a dream for ending the two-party duopoly
July 15th, 2008 by Dylan
I’d like to propose a simple plan to really change things in the US. I don’t really know if this is even an original idea, but here it goes…
Our current woes are due in large part to the two-party duopoly of the Democratic and Republican parties, and the people controlling the candidates within those parties that are allowed to be nominated for election. Third-party candidates are treated as fringe and irrelevant, because they believe strongly enough about their principles to not agree with anyone else (a similar parallel comes to mind with Linux distributions).
The only way to break this cycle is to actually get a third-party candidate elected. It doesn’t matter what party or really even what they believe in (see US Presidents, 1988-2008), provided they agree to a few things if elected:
- Choose a cabinet of members representing all of the other third parties that helped get said candidate elected
- Work furiously to change election laws that favor the current two-party system (this is probably naive)
- Do right by the people of this country
The goal would be to replicate this model across the congress and the senate throughout the US, to completely strip the two main political parties of their dominant positions, allowing legislation to pass that would eliminate the benefits of the two-party system. A final goal would be voting reform to follow a model like New Zealand where every vote counts. So how do we make this happen:
- Pick the candidate with the best chance of winning (Barr, Nader, Baldwin, Paul… at this point, I don’t care who, just get someone in there that will work to remove the two-party monopoly
- Have all other parties rally their supporters to get this candidate elected
Is this just an odd, quirky idea that’s failed before, or something so simple that it might actually work?
I think we’re doomed to the two party system since we don’t have a Parliament that can form combinations of smaller parties to select the executive.
e.g. Greens were a big part of Schröder’s coalition in Germany. Here, no chance. No reason to vote for them to Congress, because they can’t influence choosing the executive. Green leaning candidates just join the Democratic Party where they might be able to do something. Then, to get elected they have to kiss up to corporations for contributions. Each little compromise along the way seems reasonable.
Apparently I’m not the only one with this idea: http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/08/22/independent-greens-seek-broad-third-party-coalition-behind-bloomberg-paul/
Getting interesting: Paul: Reject the major parties, go for a third
Say NO to McBama!
Say NO to Republicrats!
Say NO to Establishment media outlets!
Say NO to bipartisan trashing of the Constitution!
Cast a protest vote for a 3rd party presidential candidate of your choice.
Tell everyone why you will vote against the lesser of two evils.
Tell everyone who you will vote for.
Tell everyone what you think.
Be heard: http://SayNO2008.com
“The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two party system… This can be accomplished by voting for one of the non-establishment, principled candidates.” – Ron Paul
Press Conference by Ron Paul at the National Press Club
The problem isn’t the duopoly. It is the monopoly. Industry decides who speaks the loudest and most clearly. They can do this because all publicly disseminated information is thoroughly filtered by the very corporations who made the duopoly necessary in the first place. America didn’t just evolve into a duopoly that favors big business, it was built by these private institutions, such as media, entertainment, finance, defense. Public power is only so powerful because it is influenced to protect private power. No 3rd party candidate will ever make it into the inside because of this, it just won’t be possible, so we shouldn’t waste much time on the “only if” scenarios.
We should instead seek to raise awareness about the information hegemony of private power. We should find ways to regulate them by playing by their own rules – > marketing, pr and controlling and modulating the flow of information in ways that are exactly contrary to their system.
The internet is the natural solution to this problem. We should seek ways to protect the internet and keep it independent and free. We should find ways to get people onto the internet at a lower cost, and keep them away from the same brands that are on TV, Newspapers, and movies.