Majority of R's want 3rd party...D's, not so much

I strongly believe a viable third party would be very healthy for this country. Both the left & the right have proven to be inept, corrupt and arrogant with a total indifference to the true welfare of the people. There's just something about unchecked political power that breeds contempt for citizens. And that is what we get when just one of two parties is in power. We've seen it recently with both parties. With a third party we'd have new ideas and a necessity to compromise and work more so for the betterment of society. In fact, I can hardly think of anything negative about a viable third political party.

 

Same reasoning used to defend having two parties. Hasn't proven true at all, since both parties are beholding to corporate control.

Doesn't matter if we have a dozen or more parties, as long as corporations fund and control our representatives we have no voice in our future and welfare.

 

We need a third party.

I'm not surprised the Dems don't want one, they don't give a shit.

We should have 6 parties... Conservatives, Liberals, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and a moderate party, some type of Independent type who claims moderate policy views in tact with the majority of Americans -- for example, a party that would want tax hikes and spending cuts to solve deficit instead of our parties which either want only spending cuts or only tax hikes.

 

yup. its a good cop bad cop routine, but both parties are largely beholden to the same bosses/lobbyists who fund their campaigns. Politicians have to sell out to raise enough $ for TV ads, so they spend much of their time chasing dollars rather then working on enacting legislation for their causes.

I don't see how more parties changes this dynamic.

STOMP

 

Hell... lets go with no parties and then maybe the people we elect will actually start representing the states instead of being tools of their party.

 

That's America. And I don't see it changing anytime soon. People don't run the country, money does.

 

I think a third party would be great. I also think we should ban lobbying and install term limits on everything. I don't think congressmen and senators should serve more than two terms. Get rid of these career politicians who only care about being re-elected.

 

Republicans probably would want a 3rd party because it's likely that the Dems would lose more votes to the new party than the Republicans would.

 

Why is that?

A third party could equally hurt one party or the other or damage them both.

 

I disagree. A third party would likely be one based closely on the limited government vision of the Tea Party. And that party would eviscerate the GOP. In fact, I think the reason you see more Republicans desirous of a third party than Democrats is that more people that label themselves as Republicans are really pissed at their party for going Democrat-lite.

 

Or...... they would be less scared of doing what they think is right because they don't want to piss anyone off. Being a politician shouldn't be a career. It should be something that a citizen does because they care about their country and they want to make sure that things are done right. As it stands now, we have all these people in office who are essentially bought by big business. Big Ag, big pharma, etc have paid millions of dollars to buy off the people in congress and the senate. If they piss off the lobbyists, they just invest millions in whomever is running against them to get them out of office.

If anything, I'd say the status quo shows that NOT having term limits has proven to be a failure. Look at all the douche bag career politicians on both sides who never accomplish anything. I think most of our Presidents have shown that they can get quite a bit done in four to eight years. It shouldn't be about how much money you have or how much power you have. People should be elected based on their opinions and their ideas. I want people who are running because they actually want to get stuff done. They want to make a difference. Is that not what you want or are you just disagreeing with me because that's how the ebb and flow of this forum works out?

 

But it's the money that's corrupting the process. Take away the money and it's no longer a problem. Outlaw lobbying and set a strict limit on how much that can be donated to a campaign fund. A major corporation should not be able to donate millions of dollars to someone who is sitting on a committee that controls their business. That's why we have so many problems with our food industry right now, or our pharmaceutical industry, or the car industry, etc etc etc.

I don't know if I'm saying "ordinary citizens", but I am saying that it shouldn't be someone who is cultivating a career for politics. Some of our best politicians in Oregon were merely business owners or farmers. People who saw something that bothered them and they took action. We wouldn't have our urban growth boundary if it weren't for a farmer from Hillsboro who ran for state senate to stop the suburbs from spreading. I don't want someone who is afraid to rock the boat because they don't want to piss off the backers. Our founding fathers had term limits when they served on the senate, so I don't see any reason why we can't put it back.

 

I'm talking about money. Major corporations should not be able to donate millions of dollars to campaigns.