Americans Want a Major Third Party
53% of adults want a viable political alternative to the two older U.S. parties, according to a poll commissioned by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. That’s an increase of 3%
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/11673
May 25th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
This survey was amazing to me. Where are these people that are looking for a third party alternative? Are they not vocal or organized? Or are they (we) just too diverse to come together and actually challange the two major parties?
May 25th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
I only recently started looking seriously at the Libertarian party as an alternative to the other two, so it’s pretty fresh in my mind what I was thinking before my first meeting with the Pueblo group. Here’s what I thought: The Libertarian party is just one of those “throw away your vote” parties that I see at the bottom of the ballot’s list of candidates. I didn’t have a clue what the party’s principles were. They never have any candidates that I’ve ever heard the name of. They can’t afford any political advertising. You never see them in debates. Ross Perot came as close as anyone to a third-party alternative and we saw him crumble in the debates.
So if the Libertarians want to capitalize on those 53%, they need to bring their gig to where the big boys play. A grass-roots effort can be powerful, but unfortunately the party needs the same amount of money and exposure as its opponents have to get noticed.
May 26th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
I don’t see the 53% making any attempt at the poles to support any 3rd party. Maybe it is the whiners who don’t vote that make up 53%. Interesting that more people vote on American Idol than vote in national elections. One of the reasons you don’t here from other parties in the debates is that the sponcers of the debate control who can debate. In the last senate race Rick Stanley (libertarian) wanted to debate Allard and Strickland and was not allowed to because of the sponcer. I called ask why Stanley could not be in the debates and was told , nobody cares to hear about the 3rd parties. Few people think for them selves as there are unions, news papers and the parties to help those who don’t think for them selves. I believe that the Democracy has taken over and when it is jeprodized by the 3rd parties evil things are threated. History has proven this.
May 28th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
So the deck is stacked against third parties in general. It might seem reasonable to just fold up, give up, and go home. But I like to think that maybe there are some things that third parties in general, and Libertarians in particular, can do. The free state project is one attempt to get enough like minded Libertarians together in one place where they can concentrate their resources, combine voting strength and perhaps make it to a national election.
I see a glimmer of possibility in the Libertarin blogs that are springing up on the Internet. Perhaps that will be a way to get in touch and come together as a more cohesive national group.
I strongly suspect that it will take many years of work to get the kind of attention, support and money necessary to compete in a national election.
June 6th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
The public fool system and colleges have brainwashed the people for the past 100 or so years. There is no or very little defferance between the two major parties and the can not see the forest for the trees. The We The People Congress is the first group nation wide that has had an impact on so many people. I think many of these people fall into the third parties.
We don’t have a lot of time because I read that President Bush has made deals with President Fox and Prime minister Martin and formed “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America”(SSP.). This is to go into affect in 2008. Then we will have free trade and open boarders. You can read about this at http://www.spp.gov/. Also google “Jerome R. Corsi PhD for more info
A large portion of the population have to get sick of what is going on before any change will take place.