By Daniel Nardini
Even in this day of age, so many Americans tend to think about elections revolving around the two ruling parties; the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. It seems that almost every congressional or presidential election is all about whether the Democrats or Republicans win or lose. Lost in all of this is the fact there are two other parties in the whole election process—the Libertarian Party and the Green Party. It is true that even if you put these two parties together, the percentage of the vote they will receive will still be negligible. At this point, most Americans just cannot shake themselves of the two ruling parties.
Yet, a growing number of Americans are getting tired of the two parties. More and more Americans are becoming what is being called the no party affiliation, or other than Democrat or Republican. This is because so far the Libertarian Party and Green Party are still not attracting enough people to change the dynamic of the election process. There are Americans who are joining the Libertarian Party or the Green Party, but so far the numbers are not significant. And even though the Democrats and Republicans are fighting each other tooth and nail, it seems that when it comes to a third party trying to come in both parties will do everything they can to keep a third party off the ballot.
As strange as it sounds, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party actually try to get their base so fired up to fight against each other that most do not think about finding an alternative to the two ruling parties. I have seen this happen time and time again. If anything, this has become worse in this election cycle than I have ever seen it before. As if violence is not bad enough, now there are actually bloody fights between the two sides. But to what point? If you think about it, the two ruling parties are not that diametrically opposed to each other as the leadership of these two parties would have us believe. Both presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, are both populists who will put America first. Both actually will work with both big business, and both are courting the labor unions. Both claim to represent the working class and the struggling middle class. Despite what the Democrats may claim, they have put in tariffs against China (both Trump and Biden), and it is likely that Harris will do the same.
The Libertarian Party and the Green Party have rather different policies compared to themselves and certainly compared to the two ruling parties. Amazingly, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party believe in a market place health care system. The Libertarian Party believes in a more unregulated private health care system with no government intervention, and the Green Party believes in a single payer system with the government having control over the health care system to keep down costs. The Green Party’s position on health care is more in keeping with what many countries are doing now. If both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party were able to have a much, much more influential position in the U.S. elections, then what we are seeing now would not be happening. There would be nowhere near as much infighting as we are seeing now, and greater ideas and solutions could become the norm in our elections. What needs to happen is for third parties to emerge onto the scene so that the whole political discourse can change. It does not matter if this change is brought about by the Libertarian Party or the Green Party or someone and something else, a third political force is long overdue.
What About the Libertarians and the Greens?
By Daniel Nardini
Yet, a growing number of Americans are getting tired of the two parties. More and more Americans are becoming what is being called the no party affiliation, or other than Democrat or Republican. This is because so far the Libertarian Party and Green Party are still not attracting enough people to change the dynamic of the election process. There are Americans who are joining the Libertarian Party or the Green Party, but so far the numbers are not significant. And even though the Democrats and Republicans are fighting each other tooth and nail, it seems that when it comes to a third party trying to come in both parties will do everything they can to keep a third party off the ballot.
As strange as it sounds, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party actually try to get their base so fired up to fight against each other that most do not think about finding an alternative to the two ruling parties. I have seen this happen time and time again. If anything, this has become worse in this election cycle than I have ever seen it before. As if violence is not bad enough, now there are actually bloody fights between the two sides. But to what point? If you think about it, the two ruling parties are not that diametrically opposed to each other as the leadership of these two parties would have us believe. Both presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, are both populists who will put America first. Both actually will work with both big business, and both are courting the labor unions. Both claim to represent the working class and the struggling middle class. Despite what the Democrats may claim, they have put in tariffs against China (both Trump and Biden), and it is likely that Harris will do the same.
The Libertarian Party and the Green Party have rather different policies compared to themselves and certainly compared to the two ruling parties. Amazingly, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party believe in a market place health care system. The Libertarian Party believes in a more unregulated private health care system with no government intervention, and the Green Party believes in a single payer system with the government having control over the health care system to keep down costs. The Green Party’s position on health care is more in keeping with what many countries are doing now. If both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party were able to have a much, much more influential position in the U.S. elections, then what we are seeing now would not be happening. There would be nowhere near as much infighting as we are seeing now, and greater ideas and solutions could become the norm in our elections. What needs to happen is for third parties to emerge onto the scene so that the whole political discourse can change. It does not matter if this change is brought about by the Libertarian Party or the Green Party or someone and something else, a third political force is long overdue.