Not untill there are people willing to organize a real third party, and work to get third party members elected.
Most alternate "so called third parties" do not have any organisation, and never run any candidates for anything other than the Presidency.We essentially have a third voting block known as 'independents'. I feel they are closest to Libertarian, fiscally conservative but socially left leaning.
I feel we were heading towards a third party in 1992, That would have been the beginning of the third party known back then as the Reform Party. Until, that is, Perot proved to be mentally unstable. That set the movement back for a third party until, let's say almost 30 years later. So we ended up with Clinton instead.
I would argue Obama and Trump are third party candidates - outside of the main stream Republican and Democrat parties.
Are we close to a true third party? Or just anarchy in the future.
Trump is different than any other POTUS we have ever had, but Obama, except for the color of his skin, was business as usual for the Democratic Party.
I think it is possible that instead of three parties, we could be in for four, with the far left of the Dems and the far right of the GOP splintering off into completely separate parties. This is already manifesting itself with the "Freedom Caucus" in the GOP, and is likely to happen with the Bernie Sander/Elizabeth Warren faction of the left.
I would love to see a fiscally conservative/socially liberal party emerge and I had my hopes with the Libertarians, but just like the Reform Party the "whack job factor" doomed them.
especially as it relates to the economy. A few weeks ago Jerome Powell, the Fed Chairman nominee, was giving testimony, and Warren asked him about Bitcoin. Elizabeth is worried about the "HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS" of ordinary consumers signing up for Bitcoin. Hundreds of millions? WTF! I doubt 5 ordinary consumers would have the knowledge and competence to sign up for a Bitcoin account.
I know she means well, but do we have to protect people from everything.
P.S. The OP said Perot was/is mentally unstable. His presentation style might have been a bit different, but what people don't know about him, he was basically the father/inventor of outsourcing as we know it. I guess having really rich people running the country is a bad idea. We need more community organizers and activists.
Like most lib/socialists she believes Government is smarter than the average (or even above average) citizen and that we need to be protected because we are too stupid to make our own life decisions.
As for Perot, yes he was brilliant, but he did come across as a whack job, do you remember him actually claiming to see REAL black helicopters? That statement alone set back the third party movement 30 years.
You left out protection from what. And, the issue is not who is smarter, but rather who has the money, which equates to who has the power. And, and those who have power, often abuses it. "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." Are you telling me a smart blue-collar person has as much power and influence to get their needs and desires met, in Washington and the court system, as someone from the 1 percent? If someone from the 1 percent wants what the blue-collar person has, are you telling me they don't get it?
Ten to fifteen years ago, I would have argued with you. Blue collar represented by the 'powerful' unions. With the passage of Obamacare, what were the unions left to do? Their main influence was health care for the working man. With that tool pulled from their hands, they splintered and are a shell of their former selves.
Main stream lobbyists are just as weakened as union lobbyists. With dark money, and the billionaires with direct lines to the President and Members of Congress, the people with money are truly in control. Perfect example is Warren Buffet's ties to Obama. Sweet deals for the railroads.
Billionaires, dark money, power. Good shit! I'd go see that movie.
Do you know one thing great about this country versus any other country in the world? With a little talent and hard work, you too can become part of the bourgeoisie class. Look who is in power now, and not just politically, but business, entertainment & sports? 99% weren't born into money or power. It does seem like everybody has the chance of playing in the game, even on a smaller scale. Aspire to that versus trying to dumb down your audience every chance you get.
To quote Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the king"
Thought it might be mandatory reading for anyone living in the DFW area. American corporation building some apps and systems in Tehran in the 1978/79 time frame. The Iranian Revolution, Perot gets his employees out, and with no fucking help from Jimmy Carter. Good to have ex-military guys working for you.
Perot is quirky and the sound of his voice will get on your nerves. He is by definition, a libertarian. Socially very liberal, and fiscally conservative. Texan, ex-Navy, runs his company like a military unit, and introduced us to power point presentations. If you think about it, he was Trump before Trump, but without all that bullshit and baggage.
and I think Perot was morally a thousand times superior to Trump, but he couldn't shake the "whack job" label after the "black helicopters" story came out.
Another thing he should be remembered for that I suppose was rather "Trump before there was Trump" was his opposition to NAFTA, remember "That giant sucking sound" he predicted if NAFTA was passed?
Thinking back on it, if he had not run in 92 as an independent and waited to run as a Republican in 96, similar to what Trump did twenty years later, perhaps I might be the only person on this board who had ever heard of Hillary Clinton as HW Bush would have beaten Bill Clinton handily in 92 and Perot could have been the first non politician to have had a chance well before Donald Trump. Should have, could have, if. It's just idle speculation at this point
Hillary Rodham Clinton should have been the candidate, versus Obama. He was a 'nobody' state senator in 1997 and became President seven years later. The Republicans made a series of errors and gaffes that led to his candidacy.
I say 'third' party because he was an outsider, not in policy - but early on, outside the mainstream democratic machine who co-opted him. The old guard democrats; Pelosi, Clintons, and old white guys being the insiders. I believe Obama could have easily run as a Republican and won. Obama was like a youtube video that went 'viral'.
Elections in many states are staged for only a mainstream republican or democrat to win - which I think is horseshit. Get rid of those laws, and it would help with a third party. We have two independents in the Senate (they caucus with the democrats). So, we are seeing the cracks.
I see us heading towards a third party or multi-party, just don't know how we get there.
Because Trump is destroying the Republican brand, along with Steve Bannon, completing the work begun by the Tea Party. Since politics abhors a vacuum, we may get a new, right-wing party quickly after that. Of course, it's also possible that the lefty Sanders/Warren wing will bolt the Dems, which them would leave us with extreme right- and left-wing parties, freezing out moderates. Then it might be possible for a moderate third party to be born and it would stand a good chance of beating the lefty/righty parties.
True, very true.
What many people fail to realize, and is ironic, is that the Republican party is responsible for gay marriage. To your point, Jake, Karl Rove "The Architect" put the issue on the ballot to force the conservative right to come out and vote, and then also vote for the Republican President, George W. Bush. Subsequently we had the Tea Party, which has gone radio silent.
The difference between Republicans and Democrats is the black vote. They are powerful when you can get them out to vote - look at Alabama and the recent senate election. I don't see black voters separating themselves from the Democratic Party. They've been rewarded quite well IMHO by voting in block, and voting Democrat. I'm not sure if the Sanders/Warren people are the same.
I would love to see him run. Have you ever seen/heard him when is 'on' and in serious mode? He is actually quite good. Unfortunately, he isn't studied or trained in debate, so my guess he would wallow in the political shark tank. Although if he ran, it would be 2024. Recent polls show the majority of Republicans are still solidly behind Trump, despite what the news may want you to believe.
E I hear it will be called the Groper Party..They already have a full slate of candidates..
Not untill there are people willing to organize a real third party, and work to get third party members elected.
Most alternate "so called third parties" do not have any organisation, and never run any candidates for anything other than the Presidency.