Does the polarization of our two party system open the way for third parties?

[FUCK THE POLICE]

One of the main reasons I think other nations (even nations with single-member plurality systems) always have much stronger third parties is that our two party system has always been so catch-all. I really can't think of any country in the world with parties less rigid than ours. With the modern polarization and of both of them into ideological parties (especially the Republican party), do you think it will make it easier for third parties to come out?

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

i think it does, however, in our system we have people who are used to the idea of a two party system, eg., a checks and balance if you will....

lately, it seems as if the two parties are falling further and further apart, this, IMO, could very well lead to a viable third party. do i think a third party is good for the country? hard to say, other countries that have more than two parties are not any more perfect than we are. yet i am in an ever growing class of people who are fiscally conservative, believe in this country's founding principle of smaller government, and are socially liberal....

neither platform truly suits me, but i do lean more right than left. for example:

gay marriage.... a so called liberal social issue, yet for me, it is a smaller government issue....in that, why should the government be involved in marriage, if government wants a contract for the well being of its citizens, then call it by its true name....civil union, not marriage....(i will end this topic here as i don't want this thread to become yet another gay marriage thread)

using of course the common understanding of such words in today's vernacular

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

Third parties rarely make a huge difference. If an idea has a majority, it has a majority, whether it's put into place by a coalition, a catch-all party, or by ideologues.

 

[Beefy]

gay marriage.... a so called liberal social issue, yet for me, it is a smaller government issue....in that, why should the government be involved in marriage, if government wants a contract for the well being of its citizens, then call it by its true name....civil union, not marriage....(i will end this topic here as i don't want this thread to become yet another gay marriage thread)

using of course the common understanding of such words in today's vernacular

Bingo brother. The point is very relevant. You have Big Government "Conservatives", Republican small tenters like SouthernKlan and Dixuck who prefer to have government intervening in personal lives while libertarian leaners like you and me are left without a party. Very relevant.

But I don't think that it will open any doors because for the duopoly, power is the end, not the means, and they WILL collaborate in one capacity or another to keep 3rd parties from putting a foot in the door.

The polarization is not the canary in the coal mine for a duopoly.

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

Third parties rarely make a huge difference. If an idea has a majority, it has a majority, whether it's put into place by a coalition, a catch-all party, or by ideologues.

for the most part i agree.....

however, i think many people vote simply because of the letter next to someone's name....eg., the "lesser evil vote".....becuase there is no third party vote....

if this country mandated a third party system, the centrists, people probably similar to me, would win nearly everytime....

i voted against obama, not because i like mccain, but obama, in my opinion, is worse for the country

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

Bingo brother. The point is very relevant. You have Big Government "Conservatives", Republican small tenters like SouthernKlan and Dixuck who prefer to have government intervening in personal lives while libertarian leaners like you and me are left without a party. Very relevant.

But I don't think that it will open any doors because for the duopoly, power is the end, not the means, and they WILL collaborate in one capacity or another to keep 3rd parties from putting a foot in the door.

The polarization is not the canary in the coal mine for a duopoly.

absolutely agree

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

for the most part i agree.....

however, i think many people vote simply because of the letter next to someone's name....eg., the "lesser evil vote".....becuase there is no third party vote....

if this country mandated a third party system, the centrists, people probably similar to me, would win nearly everytime....

i voted against obama, not because i like mccain, but obama, in my opinion, is worse for the country

In countries with several parties the centrists rarely win a majority. At best the center-left and center-right make a coalition together that pisses EVERYONE off (see Germany).

Then again, The Netherlands had a very good experience with a libertarianish coalition of the Labour party and the small government liberal party. That coalition passed most of the laws that make The Netherlands known as pretty much the most socially liberal country in the world.

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

In countries with several parties the centrists rarely win a majority. At best the center-left and center-right make a coalition together that pisses EVERYONE off (see Germany).

Then again, The Netherlands had a very good experience with a libertarianish coalition of the Labour party and the small government liberal party. That coalition passed most of the laws that make The Netherlands known as pretty much the most socially liberal country in the world.

how often though do the "two" majorities change though? my understanding that in multiple party countries is that, they do not have the same two majority parties like the US has experienced for such a continious period.

can you point to a country that has had the same continuity as the US with two major parties controlling all others?

netherlands is cool btw....best friend is from there

 

[SmarterthanYou]

not a chance in hell. The radical hate filled base of both major parties will vehemently fight against the introduction of any kind of 3rd party so as not to weaken their own political power.

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

Libertarinish voters tend to get facefucked in our system though. They are typically a smaller voting block than either the liberals or the conservatives, and so must pick between the two. A lot of libertarians voted for the Democrats this time because they got pissed at the conservatives, but their votes didn't translate into influence. If they had their own party, and could attract 20% of the vote or so, they could hold enough seats in congress to usually hold the balance of power. With a charismatic enough figure they could even become serious competitors for the presidency.

The Libertarian party doesn't count here, BTW. They are too extreme and don't have any charismatic figures.

Germany spent almost 40 years in a situation where it was impossible to do shit without the centrist Free Democrats who only got 10% of the vote. That's one reason Germany actually has a smaller government than us today and much flatter taxes.

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

not a chance in hell. The radical hate filled base of both major parties will vehemently fight against the introduction of any kind of 3rd party so as not to weaken their own political power.

if both parties continue the polarization....there will come a point when a TP is viable....

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

how often though do the "two" majorities change though? my understanding that in multiple party countries is that, they do not have the same two majority parties like the US has experienced for such a continious period.

can you point to a country that has had the same continuity as the US with two major parties controlling all others?

netherlands is cool btw....best friend is from there

Usually such nations have parties that dominate and make coalitions with smaller parties that come and go.

Although they can get chaotic - the voting system in Israel is kind of like cable TV, 500 parties and nothing to vote for.

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

Usually such nations have parties that dominate and make coalitions with smaller parties that come and go.

Although they can get chaotic - the voting system in Israel is kind of like cable TV, 500 parties and nothing to vote for.

thus, the third party.....eventually....becomes the majority party...

in our government though, as STY rightfully states....our two parties our very, very powerful....and what happens is not what happens in those countries with multiple parties...IMO.....what happens here is, when a TP becomes to strong....they don't make deals, they both make false promises solely in order to the the TP vote.....