Why does everyone complain about Democrats and Republicans, yet the majority won't support a third party?
341492
Typically in a 3 or more party system the lesser favored candidate wins because the better candidates split the majority votes. Better the Dems. and Reps. offer up someone more to your liking.
1061290
Do you feel that your only option besides Republican is Democrat?\n\nHow about a third party?\n\nSince you're conservative, check this one out:\n\nwww.constitutionparty.com
1064699
A two party system can't really represent a population as diverse and huge as the US.  There are other parties, but most people are creatures of habit and do not want to stop doing what they've always done, picking Dem or GOP at every election.  The major parties focus on important political issues because they want to gain seats in congress, but they don't necessarily focus on issues that really matter in the lives of Americans, because those might not get as many people to the voting booths come november.\n\nI hope that people will seize on any curiosity caused by this question and check out some third parties.  Even if you never vote for a third party member, it's good to get another perspective on the issues that face the US today.
1065333
You are correct.  Many people are voting against someone rather than voting for someone.  IMHO, that is worse than not voting at all.  The "against" people are actually cancelling out the vote of someone believing in the issues.  In the last pres. election, I would ask people "who are you favoring and why?"  I didn't persuade to Dem or Rep.  But many people would say "Kerry, because I hate W. this or that, yadda, yadda."  Bill Clinton addressed a democratic convention of some sort and told them that the democratic party needs to be a party for something, not against something.  Unfortately, both parties have drifted even farther away from the center.  The right has gone too far right and the left has gone too far left.  The overall is still probably about center, but the standard devation is so huge that people spend more time arguing about something than acutally doing anything.
52148
For the same reason Republicans are, they're politicians.  Both sides need to get their heads out of their behinds and think about what's best for the people of this country, not their parties.
190249
I think the problem with this country right now is that both sides are grandstanding on each and every topic.  Mainstream America is neither Democratic or Republican.  Most Americans are independent, middle of the road types.  People should use their mind and the situation at hand to determine what stand they should take and what decision should be made.  Make a decision based on what political party you belong to is ludicris.  Call me a liberal Republican or a conservative Democrat, I really don't care.  But do call me an independent self thinking American.
715016
It's not a third-party issue.\n\nStates allocate electoral college votes, according to the rules set forth by the states. What the third-parties want is irrelevant.\n\nIn fact, the third parties are largely irrelevant given the current system, because the states so massively favor the dominant two parties that it's functionally impossible to elect a third-party candidate. The system is broken, but only those who don't support either of the two major parties seems to care.
1122868
Because the minority of Americans who actively support the Democrats or Republicans are fucking stupid.\n\nMost people who vote are not actually supporting either party, but are trying to stop the other party form gaining power.  That is also very fucking stupid, as both parties are going to do the same damn crap to the USA.\n\nIf all those in the US who dislike either of the main parties all united, and demanded and voted for a real change (the libertarian party for example, a party in touch with the root causes of the rise of the USA) it would scare the shit out of the evil elite. but then the evil elite know full well the average dumb yank is never gonna figure that out and keep acting like a turkey voting for christmas.\n\nMost people can't be bothered doing anything about the fact that the private companies that have hijacked your voting systems, (with electronic auditless touch-screen voting systems), totally stole the election for Bush. You don't even get the president you voted for. Not that Kerry would have been any better. He wouldn't. the USA people should vote for someone else.
1129098
I find both parties to be equally corrupt and stupid. Considering the support the get from the American public, it's no wonder this country is a laughingstock.
836361
The democrats generally support big business and seek to maintain the status quo - don't rock the boat. On the other hand the republicans generally support big business and would like things to stay pretty much the same - don't make waves. The two parties have taken over the election process and the national debates. Neither party will allow independent oversight for elections or independent candidates in any of the national debates.\n\nAbout 30% of Americans are registered democrat; about 30% are republican. Divide and rule is each party's motto.
1072325
There are liberals and conservatives with diverse opinions.  The problems in our political system are primarily because we define each other as either liberals or conservatives, democrats or republicans.  Even the third party candidates are really just renamed persons of the same two political parties.  The question is how do we escape from this trap and find a genuine dialog with each other?
420096
My attitude is we've been duped.  Neither party is about solutions, their about problems.  The more problems there are, the more power that the parties and the politicians have.  They gain this power by PROMISING to fix the problem but they never seem to get around to it. God forbid its an election year nothing gets done then or if something is done it usually makes things worse.  \n\nMy solution become informed and vote.  Stop voting for parties but start voting for character and those trying to do the job, some are not many but some, vote third party.  Find out (really find out not what other people say, or the news) what your representatives are doing or have done and vote accordingly.
691269
This is a thorny issue.  The Democrats and Republicans seem to be very non-responsive to their constituencies.  It seems that the goal of both parties is simply to get re-elected.\n\nOn the other side, I lived in Germany for almost 10 years, and I can say that having multiple parties seems to lead to weak, ineffective governments.\n\nLooking at the the two options it seems that our choice is "six of one, a half dozen of the other".\n\nIf anyone has a plan, let me know.
832269
The Republican and Democratic parties are so big and their bases are so broad, that their are hardly any issues that they can all agree on.  Usually it is based on the views of specific candidates for those parties, for that you can go to their websites to see where they stand on issues.
1144403
To understand this issue, you have to understand how the political base of each party operates...and how the politicians in each party play to the strengths of their base constituency.\n\nOne example:\nIn 2004, several states were pushing amendments to their respective state constitutions to ban gay marriage, an issue fanned nationally by the GOP, and very dear to the conservative groups that make up the GOP base.  This, in turn, was an event that spurred many in the base to vote in the 2004 elections, giving Bush the 51% majority that won him re-election.  If you review some of the nationally published exit polls, people who voted for Bush listed his "Moral Values" as the most important reason for voting for him, overshadowing both the War in Iraq and the state of the American economy.\n\nAgain, this is just one example.  There were many reasons why so many voted for Bush.  Another example was "anything is better than Kerry". The democratic party failed to motivate their own base, and were unable to produce what some call an "electable" candidate to run against Bush.\n\nSo, his reelection is the result of American democracy at work...and the fact that his poll numbers are low now is merely a reflection of how quickly Americans change their minds.\n\nThere's no simple answer.
868880
the rules are different because democrats are different than republicans, didnt you know?\na democrat can stand on his head and tell the rest of the world is upside down, and everyone else will believe it.  if a republican does the same, he gets sued for teling everybody else what he thinks should be right.\nwhen a democrat accuses a republican of voter fraud, being unfair to somebody or a group of people, cheaing on something, or anything of that nature, its really what the democrats are doing.  when a republican does the same thing, the democrats say its slander and hate speech.\ndemocrats are allowed to be different because they know better than everybody else, and republicans are just a bunch of sticks in the mud from states where there is no common sense.\nlast but not least, dont forget, 5000 years of human evolution doesnt mean anything now that the democrats are in power, or will be, next year.
328162
It would be nice, but no. These two parties are too powerful and have too much money for a third party to compete. They will try, as they have in the past, but they won't succeed. I don't like to believe that any vote is "wasted" but I do believe that voting for the third party just increases the chances of getting someone like Bush in office again. I find it apalling that anyone could still support this man or the Republican party after all they have done to damage our country.\n\nI have voted for a third party in the past, but as I've grown older I realize that it just did more damage than good, so I will remain a democrat. The only way I would vote for a 3rd party again would be if I saw (through the polls) that the person running clearly had a chance, and if they ran on a platform I could really support.\n\nBut don't ever not vote. Don't ever believe that your vote doesn't count. We have a responsibility to vote for the person we believe should be in office, even if you do vote for a third party candidate.