Ask Me Help Desk - Third Parties

Just wondering, since so many people are upset and downright disgusted with our government officials... president, veep, senators, etc, what would happen if a third party were to win in the upcoming presidential election?

Since we already have a system in place, do you think every thing would continue on in the usual way, except for a different approach to solving our economic and international problems, or would those seated in Congress leave? I'm suggesting a Ron Paul write-in winning ticket...

It is a curiosity to me, although personally I think the government needs this to happen in order to stop serving themselves and start serving the constituency.

I don't believe a third party is even on the ballot in all 50 states, Maybe the Libertarian party

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

I don't believe a third party is even on the ballot in all 50 states, Maybe the Libertarian party

There is also the Independent party but it doesn't matter about party if there is a massive Write-in and I think there will be.

I think the only way to a third party is to start at the local and state levels and work up. It would take some time, but if that third party were committed to conservative values, it might work. A write-in vote for pres this year will only be a protest vote, UNLESS it is big enough to scare the Rep. party. Not likely, though.

Well the only trouble with a write in ballot, is that the president is not elected by popular vote, the electrical college elects the president and I don't believe they would follow write in votes

A third party can only play a spoiler role .

There have been times in the country when one of the major parties were destroyed ,but they were quickly replaced with another major party to replace them .

We have had Federalists v Republican... The Federalists faded away and for a while there was one Republican party .But that quickly split between JQ Adams Republicans and Andrew Jackson Republicans . Which became Democrat Republicans (Jackson ) and Nationalist Republicans (Adams) .

The Jacksonians later became Democrats and the Nationalists became Whigs.

The Whigs split up over the slavery issue.Republicans who were pro-slavery merged with the Democrats . Around that time there were a group of nativists who were the big third party of their time .They merged with the " free "Democrats (anti-slavery) to become the Republicans.

Since that time it has been Democrat and Republican and although elements of 3rd party influence has helped shape the platform of the major parties ;the only real thing 3rd party and independent candidates have managed to do at the elections is screw them up. Quite simply ;the major parties have been very adept at "stealing " the best issues of the minor parties and absorbing them into their platform . As you may have noticed ;the major parties act pretty much like the European cousins . They do coalition building to forge majorities.The difference is that the coalition building is done inside the parties instead of on the floor of the legislature. There is a lot of in-fighting inside the parties because they are not monolithic. The reason that 3rd parties have not emerged as a greater force is because the system does not really need them . As I said;all they do is screw up elections.

Teddy Roosevelt as an example got peeved at the Republicans for not nominating him . So he created the Bull moose party and he skimmed enough votes away to hand the election to Woodrow Wilson (Roosevelt got 27.5%) . Ross Perot's 18.9% denied GHW Bush a second term by skimming enough votes away to elect the Clintoids. It can be argued that Ralph Nader's 2.7% Reform Party vote in 2000 was the decisive factor in the GW Bush election.

I'd have to add to that, that if people voting don't want a specific person in office and vote third party, they are voting their choice AND keeping that person out of office - so it's not a spoiler for them although it spoils it for the hopeful who didn't make it. Voting our choice is what we all should be doing - not always choosing the lesser of two evils.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purplewings

I'd have to add to that, that if people voting don't want a specific person in office and vote third party, they are voting their choice AND keeping that person out of office - so it's not a spoiler for them although it spoils it for the hopeful who didn't make it. Voting our choice is what we all should be doing - not always choosing the lesser of two evils.

True enough but they have to understand the consequences of their vote . Certainly Roosevelt had more in common position-wise with William Howard Taft than Woodrow Wilson .Simularily Ross Perot voters had to go into the booth with the understanding that their vote would guarantee a Clinton win. Finally ;Ralph Nader has lost a lot of his influence because he skimmed enough voters that Gore lost. I do not see how any of these 3 candidates advanced their cause by making 3rd Party runs.

I think if Bob Barr runs this time as a Libertarian he will gurarantee an Obama win even though the libertarians have more in common with the Republican platform then the platform that Obama is likely to construct.