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celticlord2112 -> RE: A third party in US politics (12/17/2008 6:36:05 AM)
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quote:
As the internet becomes more pervasive, is it possible that a third party could rise to power through a purely grassroots campaign?
In theory, it's quite possible.
However, the structure of government in the US strongly favors two dominant political parties. Unlike parliamentary systems, where the chief executive is the leader of whatever party assembles a majority within the legislature, the President is elected independently of Congressional majorities. Thus, the structural oppositions are not inter-party but inter-organizational: not Liberal vs Conservative but Legislative vs Executive (and in the last 40 years, the overwhelming tendency is for Congress and the Presidency to reside in differing political parties). Effective opposition to a President draws politicians into a single opposing party, and effective support for a President likewise coalesces into a single supporting party.
As a result, while a third political party could conceivably arise and capture a broad segment of the electorate, it would only gain significant political power (especially at the national level) if one or the other of the two dominant parties disintegrated, or if the two dominant parties fell jointly into a political center and became, in effect, one party. Absent such a scenario, the rising popularity of a third party would be met with adaptation by two dominant parties, and the policies and ideas of said third party would be absorbed by one or the other of the dominant parties.
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