Republican or Democrat?

[DarthVolod]

mrstickball said:

DarthVolod said:

Like most here, I am neither one. Those wishing for a 3rd party are living in a fantasy world though. It has been more than 150 years since a 3rd party won the presidency in America and I don't see that changing.

I am sympathetic for libertarians, but their hope for sustainable minarchy is a pipe dream. Government will always grow just like a tumor. The only solution, until someone offers a more reasonable approach, is anarchy. Not the Marxist variety which is just communism in drag, but a free market capitalist variety with private property ect. I don't think any of us will see it though ... not something that I think could happen for generations since so many people today either rely on government or are too afraid to imagine life without it.

In regards to the two party system, you could make an argument that one, either republicans or democrats, is the lesser of two evils, but the trouble with that philosophy is that the lesser of two evils is still evil. If we had an election between HItler and Stalin no reasonable person would waste time debating which is "less" evil, but rather they would be searching for a third way.

I think the likelihood of a 3rd party is greater than you believe. Look up Ross Perot in the 1992 election. Had he not dropped out, he would have likely beaten both Bush and Clinton, as he was leading in the polls against both.

Eventually, someone with money and a lot of guts will run 3rd party and win. Ross Perot was almost there, but didn't quite make it due to death threats against family, but someone will pick up that mantle. I think America wants a 3rd party, but there is just too much money in the R's and D's pockets that squashes the message out. Heck, in Ohio, I know enough Republican committee people that would gladly vote and turn Libertarian if they were viable. Its just a matter of time before someone with a good brand name steps out and turns the country upside down.

If it does happen the timing has to be right. Even if a Libertarian somehow managed to get elected in 2012 or 2016 America, by all economic markers, does not have a healthy economy, and the supposed recovery is probably already over. It is likely that, with the way things are going at least, things could get worse in the future leading to a real depression.

Even though a 3rd party (most likely libertarians since they seem to have the most support) would have had nothing to do with said depression a libertarian president would be blamed for such a financial disaster which would set back the entire movement for who knows how long.

Maybe one day it will happen, but a lot will be riding on that term since Republicans and Democrats can survive having terrible figureheads as they have always had in the past ... but a much smaller party needs to have as spotless and incident free a term as possible.