Donating to third parties

[arkadelos.livejournal.com]

I am biased in favor of third parties, and I want to donate to them, but I understand that they have an tough time breaking into the dominance of Democrats and Republicans. I do not want my donations to go to a politician who not even win 10% of the vote, but better yet, I want to donate to a politician who will win the election. This is why I will not donate to third parties in national elections.

So I ask: how do you tell which politicians have the best chance of winning the election? And what do you think third parties can do to increase their base and gain big victories?

Comments

[snackbreak.livejournal.com]

I think too many people ignore third parties for reasons like "no one else will vote for xyz" and I don't know how any of the third party candidates can break away from that stigma, honestly. People don't vote for the best candidate, they vote for whoever the media tells them is most likely to win, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[izuko.livejournal.com]

With a plurality-wins election system, no good can come of a third party. At best, they can be come the new second party. At worst, they help get the other side elected.

If we want to support third parties, we need to change the election system. Unless we do that, any support we give them will only help the left (unless we support the Green Party).

[ex-annemarie10.livejournal.com]

I refuse to vote for or contribute to a third party or one of their candidates. While I may agree with some of the priciples espoused by a third party, I realize, in America, the winner of the election is going to come from one of the two major parties. Third parties and their candidates only serve to siphon off votes from one of the major party candidates.

I didn't support John McCain in the primaries last year. An awful lot of other people didn't support him either. Yet, he was the eventual winner. I heard all kinds of people saying we really didn't have a choice, that both of the candidates were too liberal. All I can say now is bullshit.

I voted for McCain because I knew even though I would disagree with him, his views are a lot closer to mine than Obama's. As it turns out, the most vocal opponent of Obama's socialist spending in the Senate has been John McCain. John McCain voted against Sotomayor when Clinton appointed her to the Court of Appeals. Whether I agree with McCain on every issue or not, he would have been a damn site better than Obama.

Third parties are a haven for idealists who don't live in the real world. We need people like that for their ideas and their zeal. What we don't need is to lose elections because of them.

[arkadelos.livejournal.com]

I believe we need a third party to attain power, but I am also a realist, and I know it is incredibly difficult for third parties to break through the two-party dominance. Winning elections will require a lot of money, though. I wonder if I should donate to the Republicans only until I start making a substationally bigger salary.

[ex-annemarie10.livejournal.com]

I don't think any amount of money would bring a third party to equal footing in our system. The two-party system is just too ingrained in most of us.

I would suggest working within the party of your choice to bring about the things you feel are important. You might never agree with a Republican candidate on every issue but work to change their minds rather than waste your money on a third party, which only serves to help elect more mistakes like Obama.

I'm also sure that even though you might not agree with everything the Republican party candidate believes in, you will probably find the same thing true of a third party candidate.

[izuko.livejournal.com]

It was McCain's candidacy the brought me back to the Republican party. I realized that the party needed the voice of libertarians more than the Libertarian party did.

[izuko.livejournal.com]

A third party will never attain power under our current system.

[mprice.livejournal.com]

This is the uphill battle being waged by the Libertarian Party. Despite it being the third largest political party in the country, it is still small when compared to the Democrat and Republican party.

BUT, there is a strategy in place to overcome this. Start small with local elections where the person is often more important than their party affiliation. We had a mayor in the City of Buffalo, a Democrat, who was endorsed by the Republican party. In my home town, 90% of the time the Town Supervisor is a Republican, but a few years back, a Democrat was elected because everyone liked her platform.

As I said, it is an uphill battle, but considering how badly both parties have screwed up these past few years, I think a strong third party actually stands a chance in the "Purple" states of the heartland.

[arkadelos.livejournal.com]

What electorial positions do you think stand the best chance of succeeding at this moment - town/city or state? Because all the third parties run for all levels of government, I would rather donate to individual candidates rather than the actual party, and the Libertarian website has an easy-to-access list of who is running and for what position.

[mprice.livejournal.com]

I think city and town to start out. Possibly state if they are already in a local position and are moving up the ladder, as it were.

The party is also encouraging people fed up with the status quo to run for office themselves. This is something that my son is seriously considering. If not running himself, then assisting someone else's campaign.

GO LOCAL

[lucy-chronicles.livejournal.com]

It makes the most difference and they are the most elected.

No party also works. our mayor is an independent here in Vegas. he'll run that way for Governor as well.

Re: GO LOCAL

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Would you categorize him (Mayor Goodman) as being a Blue Dog Democrat? Or an Independent in the mold of Joe Lieberman? (For the record, I very much admire Joe Lieberman's kahunas.)

Re: GO LOCAL

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

kahunas cojones - "Kahuna" is a Hawaiian word for surfer. "Cojones" is a Spanish word for testicles. ;o)

Re: GO LOCAL

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Whatever.

Re: GO LOCAL

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

It takes some big cojones not to care about sounding intelligent by knowing what words mean... ;o)

Re: GO LOCAL

[mprice.livejournal.com]

You got it in one.

[autumnjoy.livejournal.com]

Local elections are the only ones where I would bother putting time or money into third party candidates. They CAN win on a local level and if any broader success down for third parties down the road, it will have its roots in local politics.

And when, for the example, the same person is being endorsed by the Republican party and the Right to Life party, I vote for them on the Right to the Life party ticket. It's a small thing, but it's a statistic that I want to be part of. and it's the only way that I would support a third party candidate in a statewide or national election. I have friend who voted for Ron Paul with a write-in vote last year because they couldn't, in good conscience, vote for either McCain or Obama. And while I have a tremendous amount of respect for them and the firmness of their principles, I think it's unhelpful and unpractical. Because to be honest, I don't think America will ever embrace a third party nationally. At least not any of the ones that exist today. They just don't have broad enough appeal. And the population of this country is too diverse. Plus the concept of the two party system has just become too deeply embedded in our society.

[nisie.livejournal.com]

Keep in mind that 100 years ago, the notion of women having equal rights was also ingrained into most of the people. 150 years ago, slavery was commonly accepted. 60 years ago, my grandfather-because of his native American blood could not own land in Alabama. Things change- I see no point in maintaining the what is when things can be better.