A new party called "The Tea Party"

[BFranklin]

How about it?

[gls]

The deck is stacked heavily against third parties and independents. Despite much time, money and effort, The Libertarian and Constitution Parties, which embody much of the "Tea Party" agenda, have not been successful.

[silus]

The more parties the better.

[Akus]

The deck is stacked heavily against third parties and independents. Despite much time, money and effort, The Libertarian and Constitution Parties, which embody much of the "Tea Party" agenda, have not been successful.

why weren't they successful? Can you elaborate exactly how "the deck" is stacked against them?

[Shotdown1027]

There are already several state-level third parties with this name, in Florida and in Nevada. The Senate candidate, last name Ashijan, in Nevada is in a heap of trouble because his paperwork wasn't filed correctly and people are alleging he's a Reid plant. I doubt that, but it's still interesting.

If you want to be kept abreast of news about third parties and independent candidates, www.independentpoliticalreport.com is the best site on the Internet for it. Ballot-access.org is also good.

[gls]

why weren't they successful? Can you elaborate exactly how "the deck" is stacked against them?

There are many factors but for starters they have to spend a lot of time and money just to get on the ballot while the Democratic and Republican candidates are guaranteed spots. Some ballot-access standards are necessary but in most of the country the threshold is way too high, a result of major party collaboration intended to squash any real competition. Also third parties and independents are usually not mentioned in the media, included in polls or invited to debates. The dismal fundraising that results leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of defeat.

[Kotin]

I'll pass.

[peacepotpaul]

I'll pass.

I second

[revolutionisnow]

3rd parties are a waste of time, just keep with the main parties. Now anyone who is talking about PAC's or activist organizations, go for it. If you look the left has groups like Moveon and Seiu, etc that can mobilize a lot of people, it would be great if we could do the same.

[BFranklin]

People want something new....real change.

[Shotdown1027]

why weren't they successful? Can you elaborate exactly how "the deck" is stacked against them?

They weren't successful because of Ballot Access laws, which make it much more difficult for third parties to get on the ballot. For example: In Oklahoma a third party must collect 75,000+ signatures in order to qualify for the ballot. This sounds much easier than it is--it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In states where campaign finance laws exist, they are often biased against third parties too.
The listing on the ballots even favor major parties. Often the first two parties will be listed in larger type, while others are listed in smaller type. Similarly, the third parties or independents will sometimes be listed as "other"--a ballot distinction which can only hurt those candidates.

Because of these higher hurdles that third parties must jump through, they are at a severe disadvantage from the very beginning. As a result, there is a public perception that third parties can succeed. However, before the public ballot, before ballot access laws, before all of these terrible laws--third party members of Congress were quite common. Indeed, it was common to have 4-7 parties represented in the Congress before 1925 or so.

Even with the major ballot access problems we currently have, there are two Senators who aren't Major Party members (at least, they are registered that way). Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, is an Independent who actually helped to found both the Liberty Union and Progressive Parties of Vermont. The Progressive Party of Vermont now has 6 state legislators and a host of locally elected officials (including the Mayor of Burlington, the biggest city in Vermont). Joe Lieberman is listed as an "Independent Democrat" on the roles of the Senate. The enrollment of "Independent Democrat" is one with a long history in the U.S. Congress--see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Democrat

Again, to follow all of this--IndependentPoliticalReport.com is the best site on the web. Ballot-access.org is good too.

[Shotdown1027]

3rd parties are a waste of time, just keep with the main parties. Now anyone who is talking about PAC's or activist organizations, go for it. If you look the left has groups like Moveon and Seiu, etc that can mobilize a lot of people, it would be great if we could do the same.

I wouldn't say they're a total waste of time. Third Party's can occasionally have MAJOR effects on elections, they can drive public debate, etc. They also serve to bring people together of similar views and serve as pressure groups for the major parties. New York's model, with its fusion, is enviable. Third parties can cross endorse certain candidates which serves as a signal to those voters. For example, if a Republican candidate doesn't receive the Conservative Party endorsement, then they generally lose. Similarly, if the Democrat doesn't get the Working Families Party, they're screwed.