It seems the time is ripe for a third party in American politics - Social Democratic Party - a splinter group consisting of liberals from both the present Democratic and Republican parties. Maybe Barrack Obama should take the initiative and establish it!
Anonymous
Favorite Answer
Historically third parties rarely succeed..
When the two major parties (Whatever they are at the time) get so close in their interpretations of their duties to the constitution .. There is generally a big enough shift in one of them to absorb any of the popular movement to a third party.
Of the few successful attempts.. Those have started by the following of a popular figure espousing a policy... rather than a policy attracting a successful candidate.
Mister E
Thats a great idea. Ive often wondered that myself. I believe its because the power bases behind both parties (republican and democrat) work hard to make sure no other party can threaten their dominance. I remember (although I was a youngster) when Ross perot ran for president. For a while there it looked like he had a good chance of winning. Then all of a sudden hre dropped out. We later found out that some republican threatened to embarass his daughter, and to spare her he dropped out. Although he later re-entered the race, the damage had been done, and the threat of a third party extinguished. In Canada, at one point there were five viable parties, but two were liberal, two were conservative, and one was a seperatist, provincial party. But there was no crentrist party. I believe that most people in both countries are really centrists. We vote for either the dems or cons, not out of conviction but because those are the only choices we have. So we vote for the lesser (or least) of bad choices. It would take an alliance of very wealthy and powerful people to start a third party tghat wouldnt somehow be undermined by the powers that be. Many people, including Donald Trump, Mayor Bloomberg and Oprah, have thought about trying, but never followed through. The potential negatives for the wealthy always seem to outweigh thepotential positives, especially considering that generally life is pretty good for them. Its the avergae citizen that suffers. But even if that (centrist) party does at some time come into existence, how long do you think it will take for its representatives to become as beholden to special interest groups as the other two parties??
Bearwithme
We truly do not need political parties anymore. We simply have to do what is best for the country and the world. If we did away with political parties perhaps, we could accomplish more of what is needed to address our growing problems. We need to stop the bickering between parties. Arguing over who is right or wrong and paying for ads attacking political opponents is fruitless. We need to join together and solve our problems, no more, no less.
Anonymous
What would be the planks of a new party's platform in the area of taxes, national defense, energy, immigration, education, and health care. Conservatives and liberals are pretty clear about their respective stances regarding these issues.
edward
Try the Constitution party