Sure would be nice if we could move on from FPTP so alternative parties weren’t inherently destructive to the party they more closely align with. Not holding my breath though
Same problem in the UK. A party can finish a close second in hundreds of constituencies, totalling millions of votes, but have nothing to show for it.
Proportional representation is the way.
The US has literally 0 third party representation at the federal level and 10 state senators all libertarian. Even Bernie isn’t technically a third party he just is no party. So to be clear, having no party is far far better in the US than representing a third party even in a local election.
I think you are conflating two things. We can have a viable third party with ranked choice voting. We don’t necessarily need PR.
Personally I think PR will fragment the parliament and destabilise the government.
Also if you look at 2024, PR would’ve given many seats to Reform…
Its literally politics 101. This is why we need ranked choice & proportional voting.
Just make sure not to take it too far if you do proportional voting. We have a system in the Netherlands that works like that but the result is that we now also have about 30 parties running for government, most of them being fairly pointless. Don’t get me wrong, it’s better than the US shenanigans but you can also go too far.
That doesn’t sound like a bad thing.
It’s the same in Australia. Every now and then you get a random crackpot senator.
Coming from Germany, I wish! We have a 5% cutoff for representation, which means there’s realistically 4-5 parties that get into parliament, and all of them suck. We got the liberal Greens that sold their morals long ago, the social democrats whose greatest strength is blocking, delaying and betraying leftist causes, the christian democrats that have been copying Trump rhetoric for years, and finally the outright fascists. I’d love to be able to vote for some fringe leftist party knowing I’ll not waste my vote
The people who say this can’t exist because of FPTP are right… but only for the presidency.
In every other part of government, extra parties are very viable. Even more so if they get into legislation and prove an ability to establish coalitions. The whole dynamic of elections can change in the House every 2 years.
I’m sick and tired of this stance because Republicans have done it with Libertarians and “quiet conservative” Independents for the last decade.
It’s not the Greens because they don’t take local or legislative elections seriously. But a pro worker party that backed up the right legislation would be amazing.
Alright that’s it, let’s do it.
We start the beige party here and now. Well do our best to get everyone in our side. Here’s my ideas for a local government platform. Grass roots people!!
Max ownership of 1 residential property per person.
Our local minimum wage will keep pace with inflation.
Municipally owned internet. Comcast?! No. YourTown Telecom.
We tax your business on an exponential scale, based on whatever the average net worth of the c suite executives is. We will allow your big box stores, but probably not at a price they’ll want to pay 🙂
Farmers markets.
Livenation is not welcome.
We’re paying teachers a lot more.
Our fines will be based on taxable income. Speeding tickets, violations, whatever.
What else?
Immediate arrest and subsequent disembowelment of anyone with a net worth that includes a fourth comma.
Arguably, the actual conservative party died in like 2012-2014, and the Tea Party has just been wearing their skin ever since. Guess Americans can only demand more from their elected leaders if the demand is to be more racist.
Yup! It took them like 10+ years before they managed to get a presidential candidate too. but they immediately got into the legislative wings, it was already well underway in Bush’s second term. Hell, they were powerful enough to thrust Palin on McCain when he ran.
As somebody with a long-tenured zombie Democrat in my house seat, I disagree. Nobody else gets traction in primaries due to lack of funding. We have had plenty of opportunities to vote for somebody better (and younger). Nobody gives a shit.
Literally Bernie Sanders for the 8 years
Hell sold out in the send but after what DNC did to him in 2016 it ain’t like him not selling out would change anything.
He is too old to break off into opposition.
Democratic regime whores shilling progressive could do it but they won’t because they are regime whores first…
Anyway, vote for third party is a protest vote anyway. Until a critical mass is hit, we won’t get a viable candidate. It would take a generation off people voting 3p too lol
Two party sysmem is the owner regime
He understands that even to be “independent” in this kind of election system you have to caucus/primary with one of the two parties.
He is an old geezer can he take some risk jfc
Bernie Sanders has stood up to the system and taken risks for 50+ years. Have some well deserved respect, please.
Bernie at a Civil Rights protest in 1963
My man… that’s 1963. When was last time any politician deliveries something of value to the working wage slaves?
Seeing as how it would take at least a billion dollars to even get such a party off the ground, you can be assured that the mainstream media would treat it with respect.
I think that the only reason the Greens and the Libertarians managed to get national status was that the GOP wanted to have someone to drain off D support.
Libertarians don’t “drain off D support” They drain off Republican support.
Libertarians give people who would vote for Repiblicans someone to vote for when the Republicans go too far with abortion and other fascist stuff so they don’r vote Dem instead.
So less peeling off Dem supporters and instead keeping from trading votes to Dems.
My personal theory is that the GOP will do a hostile takeover of the Libertarians if the ever become too unpopular.
Also, they don’t drain off support, because the Libertarians almost always vote R when it counts. You notice that Green Party Jill was active this cycle and you didn’t hear about the Libertarians once.
You didn’t hear about the Libertarians because they basically did get taken over by MAGA. They’re know as the Misus Caucus and they’re brutal, doing damage control on the Libertarian Party as a whole. They shut the primary elected candidate out and gave him little to no resources or even publicity.
Libertarians do drain off support. Libertarians are likely one of the reasons Trump lost so many swing states, because they pretty much had a great candidate and huge turnout. Nearly two million votes compared to Green Party’s Howie Hawkins, who I met, and voted for in 2020. Howie received 404,000 votes.
I voted Harris this year, and volunteered for the WFP.
Jill Stein is deceitful pos and she’s the reason I left the Green Party.
There can’t be, mathematically. First past the post voting turns third parties into a hole in one funnel that feeds into the other funnel.
IfWheneverThey would have to have their own sorts of media
