When do you think a third party candidate,

[Splodgenessabounds]

I think a third party in America would be a waste of time, over here in england we have Labour, then the Conservatives. They are the Democrats and Republicans of the UK (well they're sort of the same nowadays but in size I mean), then we have the Liberal Democrats . They just hear what labour and the tories have to say then listen to the public's opinion then form the parties policy's to fit that opinion. Weasel way of politics. If they ever got into power i'd be scared because they'd have no idea what they were doing. It's bad enough watching Democrats and Republicans through BS at ecah other, do we really need a third?

[BlindMessiah]

I'm a libertarian but the democrats and republicans have a strangle hold on the masses and the system. I don't see it happening.

[Guardsman Bass]

A third party will be made President if one of the Big Two Parties collapses (unlikely, since they seem to have picked up a kind of inertia - the Republicans survived being reduced to a pitiful 19 Senators after 1936 and less than 100 representatives after 1936, and they survived to fight another day after 20 years of Democratic Presidency under FDR and then Truman), allowing the new party to pick up most of its voters and former partisans, or if the US fundamentally changes its electoral system to be much more proportional. Neither is very likely.

Edited October 12, 2008 by Guardsman Bass

[BlindMessiah]

A third party will be made President if one of the Big Two Parties collapses (unlikely, since they seem to have picked up a kind of inertia - the Republicans survived being reduced to a pitiful 19 Senators after 1936 and less than 100 representatives after 1936, and they survived to fight another day after 20 years of Democratic Presidency under FDR and then Truman), allowing the new party to pick up most of its voters and former partisans, or if the US fundamentally changes its electoral system to be much more proportional. Neither is very likely.

Agreed. It is possible that if Obama was elected for two terms, and our country completely collapsed, that when we emerged from the crisis, people would be so angry with the system, after a failed Bush administration a hypothetically failed Obama administration, that it may actually be a four party race in 2016 but it's highly unlikely.

The reason I say four party is because I'm figuring were this scenario to play out, you'd have the democrats, republicans, libertarians, and Nader, if he is still running.

[Guardsman Bass]

Agreed. It is possible that if Obama was elected for two terms, and our country completely collapsed, that when we emerged from the crisis, people would be so angry with the system, after a failed Bush administration a hypothetically failed Obama administration, that it may actually be a four party race in 2016 but it's highly unlikely.

If that happened, though, then the United States might not even be a democracy, much less hold Presidential elections. Obviously a great deal of reform to the system would be in order if it was a real collapse, and maybe you could get one of the houses of Congress into a proportional thing (I think the Senators should be proportionally elected on a state-by-state basis).

You know what kills the Greens and the Libertarians under the current system? The fact that the two major parties are just similar enough that they draw off most of the third parties' potential voters (Republicans draw off libertarians, and Democrats from the Greens).

[ninjadude]

Presumably the OP means in modern times, since I'm pretty sure there has been a "third" party president in US history before that. I'll agree that it is unlikely in the extreme. Plus we don't have a parliment where a president is "made" based on coalitions in the first place. They are elected.

[Splodgenessabounds]

This should have been a Yes or No poll. Whoever made up this poll should be shot in the face, terrible.

[HKCavalier]

Why y'all being so pessimistic? I think what we're seeing is a serious rift in the Republican party right now that could lead to a spin-off party. You think Dr. Paul and the libertarian wing of the conservative movement are gonna fade back into the woodwork? I can easily see the Libertarians going head to head with the Neocons within the GOP and this leading to a broken convention in the not too distant future. The winning faction takes the Republican aegis, and the losers create a third party on the spot.

Also, the rift between the authoritarian mindset and the libertarian mindset is getting more and more relevent every day. You've got people like Ralph Nader and Ron Paul agreeing on the bailout for instance. If an anti-authoritarian ticket could be created with a civil libertarian agenda, with outspoken support for the 2nd Amendment, a grassroots fiscally conservative progressive party could be a real threat to the Coke/Pepsi style political monopoly. If things continue to get worse, if Obama can't turn things around, can't reduce the rampant corruption running Washington, can't improve America's standing in the world, we'll have a viable 3rd party by 2016. Perhaps as early as 2012, just in time for the end of the world!

[War Eagle]

No idea who he is; But here's a likely third party candidate: Election 2008.

[MasterPo]

If the Democrats can stuff the ballot box for Obama and all in the popular media turns a blind eye what chance do you think a 3rd party has?!

[Wolf MacCanine]

No idea who he is; But here's a likely third party candidate: Election 2008.

Absolutely hilarious!

...

As for the OP:

I really don't see it happening anytime soon.With the amount of control the two major parties have on everything,coupled with the huge lack of media coverage for the non-major parties...and the simple fact that most of the candidates from the non-major parties are usually pretty lame,I don't see anything happening within the next few years. Of course,if a huge rift does happen in one of the major parties,there is the possibility...but I doubt it'll happen.

I think we'd see the American public rise up and demand a change in the way our government...or overthrow it,before we'd see a third party candidate get elected.