Why do the Republicans and Democrats do their best to make sure America never has a strong third party?

Question

45 years ago I visited Russia and they justified the one party system by asking me If the two American parties were any different. I had to admit that nothing much changed no matter which of the two parties was in power. Now if the two main parties would let the Green or some other party become the opposition, maybe we could have some real change. Or don't Americans want real change?

Answer 1

For the same reason the school yard bully doesn't like a new kid enrolling in school who's bigger than he is.

Remember 1992? A diminutive little billionaire instilled fear into Democratic and Republican candidates alike as he damn near upset their monopolistic, corrupt apple cart!
Perot claimed he did not intend to be a 'career politician' - and all of his cowardly opponents told bold-faced lies and claimed they, too, were not 'career politicians' (even though some of them had been in Congress for decades).
Perot claimed, "I will be your servant!" All the other politicians followed like lemmings to the sea.
Perot claimed he believed in term limits. So did all the 'career politicians' who were comfortably entrenched in their thirty-years of 'public service'.
Then the politicians did wht they do best: they tried to ridicule Perot, make fun of him, belittle him, and - when he kept butting heads with them - they finally threatened to disrupt his daughter's wedding if he didn't drop out of the race. Even after that fiasco, Perot kept coming on strong, and STILL garnered 19% of the popular vote!
"Republicrats" breathed a sigh of relief, and swore they'd never let that happen again. Now they're settled back into their cushy little 'careers' with their outlandish salaries, lavish perquisites and privileges, lifetime pensions and free luxury 'junkets' whenever they need a vacation.
And they breathe a little easier - at least until some new billionaire pipsqueak starts poking his nose in their political business.
Americans wouldn't know 'real' change if it bit them in the a*s. Most Americans hardly have enough energy to get up off the sofa, put down the remote, and vote - much less do any thinking for themselves. They let the propagandists like Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken tell them how to think, what to say and how to vote. And then they wonder why they're stuck in this cesspool of corrupt politicians who troll public toilets on the taxpayers' dime. -RKO- 09/04/07

Answer 2

For you to think "that nothing much changed no matter which of the two parties was in power" shows that you haven't researched how the agendas of far right and left wing lobbyists can influence the government against the best interests of the common citizen.

I do agree that we need a third party to represent the needs of middle class Americans as we are what has made this country strong.

Answer 3

Too many uneducated voters for one thing. People voting for a party they know nothing about. When I was in school the teacher told us that we live in the state of Georgia and that's a democrat state there for your a democrat and that's how you should vote. There should be a test to be able to vote and a picture ID is a must. They know they control the people and as long as they are in power they will have that power. To let a 3rd party in would be to give up that little bit of power and then they know they wouldn't get it back. Its all about self preservation. Big government has to get the people dependent on it to survive that's why there are so many give-me programs and the government spending so much money on things like floods and hurricane repair federal money for state bridges. The more they get us to depend on them the more control they have,.

Answer 4

The 'two party system' is an outgrowth of the way elections are handled, the two parties don't try to keep there from being third parties - they don't need to. What they do try to assure is that they each continue to be one of the two parties, which does mean 'keeping third parties down' in as much as they can. All that a successful third party would accomplish, though, would be to knock one of the big two completely out of power. That has happened in the past, but it seems unlikely, today.

You would have to change the constitution to open the system up to three or more parties. Many countries have systems that allow multiple parties. The 'coalition' governments often formed in such systems also have thier problems, though.

Answer 5

Because it would be too much of a "wild card" with a third party. It would split the votes between the two major parties. That is another reason why they both hate anyone to run independently (like Ross Perot) because it splits the vote for one or even both sides.

Answer 6

The other parties are too extreme in their personal views...if there was a 3rd party that had both qualities thy may have a chance.
And on a side note....this time around there are no viable candidates to choose from..it's just a matter of choosing the lesser of 2 evils.

Answer 7

It's not up to the Republicans or the Democrats to allow a third party, rather, it is the obligation of the third party to become strong enough to compete.

Answer 8

Simple....Let me put it in an analogy.

Say you have two people and they have split a pie 50/50. Now these two people are known to be greedy so would it make sense to either one to bring in another person to share the pie with so that each gets a third?

Answer 9

If there is a third party, someone is losing power. Who is willing to give up part of their base for a new competitor to emerge?

Answer 10

Lets say you have $100, would you rather split it 2 ways or 3 ways?