CDZ Could it be too late for a viable third party?

[Auld Phart]

For many,
Trump was the third party vote as both parties actively worked against him.
If Jeb was the party choice, the GOP would have never gotten my vote.
We don't need a third party.
We just need the two to actually represent the citizen, not their own self serving interests.

Problem is...120 million plus, simply don't bother to vote and are checked out of politics. The Party of Apathy rules America.

If Jeb was the party choice, the GOP would have never gotten my vote.

wouldn't have got mine either.

We already did the Bush/Clinton thing back in '92.

no need to see a rerun.

 

[OldLady]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Had a long discussion about this over lunch a couple days ago. Here in Maine, we have just started using ranked choice voting to eliminate the binary function of majority vote. The Electoral College would have to go.

 

[candycorn]

The answer is no. It not “too late”.

The better question is, “Why hasn’t a third party risen?” The simple answer is money. There is plenty out there sitting idle but there isn’t a solid line that can be drawn between getting people elected and ROI for whomever may start the third party.

So what you will see in terms of a third party is a group splinter off from the major parties.

 

[JoeB131]

If 2016 didn't cause the rise of a viable third party, nothing will.

Okay, let's look at that. You really can't blame the Dems on that one, they rejected the extreme candidate for one who was more middle of the road.

The thing was, she should have won, but didn't because people didn't like her personally, figured she was going to win anyway, and wasted their votes on third parties they really didn't agree with to protest.

On the GOP side, as much as "moderate" and "sensible" Republicans mewled about Trump, he got the exact same demographics that Romney and McCain (who the GOP now hates) got.

Here's the main reason why a viable third party doesn't arise. Because you don't start a party from the Top Down. You start it - or change it- from the bottom up. You win a few county and state seats first, and start growing a national identity. This is how the GOP evolved in the 1850's, and they had a power vacuum to fill when the Whigs disintegrated over the issue of slavery.

 

[Jets]

A third party will be difficult to achieve. That said, It would be a good alternative to the current state of tribalism. People seem more concerned with vilifying the opposition vs actually finding opportunities for common ground. This US vs THEM mindset is tearing us apart as a country.

 

[JoeB131]

Had a long discussion about this over lunch a couple days ago. Here in Maine, we have just started using ranked choice voting to eliminate the binary function of majority vote. The Electoral College would have to go.

A good point. As long as we have the EC as defined by the 12th Amendment, we are kind of stuck with the two parties.

A third party candidate would have to get 50% of the vote to win, in order to flip enough states to get to 270. Anything less than that, the EC throws the election into Congress, and Congress will pick either a Democrat or a Republican.

 

[miketx]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

doesnt matter if its to late or not,,,

I will never vote for a dem or repube,,,

my soul deserves better

Then you will keep getting dim or Re.

so nothing will change,,,got it

Last time Gary Johnson was nothing but a clown in a suit.

 

[Weatherman2020]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Simple term limit Amendment would solve 90% of the problems in DC.

 

[Third Party]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Maybe, maybe not. Schultz is out there with his ear to the ground. Call in to every radio station, send e-mails to every op ed TV show, and volunteer for one morning if a third party group springs up close to where you live. Talk to your neighbors, bowling team, and church members.That's how grass root campaigns start.

 

[Mac1958]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Simple term limit Amendment would solve 90% of the problems in DC.

I'd be all for that.
.

 

[progressive hunter]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

doesnt matter if its to late or not,,,

I will never vote for a dem or repube,,,

my soul deserves better

Then you will keep getting dim or Re.

so nothing will change,,,got it

Last time Gary Johnson was nothing but a clown in a suit.

you are correct,,,

 

[Weatherman2020]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Had a long discussion about this over lunch a couple days ago. Here in Maine, we have just started using ranked choice voting to eliminate the binary function of majority vote. The Electoral College would have to go.

Of course you Leftards want LA and NY choosing every President, with every candidate only campaigning in those two cities. Then all of America could be shitholes like LA and NY.

 

[Mac1958]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Maybe, maybe not. Schultz is out there with his ear to the ground. Call in to every radio station, send e-mails to every op ed TV show, and volunteer for one morning if a third party group springs up close to where you live. Talk to your neighbors, bowling team, and church members.That's how grass root campaigns start.

Actually, what originally got me thinking about this was an article I saw about Schultz. It posited that the country literally doesn't want a moderate, independent voice right now, that we're addicted to hate and fighting. Or perhaps -- and this is even MORE scary -- that we've lost the capacity to fully process moderate, independent thought.
.

 

[OldLady]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

I honestly believe that the majority of interested voters are moderate. We are simply not well represented by the parties. The parties think we will be "bored," I think, by someone saying "There, there....let's just compromise here..." but they are wrong. I love how Joe Manchin rolls, but he's got to get his legs under him, still.

 

[JoeB131]

Of course you Leftards want LA and NY choosing every President, with every candidate only campaigning in those two cities. Then all of America could be shitholes like LA and NY.

130 million people voted in the last election. You have 10 million in NYC and 3 million in LA. Even if they all voted in a monolithic block, they couldn't flip the election.

To me, 3 million people in CA voting for Hillary SHOULD count more than 80,000 Russian Bots voting in MI, WI and PA.

 

[miketx]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

doesnt matter if its to late or not,,,

I will never vote for a dem or repube,,,

my soul deserves better

Then you will keep getting dim or Re.

so nothing will change,,,got it

Last time Gary Johnson was nothing but a clown in a suit.

you are correct,,,

And you voted for him anyway?

 

[Mac1958]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

I honestly believe that the majority of interested voters are moderate. We are simply not well represented by the parties. The parties think we will be "bored," I think, by someone saying "There, there....let's just compromise here..." but they are wrong. I love how Joe Manchin rolls, but he's got to get his legs under him, still.

I would like to think that, but I guess it's possible that those of us who are not crazed wingers haven't yet figured out how to translate that into political action.

We're like the kids in the cafeteria, just trying to eat our damn lunch during a food fight.
.

 

[progressive hunter]

doesnt matter if its to late or not,,,

I will never vote for a dem or repube,,,

my soul deserves better

Then you will keep getting dim or Re.

so nothing will change,,,got it

Last time Gary Johnson was nothing but a clown in a suit.

you are correct,,,

And you voted for him anyway?

no,,,

 

[Terri4Trump]

I just had a fairly terrifying thought.

If a strong, viable and popular third party party can't rise up in the middle of THIS partisan disaster, maybe it never CAN.

Is it possible that independent and moderate voices are now so unwelcome in both "major" parties that they will no longer be allowed to see the light of day? Did we, as country, shut the door to independent and moderate thought so quickly and so firmly that they simply no longer have a place?

I hope I'm wrong here.
.

Look at all the parties we already have: List of political parties in the United States - Wikipedia

This is a two-party system. Thats the way it is.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Of course you Leftards want LA and NY choosing every President, with every candidate only campaigning in those two cities. Then all of America could be shitholes like LA and NY.

130 million people voted in the last election. You have 10 million in NYC and 3 million in LA. Even if they all voted in a monolithic block, they couldn't flip the election.

To me, 3 million people in CA voting for Hillary SHOULD count more than 80,000 Russian Bots voting in MI, WI and PA.

70% of voters being in two States.