[ad_1]
“Grouchy Patriots”, “Cooking Frog”: How Third Parties Influence US Elections
The influence of these split parties is greater than one might think. Even Michelle Obama warns voters against them.
Small parties like the freedom-loving libertarians or the Greens lead a dark existence in America. Casting your vote for them in the presidential election is little more than a wasted effort. Since the end of the Civil War in 1865, Republicans and Democrats have always served in the highest office in the country.
It will be the same on November 3. There would be no shortage of alternatives for the approximately 250 million Americans eligible to vote. Several dozen dissident parties have sent their own candidates to the race for the White House. In addition to serious political organizations such as the Libertarians (they are the only ones that run in all 50 states and, according to polls, they reach 2 percent) or the Greens (1 percent), there are also numerous protest movements like this in the electoral lists of individual states. “Grumpy Old Patriots”, “Bread and Roses”, “Boiling Frog” (“Boiling Frog”) or “Bull Moose” (“Bull Moose”).
Only one has broken the 15 percent rule recently
Ross Perot (center) in a duel with George Bush Sr. (left) and Bill Clinton. Bild: AP
The rules prevent such parties from ever having a chance. Only because they are not allowed to participate in the important television debates as long as they remain below 15 percent of the vote at the polls. The last alternative candidate to overcome this hurdle was the fiscal conservative Ross Perot, who ran as a representative of the “Reform Party” in 1992 against Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr. Perot won 19 percent of the vote, but did not win a single state.
Supporters of splinter groups say so-called “third parties” remain important so that the interests of voters from across the political spectrum can be represented. Most Republicans and Democrats, however, perceive competition from the dark corners of American society as dangerous. Michelle Obama personally admonished her fellow citizens at the party conference in August:
Words of Warning: Former First Lady Michelle Obama Bild: AP / AP
The Iraq war would never have existed without alternative candidates
The consequences of such “games” became apparent around 2000, when Democrat Al Gore lost to George W. Bush. The difference was marked by a measly 537 votes in the decisive state of Florida. There, Green candidate Ralph Nader won 97,488 votes and paved the way for Republicans to enter the White House. In other words, without third parties there would be no Bush victory in 2000 and probably no war in Iraq. The world would be different today.
It is quite conceivable that within two weeks the libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen will play a role similar to that of Ralph Nader 20 years ago. Because the race between Trump and Biden is very close in several unstable states. In Florida, for example, the Democrat leads the Republican by just one percentage point. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
