Third-Party Politics

I remember the Presidential election in 1992 fairly well. Or at least the lead up to it. You had the cool, young Democrat that was hitting all the talk shows. He was entertaining and engaging. Bill Clinton had some momentum, but President Bush had “won two wars” and it seemed wasn’t all that concerned about not being reelected. It appeared, even to me at the time, he wasn’t even campaigning all that hard. Enter, Ross Perot. Little guy, big ears, funny southern accent. That dude was smart. He was a businessman and you could tell he was very used to cutting through bullshit and getting things done.

That summer, I was home between my first and second year of college and slinging pizza for extra cash. My boss, Don, was a pretty smart guy and on a slow night, the election came up. Very much like Ross Perot, Don Baldinelli cut through bullshit pretty quickly. He said there was no way Perot was going to win, but he was the one that would decide the election. Being 18 and still not that bright, I looked at him cross-eyed. I remember his exasperated sigh. “You need to get a refund on your tuition,” he said with a laugh.

He went on to explain there were only so many votes to be had and entering a third-party candidate into the mix would divide voters in each of the other two parties. He said Perot was going to pull enough votes that it would change the election. It was a solid prediction. Like I said, Don was a smart guy.

It has been debated since, whether or not Perot actually split enough voters away from the Republican party to cause President Bush to lose. Ross Perot was on every state ballot as a third-party candidate but didn’t get a single electoral college vote. I personally feel like he did sway the popular vote, but also that President Bush dropped the ball on campaigning, and that Bill Clinton was the right candidate at the right time. I think it all lined up for Clinton to win, but I do really believe Ross Perot played a big part in dividing the Republican party voters.

I think we need more of that, really. The two-party system isn’t getting it done. Sorry, it’s not. Whether it is an Independent Party, Tea Party, Green Party, Birthday Party, or Bachelorette Party, I don’t really care. Our political system is too divided and the current Democrat and Republican parties are too entrenched. They both need a little scare, a little motivation, and a little kick in the ass to remind them nothing is a given.

Votes need to be earned by incumbents and new candidates alike. No one in any seat in Washington DC should feel comfortable during an election cycle. There should be constant pressure to earn and re-earn the votes of their constituents, and therefore, their jobs. I think entering MORE political party pressure is the way to do that.

I think it is also very important in both houses of Congress. Take those two houses and split them 40-40-20 across three different political parties and see what happens. There will be a lot more negotiation, a lot more movement toward the middle, and a lot more working together within the halls of Congress instead of the bullshit we have going on right now. I’d hate to be the party Whip before a big vote in that situation. You’d be working your ass off.

Washington DC needs a legitimate shake up. The White House and Congress both. I think this may be it.

What say you? What’s the value of having a legitimate Third Party?