A little of this, a little of that

Saturday, May 6, 2006

I was talking the other day to an occasional critic of my columns and we were able to find some common ground. We both agreed that the time is right for the emergence of a viable third political party to combat the cynicism that surrounds politics today. There is most likely never going to be a permanent viable third party because we are so entrenched in the two party system. But, in studying electoral politics, it is also not rare for third parties to emerge from time to time, almost always anchored by a particular personality, rather than a philosophy. Many political pundits, for example, believe that Ralph Nader cost Al Gore the presidency in the 2000 election. Ross Perot was a major player in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections that resulted in Bill Clinton receiving a plurality vote instead of a majority vote. With the current state of American politics being what it is, it's remarkable that candidates with a different political bent haven't emerged. The Republicans have lost their way and the Democrats have no vision. Heck, sometimes you can't even tell a Democrat from a Republican. The American people seem to be disenchanted with the whole process -- but there no options are presented to us, except to simply stay home and refuse to participate in the process.

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