[Vision2020] third party power

[Paul Rumelhart]

I just thought of a way third parties could have a larger say in what is going on in the political scene.

If the leadership of one of the third parties (let's pick on the Green Party) thought that their issues weren't being taken seriously by the Democratic Party (such as Global Warming), then if they had fortitude they could reach out to all the Dems that are environmentalists at heart but vote Dem anyway and suggest that they all vote Green Party.  Basically, they would be saying "let's throw this election in order to get ourselves taken seriously.  If the Dems want us back, they have to make our pet issue one of their main focuses."

This way, they can make use of the tendency of "first past the post" election systems to become predominantly two-party systems to their advantage.  They would have to reach out to enough of the Dems to cause the election to be lost.  They would have to be willing to throw the occasional election to be taken seriously, though.  Long-term vs. short-term thinking.

Of course, the Libertarian Party could do the same thing, focusing on civil liberties for example.  You get the idea.

Paul
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