In a previous video I talked about Jerry Perez and his chapter of Our Revolution deciding to go 3rd party. In my video, I basically predicted that this party would fail and I attempted to explain why. Unfortunately, my comments lead some to believe I was against 3rd parties and had basically accepted defeat in this area. That's not exactly true, so I'm hoping this video will shed more light on my view on 3rd parties. Basically, the are two problems. The first is the duopoly the Republicans and Democrats have over political discourse in America. The only time 3rd parties are discussed is when they can be used as an excuse or scapegoat for the failure of the two major parties.
The second problem is the policy planks of those parties. In the beginning, 3rd parties typically try attracting members of other political parties by pointing out something the most amount of people would agree with. Then, they add to those popular ideas, more ideas that are less popular, even among initial supporters. The more they do this, they tend to diminish the broader base of support and begin to trend toward one of those two parties, effectively ending them up with the other 3rd parties as outsiders and spoilers.
Most successful movements are insurrections, not true alternatives. The Tea Party was successful within the Republican Party because they focused on the under-served issues within the party, rather than trying to usurp the party with a new one. The same thing could bs said of the Progressives within the Democratic Party.
Although I agree in principal with the foundation of 3rd parties, that people should elect representatives that most closely align with their own political beliefs, in practice and at scale, those parties tend to fail. The further they go defining their positions, the more people they alienate. In the end, politics is a practice in compromising views to find a balance that appeases the largest majority of people people. 100% of people agree on anything. 50% is difficult. Thus, we debate.
Hopefully this video further explains my thinking to your satisfaction. If not, I'm happy to go into more detail, but without scripting, this discussion could go on basically forever! Comment down below, or find me on Twitter @TimCrosbyJr
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