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Part of what I studied in undergrad was comparative politics and developing democracies. And we're stuck with two parties.
True multi-party systems are not winner take all. The political leader is chosen from the ruling party of the legislature. That's a parliamentary system. Smaller parties have a measure of power because larger parties, if they can't garner enough support on their own...
... lobby for smaller party support to create a coalition. That gives smaller parties power. That measure of power attracts money and political support... voters. It's a snowball of itself.
Our system is winner take all. A person wins the seat. Percentages only matter in the legislature and is simply a function of who won of each seat.
That makes third, fourth, etc.... etc... etc.... parties very unlikely to obtain real power. You make get a random third party winner. But even in a win, we haven't yet seen and long term situation with multiple parties. The weaker ones fade away.
Parties can be replaced. But it doesn't happen often. The last time was Lincoln and the GOP.
Unless we switch to a parliamentary system.... it's going to be two parties.
So what do we do?
States can do more to promote third parties like public funding, attainable requirements to get on the ballot and ranked-choice (which I incidentally despise...).
States can do more to promote third parties like public funding, attainable requirements to get on the ballot and ranked-choice (which I incidentally despise...).
This will not create a long term multiparty system. Nothing short of becoming a parliamentary system will do that and that ain't happening.
But it will cause periodic, short term competitions which will require the major parties be more responsive to the middle.
But it will cause periodic, short term competitions which will require the major parties be more responsive to the middle.
It can peel extremists off into their own minor parties. At least for a time.
And it just might give enough oxygen to a small party... so as they could become one of the two big parties.
In the meantime, what can we do?
Show up. There is no moderate party that is going to magically be formed that will swoop in and we can all vote for them and it'll save the Republic.
You. Won't. Be. Saved.
You. Need. To. Do. The. Saving.
Show up. There is no moderate party that is going to magically be formed that will swoop in and we can all vote for them and it'll save the Republic.
You. Won't. Be. Saved.
You. Need. To. Do. The. Saving.
Pick a party. Show up. Effect change. Be the change you want to see.
Vote in primaries so you have a chance of not being left to choose between crap in the general.
It's how the extremists took over the GOP after all.
/fin
Vote in primaries so you have a chance of not being left to choose between crap in the general.
It's how the extremists took over the GOP after all.
/fin
