queencitybuckeye;945089 wrote:I'd argue that the problem is that the two parties are too much alike. One man's "lunatic fringe" is another man's principles on which the country was founded.
Both parties:
- Wasteful spending.
check
- Misuse of the military.
check
- Bend to corporatism.
check
- Raise taxes to pay for it all.
check
Hell, it's not a two-party system. It's a one-party system with two kinds of hats for its members.
Lakebluestreaks;945763 wrote:I would say that there will never be an actual 3rd party, or 3 party system. Assuming a party starts whether left or right, it would pull like minded people from one of the 2 existing parties. Once it would get to certain point it would either die or grow. By growing, it would kill the other party that it took people from. We would still be left with 2 parties. The only way to get a legimate 3rd party would be to get more people active in voting. Then it would be possible. The problem is that most people that don't vote are too lazy or uninformed to get out there. The people that would create and be active in a 3rd party are already involved and voting.
I disagree. I think MANY people who hold very strong stances on different issues (some of which are agreed upon by either one party or the other) could indeed form a third party. Middle doesn't refer to the level of conviction. It refers to the views themselves being adopted.
derek bomar;945961 wrote:Just give me a simple no-bull shit party please.
Such a candidate is seeking election at the moment.
derek bomar;946146 wrote:I could throw these out there as the issues the BOMAR party (B) stands for:
1) War/Invasion shouldn't be the first option, it should be the last
2) Re-institute the draft. This would force people to realize the costs of war instead of having it be an after-thought.
3) End corporate bailouts. All of them. Too big to fail only gets worse the longer you let it happen. Pull the band-aid off.
4) Throw the current tax code out and replace it with something that doesn't punish success and applies to everyone above the poverty line evenly. Make it easy to understand, and make it enforceable for everyone - individuals and corporations alike.
5) Legalize Marijuana. Aside from the instant economic spark, it would also have the added benefit of relieving a crowded prison system and would stop punishing people for doing something that is less harmful to their bodies than cigarettes or booze.
6) End Public Sector unions aside from those who are first responders (work in harms-way). There is no reason for them and they only promote inefficiency and waste.
7) Legalize gay Marriage. There's no logical reason they should have all of the same benefits (domestic partnership) but not be allowed to be called "married". Religions won't be forced to recognize them. This issue will at some point be a no-brainer as the boomers die off and the younger generations take over...just get in front of the curve for once.
8) Balanced budget amendment that can be bypassed with some sort of majority in the House/Senate in times of distress.
9) Meaningful campaign finance reform
10) Throw out Obama-Care. It's terrible. Replace it with something that actually makes sense - like allowing for larger HSA's and allowing people to shop across state lines.
11) Term limits - I would change the time you can be a Senator from 6 to 8 years, but you can serve as a Senator once. I would change the House from 2 to 4, and you can only serve twice. I am tired of people not doing their jobs and constantly running for re-election.
12) Education Reform - make the school year longer. Make teacher's unions illegal, but offer very competitive compensation for teachers rewarding good teachers and throwing out the junk - we all know they're there (certain Gym teachers named CC for instance - I kid I kid)
13) Put a limit on the #of words/pages a bill that is passed can be and require that all Members of Congress read the bill before voting on it. (Not sure how to enforce this - maybe a pop-quiz on it?)
The list could go on and on...
Other than the draft part, you sound a lot like a Ronulan.
dwccrew;946658 wrote:Your party is weak and caves to demands. We don't negotiate with terrorists and we don't negotiate with anyone else that disagrees with us either. We're real USA Americans.
AMERICA! F--- YEAH!
Lakebluestreaks;947188 wrote:Why do you say this? Maybe that is the way you feel, but many governments don't agree with you including ours. We have had many drafts in this country before.
And those moments were hardly shining examples of the liberty our country's Constitution was intended to safeguard.
But you are correct. Many governments, including our own, don't support a whole lot of liberty for their people.
majorspark;947673 wrote:One thing to note about a viable 3rd party in the US concerning presidential elections. A three party system would likely throw some presidential elections into the house of representatives as it would be more difficult for a candidate of one party to achieve the necessary 270 electoral votes. Though constitutional I am not sure how some people would react by having the president and vice president selected by one branch of the federal legislature. Or having the sitting Vice president serve as interim president.
12th amendment.
The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
tl;dr
Kidding.
tk421;948677 wrote:I'll take never for $100, Alex. When you have the media machine calling people like Paul who would be a viable third party candidate, it's not going to happen. The media will never let anyone join the party.
Paul's not a true third-party candidate, though. He's just a more accurate, historically-knowledgeable, and intellectually consistent Republican than the rest. I suppose it does make him seem "third-party-esque," but he's just more conservative than the rest of the Republicans in Washington.