrats and Republicans. In fact, several such parties exist already. They just need an election system that gives them a better chance.
MORE OR LESS CONTROL FREAK STATISM.
Nothing new in 6,000 plus years.
Indeed, Walt.
Agreed for the most part with Walt. However, it also is dependent on the willingness of the non-major parties themselves, and those affiliated with said parties, to be more active with putting their platform out there. Frustratingly, I’ve seen several parties where they have good ideas and discussions, but they sometimes seem more content to discuss rather than take action.
I think that the larger minor parties in existence today have failed to take advantage of the public’s stated willingness to entertain candidates who run outside the major parties in part because the ideological purity that justifies their continued existence also alienates the vast majority of voters who just want to have politicians who they think are reasonable.
This article is in many ways a stunning disconnect from reality. How do they write an article about a Millennial poll showing that 71% of them want a ‘3rd’ Party without even mentioning the existing major ‘3rd’ parties? How about some discussion of why ‘3rd’ parties aren’t more prominent? Are they afraid of expose the fact that the US is the least democratic country in the western world? Or do they not even know?
There was likely selection bias. Respondents were paid to respond to the poll which was mostly conducted over the internet. If responses were independent of whether the respondent was being paid, there would be no reason to pay. Actually, the respondents were paid with a cash equivalent. If it were in the form of a voucher, then the product might have influenced response. If you don’t have a dog, $3 off a bag of dog food has NO practical worth.
@ Clay, both the Libertarian And Green Parties have a rather diverse following, philosophically. Both also did an amazing job of putting out their message, considering how little coverage they received from major media outlets. When the election drew close the broad support that they had built, withered under the lights and glitter of big spending campaigns. I expect that most of these “independent” youth will fall to hype of the moment, instead of voting to to build an alternative.