i don't get it. why aren't 3rd parties more popular?

Because we have a winner take all system. You should take a government class or something.

Ok ok...here's an update for you then since you obviously didn't understand what I was saying...

If a third party starts winning a lot of races, then they aren't a third party. They become the second party and one of the other two exits. It has happened multiple times in our history. Republicans and Democrats weren't even thought of as parties in 1776.

Plain and simple, they don't have a media outlet. Rahm Emmanuel approached NBC/MSNBC's Jeff Immelt of GE and now General electric has a monopoly in health care, wind turbines, batteries, and GE engines. Pay for Play. AP and Reuters are illuminati as well as many of the other outlets. NY Times made money off of Obama merchandise. It's all greedy union mafia using SEIU and Acorn as thugs to get votes and they also stuff the ballot boxes (Ohio)

People are stuck in their old ways. In grade school and high school we were never taught about 3rd parties people have it in there mind that we only have 2 parties. People also get stuck in the same pattern too. The republicans screw things up the Democrats take over they screw up the republicans take over people think we only have one answer when really maybe the real answer is to vote for another party.

It's because of the laws of the land. Reality is the Republicans and Democrats couldn't raise the money to be a legitimate 3rd party (if they were on the outside looking in) because of all the red tape.

The 2 major parties have an unspoken agreement that they will work together to snuff out any 3rd parties as a 3rd party would be a threat to both.

Because the number 3 is way above the math level of the average American? Three parties would throw the public into utter chaos? Journalists would sit in a corner and sob uncontrollably? Lobbyists would throw themselves from their office window in despair (even if it is on the ground floor)?

Our electoral system is winner-take-all, so there's a natural tendency towards having only two major parties. A third party can succeed only by displacing one of them, and both are far too well-funded and entrenched for that to happen.

I blame Chain-Mails. Or rather, the idea of Chain-Mails. If someone who doesn't even care about politics decides he or she should vote, they soak up the media and will decide on whatever they hear.

The corporate media controls our elections. We have a government of corporations, by corporations, and for corporations.

You are kinda like me. I lean more libertarian, but tend to vote Republican from time to time. On a local level, I usually always vote libertarian.