What would it take to make a viable third party?

[Eskimo Jim]

Flechette,
This is my opinion, briefly, on what it would take for a third party to be viable in today's political climate:

1) it would have to start from the ground up and win enough local elections for state legislature and Governor before it could gain national support.

2) another option would be for a significant 'branch' of a national party to be willing to break off and become their own party. This is much more 'chancy' because the branch of a major political party would probably have a hard time getting the funding necessary to win election.

Jim

 

[FTF]

I think our current third party (Libertarian) has a pretty decent impact on politics in this country. That makes them viable in my opinion. The other two parties can either ignore the vote or attempt to move them over to their side. On the Republican side, that means returning to their conservative roots, on the Democratic side, that means moving away from the left. Both options are wins in my opinions. They'll eventually be assimililated but by which side is the question... hopefully the Grand Ol Party since they haven't moved as far left as the Dems.

 

[P5 Guy]

3rd party?

The media. They have to be given equal time and acess to the public. Now the media outlets pick the biggest nut jobs and let them ramble while the professional politicals stick to 'talking points'
Remember Ross?
Max Lynn was given time with Chris on msn just to try to take votes from Crist so Davis would have a chance in the debate.
Yes I'd like to see some fresh ideas presented by people not already deeply entrenched in the special interests and really represent the citizens that elected them. I'm a dreamer!

 

[Gifted]

This is much more 'chancy' because the branch of a major political party would probably have a hard time getting the funding necessary to win election.

How so? Ideally, the people funding these people would come with them, and since little would change(we are going for the true conservatives, right?) in the individual's platform, they'd have little reason to drop them. This is also much easier in the local elections I'm looking at. Really, one of the reasons I'm looking at local parties is an alternate future we don't like to talk about, we'd have firmly entrenched areas supporting true liberty, and the high level financial and political networking needed. I don't see a true conservative third party being unchallenged or uncorrupted for terribly long, and we'll have other problems forcing issues eventually anyway.

 

[RealGun]

we are going for the true conservatives, right?

Not really. A self-appointed cognoscenti group wouldn't have wide enough appeal to go anywhere. I think what you need is the "big tent" identity of one of the existing major parties minus a few key, polarizing issues, remaining neutral on them. Another good one is a major hot button issue that neither party has addressed with any popularity. A good example there would be illegal immigration. I don't see that being resolved to the general public's satisfaction.

Another powerful issue is the Supreme Court, how it finds jurisdiction, and how it too frequently differs from a plain reading of the Constitution. You could say this concern is embodied in conservatism, but the reality is that a conservative party would spend too much energy trying to be pure, failing on the pragmatic necessities of real politics.

 

[RealGun]

I don't recall to whom to attribute the idea, but changing the voting system to allow a first and second choice would allow a good argument to remove the impediments for third parties getting on the ballot. If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, then the second choices come into play without a runoff election or lack of any mandate by the winner. So, to get serious about a third party being successful, the election laws might need to be addressed first. They are clearly intended to make success improbable for third parties.

 

[Dan from MI]

It would take at least 20 years, several victories, top level candidates, and a ton of money in several states to get the name recognition required to even consider a winning third party.

Until then, they are all just protest votes.

That's one reason why I'm a Republican. At least I have some influence here (albeit relatively minor)