If you're pro-democracy then you have to be against the two-party political system.
In
the "free world," ALL of the other "free" countries have MANY (4-6) viable and valid political
parties. Only the United States has a two-party system. While the "parlimentary" form of government,
elsewhere, allows for all valid political parties the opportunity to participate and have their members be represented.
Until
government in America permits participation of third parties, most of our third party efforts are just so much
"spitting into the wind." Us diverse third-party activists should join forces to change the local, state
and Federal laws so that WE be represented and that OUR opinions be heard.
Regardless
of which state you live in, I advise that all members of the Citizen Party, Green Party, Independent Party, Labor
Party, Libertarian Party, New Party, Reform Party, and Socialist Party should register to vote "THE THIRD
PARTY" until ALL local, state, and Federal laws are changed to put an end to the bogus democracy called the
"two-party system"
(or as Rob Ritchie calls "the dubious democracy").
These MUST be law at the local, state and national levels:
After
all three of these points are won, then we can go back to our separate campaign camps to duke it out AFTER democracy
has been won in America.
In New Mexico, with its two-party system,
45% of adults are registered to vote.
In Finland, with its six-party system,
95% of adults are registered to vote.
49 of 50 states have no third party state or federal legislators. Third parties are typically dismissed
as spoilers, which indeed our voting system generally consigns them to be.
Democracy is a true multi-party system.
A presidential election in the United States where there is no majority winner, ends up being decided
by the Congressional House of Representatives. One of the important federalist checks on concentrations of power
is the electoral college system of electing Presidents. The US does not have a national election, but in fact has
fifty state elections. Each state has a proportional number of electoral votes based upon its population. Further,
it is a "winner take all" system, i.e., whoever gets the most votes gets all of the state's electoral
votes. A majority of electoral college votes are required to win the Presidency. This makes campaign strategies
very "state centered." Because of the majority rule, it encourages a broadly defined two-party system,
rather than a multi-party system. If a third party can win enough states so that neither of the two major parties
wins a majority, then the Constitution requires the election be decided by the House of Representatives.
Remember "no taxation without representation"? With America's current winner-takes-all
election system, why should us third party members have to pay taxes?
Incas
The Inca society organized within groups of ten. One of the ten represented
that particular circle at the next level up until you got to the final ruling council of ten which voted a king
among them. In the Inca language, inca means ten. The term "inca" doesn't refer to an ethnicity, but
to an organizational mode.
Three years ago when I made such a proposal on the Green Forum, I received
many kudos and my post was archived on the Green Party USA website.
So, it's this organizational mode I'm proposing we use in THE THIRD PARTY.
~ ~ ~
"Andrew, Your representative democracy organizational model is known
as the
panchayat (sp?) model I think. It was being used in Nepal in1967 as I recall. Maybe it still is. I would be interested
in a discussion of the pros and cons of such a model which includes those who have had experience with it."
- John Otter
Register
THE THIRD PARTY
Every member of the Citizen, Green, Independent, Labor, Libertarian, New, Reform,
or Socialist Parties who ignores the significance of temporarily joining forces to get these three laws onto the
books are phoneys who are more concerned with corraling their personality cults and their petty empires, then they're
concerned with any third party actually aquiring teeth and making a difference in American politics.
Comments on this webpage from a retired researcher with the CIA (12-22-99):
Andrew,
Today I went to your webpages. They are impressive, especially the art work/graphics.
Aside from being beautiful, they are clear, easily readable and understandable - something I usually find sadly
(and surprisingly) lacking in large corporation's webpages. I cannot think of anything I would suggest changing.
