The two party system is for sheep! Follow me.

Originally posted by DeReK DaRkLy


The solution is (theoretically) simple:
Fire Congress, then let the people vote on their own laws.

Anyone object?

It is just that first part that is very close to impossible. He who pulls the strings controls the strings.

I may be beating a dead horse, but this is all way too vague for me to get a handle on. I get the sense that the OP woukld like to see a middle-road party emerge from moderates from both the Repubs and Dems, maybe the independents that actually swing elections. Certainly the current political parties are not cast in stone. Ironically, the Republican Party started as a coalition of Whigs and Dems who were basically anti-slavery. The catalyst was the repeal of the 1820 Missouri Compromise which prevented slavery in the North. The irony is that the Dems were the party of segregation as late as the sixties. I've heard it said that the KKK was the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party, yet the Repubs can't get the Black vote if they begged.

In any case, if you look at the history of "third" or "alternative" parties in this country over 200 years, I think you'll find most of them are more extreme than either of the major parties. Look at the guys who have tried to run third party presidential campaigns: T. Roosevelt, Anderson, George Wallace, Ross Perot, Ralph Nader. I don't think you could call any of these guys middle of the road and although you could say they acted as spoliers, e.g. Nader effectively gave the election to Bush, they really didn't do well enough to raise eyebrows on their own. Of the existing third parties you have the Libertarians, an intriguing mix of left and right, aren't they? The Greens, effectively a single-issue party, and a smattering of commies and socialists with various names and very little base. Libertarians are probably the biggest and best organized, but I'm not thinking that's what you're shooting for here.

In today's climate what I'm hearing is threats of a "Conservative Party" because of disappointment at the RINO (Republican in Name Only) Republicans and (this just in) the possibility that Hillary will challenge Obama for the Dem nomination in 2012!! I know that sounds weird, but a surprisingly large number of people think this is likely. (Personally, I don't see either one; I'm just reporting what I heard.) And, of course, there's the sentiment, also expressed here, of "Throw them out. Throw them ALL out." Lots of bumper stickers, but I'm not sure there is any follow through.

To get what you want here I suspect there's going to have to be some sort of catalyst of the same significance as the one that started the Republicans. You've got to have something happen that pushes the moderate middle ground to say, "A pox on both your houses." That means something external that forces the issue and is likely out of our hands. Could it be a full scale Depression? A nuclear war? A huge disaster or epidemic? Or (cough!) aliens landing? The earth tipping on its axis? I don't know here. I'm just throwing this out, getting more ridiculous as I go.

I'm still as befuddled as my dog here. He wants to lead, but doesn't know where to go. I think that issue has to be solved before this sentiment has any chance of succeeding. It's not enough to want a third party to break the strangle hold of the Dem/Rep Party. The Goal has to be bigger and much more inspiring than that.

reply to post by schuyler


Right you are Schuyler. A party consisting of moderate conservatives and liberals. How else can the not so fine line of left and right be tackled? Do you agree this middle ground party would be a solid 60%, or no? BTW, your dog analogy is dead on. Nice!