Why is there no competition from other parties to the two main political parties in the US? Neither of the two majors represents me or anything I stand for.
2006-10-16 07:25:38 · 15 answers · asked by supernaturaldj2000 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
Please only serious replies, with links to info if possible. I need to know why there is no competition to the two major parties in the US.
2006-10-16 07:27:16 · update #1
If you remember, back in 2004 the Independents made a noticeable move. It is unfortunate that we only have two political parties fighting over power...maybe as a country we need to "wake-up" and vote for other political parties...that way we can really stir things up!!
2006-10-16 07:39:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't know why someone gave you a thumbs down... this is a serious question that more folks should ask. My opinion is that the average person has a hard enough time seperating the signal from the noise between two parties... more than 2 choices would confuse people. People also could care less about politics... they look to non-political reasons to vote. To them, third parties make life difficult. And finally, having a third party might mean that life cannot be divided up into left vs. right... for those that care, politics has become like a sport... it's "us vs. them." Democrats vs. Republicans. You either buy the entire party ticket or you're with "the other guys."
2006-10-16 07:36:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
TJ is basically right. If another party begins to emerge, and it threatens either the GOP or Dems, they are attacked. Parot was one example. Ralph Nader is another. It has been my belief that these "independent" parties are formed by someone looking for a party to back them. In the Tea party's case, they are a party that just needs a leader. Either way, they will take votes away from the other parties, and that scares the Washington establishment terribly! I also believe that if things don't change very quickly, especially if the GOP takes a dive in the debt crisis debates, the Tea Party will definitely become a force and could overrun the GOP. But to answer your question...we certainly could use another party. If for no other reason, just to keep the other two in check.
2016-05-22 06:47:31 · answer #3 · answered by Joanna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As others have mentioned, there are several other parties in the US. The key is that there is not a lot of support for these so called "third" parties. The independents came close, sort of, several times.
Many people in the US are too apathetic, so things just continue along like they have been. People don't vote, they don't write and email their representatives, they don't bother to take part in political polling.
Until the voters get serious about standing up and exercising their franchise, nothing will change.
2006-10-16 07:37:11 · answer #4 · answered by math_prof 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Since 1912 there have been only two significant political parties in the United States because no others have been able to present a platform that would attract strong public support. There have been others trying, like Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, but they have done nothing but steal votes from one or the other major candidate. There are also minor ideological parties like the Greens, Free Silverites, Socialists and so on, but they have a fixed base of supporters who treat them like a religion; they have never attracted significant support from the general public and probably never will.
The major parties both work on the "big tent" principle: they have elastic rules and admit anybody who seems interested, so almost anyone can find an acceptable candidate under one or the other standard. One Communist (in Russia) to whom this was explained exclaimed: "That's not a political party, that's a soccer club!" Could be, but look where the Communists are now -- getting kicked around like a soccer ball themselves.
2006-10-16 07:41:16 · answer #5 · answered by Dick Eney 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because the two political parties share the desire to keep more political parties out of the process.
Just as Coke and Pepsi use marketing techniques to keep third party bottlers off of the store shelves, (while accepting each other's need on the store shelves,) the democrats and the republicans designed the political laws to benefit just them 100 years ago.
Those in power share the desire to hold power with the others in power rather than to serve the people.
80% of the time 80% percent of the polititians are NOT serving their consituency.
2006-10-16 07:34:36 · answer #6 · answered by bird_brain_88 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well the question is what alternatives would you like? There ARE other parties, but they have no chance of winning office. I am most concerned that there might be effectively only a SINGLE ruling party if crooked shamlections are allowed to continue. If that isn't dictatorship, it's close enough that the difference doesn't matter. Down with Dictator Dumbya!!!
2006-10-16 07:37:30 · answer #7 · answered by rhino9joe 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are more than two political parties in the U.S. Just that the Democrates and Republics and have around the longest and have more money.
Look at the source I put below to see the full list
2006-10-16 07:29:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way the government was set up, was to have a two party system. If you have a third major party, it can end up splitting votes between the two most popular candidates, and let the least popular candidate in.
For an example, look at how bill clinton got elected.
2006-10-16 07:29:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Seriously, there are many more parties than just republicans and democrats.
The link below has tons of information on 49 smaller parties, what they stand for, links to their official websites, what candidates they have had run for offices...
I hope this helps!
2006-10-16 07:34:32 · answer #10 · answered by ItsJustMe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋