Does America's two party system work?
I'm a center-left independent and mentioned to friends in a debate that I feel the two-party system is a bit unfair, since independents, Libertarians and people leaning towards the center don't really have a say in things. I got universally attacked by both the liberals and conservatives at the table, and I'm just wondering, does anyone agree with me?
Comments
Yes, it is fair and in fact you have an even better voice than those who are tried and true Republicans and Democrats. Why? Well each party KNOWS they are not going to change those people's votes who vote along party lines. The only way to win is to cater to the independents, libertarians and others who have no affiliation and sway them into voting for their guy. Because of this, both parties tend to bring forward candidates who tend to stay more towards the center rather than far left or right and are careful not to go too overboard.
In law, American does NOT HAVE a TWO party system, or an n-party system for any fixed value of n. Now, you can debate about WHY there are only two parties of any real prominence or power, and that might be a good question. But you cannot complain that "the two-party system is ... unfair". I personally believe that, yes, we should have more than two MAJOR parties, because this causes people to be pressured into joining party X or Y when they only agree with SOME of the beliefs of party X; otherwise, the thinking goes, we will have no change. In FACT, I agree even better with the Founding Fathers' belief that parties = factions = fanaticism = splitting the nation and civil war. EVERYONE disagrees on SOMETHING with any other person; so how can you have a party? The only REAL way that you can have a party is to unite a large number of people based on a few main beliefs that they hold in common. Hopefully, these beliefs form a whole philosophy that can encompass most if not all of the important decisions; otherwise it WILL NOT form. On the other hand, this success will get people to be idealists; and idealism as the Founding Fathers knew, is a good thing, but must be measured with a dose of pragmatism
Do you hear that sound? It's a very faint sound... it's the sound of the smallest violin being played....
Sorry, but I don't have much sympathy for you. FAIR??? WHO guaranteed life was FAIR? Oh PUL-EASE!
YES, the two party system WORKS. The "ideal" for most libbies is to have Congress be "bipartisan." This, of course, really means to a libbie that everyone agrees with THEM. So, if you think it's difficult for just TWO parties to AGREE on things in order for Congress to "DO" anything, how do you think having 5, 6, 10, or 14 parties are going to "work together to get things done"???
I will name you FOUR countries that have "multi" party systems... England, Israel, Canada, and Mexico. For these countries, their legislatures (parlamentaries) have to somehow form coalitions of these different parties in order to get ANY THING DONE! And, of course, the "majority" party could have only a minority of the actual vote, because the votes of the electorate is so broadly split. So the Prime Minister could be from a party that was elected with only, say, 22% of the vote! You don't have that here at all.
Then there's the problem of the "No Confidence" vote. Once there is a vote of "No Confidence," that triggers a new voting cycle. Do you know what the AVERAGE length of the Prime Minister is in Israel (for example)? 22 months! Can you imagine us having to elect a new president LESS than every 2 years?
NO THANKS!
Look, as conservative as I am, there are some issues and people that I don't agree with in the GOP. But on the WHOLE, those who belong to the GOP hold the same values and views as I do. Nothing's PERFECT! But I feel this is the best system, and a whole lot better than having so many political parties!
(Have you ever seen a Mexican presidential election? It is nearly CHAOS!)
One difference between conservatives and liberals: Conservatives are guided by TRUTH. Liberals try to GUIDE the Truth.
Republican since before she was born… and PROUD of it.
Could anyone of you please explain the difference between plain vanilla and French vanilla? I'm French, never heard of something like that? For us in France, your system with two big parties seems really odd, here, even for the extreme left, we must have at least 3 parties: Ligue communiste révolutionnaire Parti communiste and the third one, I can't recall. Ar our last elections, we thought a big party of the center (recently named Parti Démocrate by François Bayrou) has made enough votes in the first tour to have consistent weight on the second, but Sarkozy (you know, our little nervous president, recently divorced?) put so much pressure on the politicians that poor Bayrou is almost alone in his partie now. Oh yes, we have many parties, but in the end, what's the difference ? big party at the right side of the check (UMP with Sarkozy) and the left is represented by the parti socialist who is no longer socialist and very much divided now... What's in for the Frenchies? You have to work more and get paid less, when you have the chance to have a job. I, personnally have two masters and no hope to find a job anytime soon. France is no more a paradise than any other "rich" countries, it's always paradise for a happy few.
I've often wondered if America wasn't split in half the way it is. I mean, over here we have tons of liberals and those opinions, and then on the otherside, we have conservatives, in essence, the opposite of the liberals. There is no gray zone in our country, and when there is, it's not fully heard. The fact is is that we have a two-sided system because it's always been that way in America. It's one of those old traditions that are still preserved and I just often wonder how different the country would be if the democratic and republican parties were just removed and then the playing field was leveled. How many popular parties would emerge? How different would their opinions be?
No. No two parties can ever capture one's ideology. The Democrats are so for to the right that they're pretty much moderates, and the Republican party is in the center of the Right-wing.
I am also center left, and I would say for us the 2 party system doesn't work very well. As we cant really fully support one party. . There's no one to really represent us. Also being a minority doesn't help.
I think so, if there are people in each party who want to work together to get things done.
"As of today, every measure that we deem essential to the progress and welfare of America normally requires Democratic support in varying degrees. I think it is fair to say that, in this situation, only a leadership that is based on honest of purpose, calmness and inexhaustible patience in conference and persuasion, and refusal to be diverted from basic principles can, in the long run, win out." Dwight D. Eisenhower, with a slim Republican majority in Congress.
It would if the republicans would counter the liberal progressives by actually being constantly on the right, there are too many on the right who are actually left (rinos). Libertarians aren't center, they're far right (ultimate freedoms and liberty).
Well there's a reason that our Founding Fathers didn't believe in parties.
"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule--and both commonly succeed and are right." [H.L. Mencken]
Prove that wrong and I'll send you a certificate.
P.S. Like it or not, we're stuck with a two party system.