It occurs to me that breaking the two-party system will be very, very difficult. The Republicans don’t want to change, because the right would shatter into too many factions, and the Democrats won’t do it, because as long as the Republican party keeps acting the way they have been, the Dems will always be “Not as Bad.”
So, do we just walk out and vote Socialist next time?
k: yes
I like Sophie already!
Unfortunately, in the US you don’t have the option to vote ‘Socialist’.
The choices are between Democrats or Republicans.
Some Democrats should really be Republican, a couple of Republicans would never leave their Republican party, for whatever reason.
The thing is – Americans never get to vote for someone who actually stands for what they believe in. There should be a whole range of parties/beliefs, however the ‘money machine’ keeps that same range from truly materializing.
A true Democracy does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT, exist of a 2-party system.
In the Netherlands there are MANY parties. Some bigger than others, but all hold specific views. NOT beholden to lobbyists and money. True beliefs and views.
THey held elections in May I believe – they still haven’t formed a government. In a US democracy that would be unthinkable.
I say, in a TRUE democracy – that’s exactly what needs to happen. You need to find the correct mixture of people who can work together. They will find the mixture, they will work together, THEY WILL GOVERN AS THEY’RE ELECTED TO DO.
This US 2-party system is simply disfunctional. Especially the Republicans, although elected to GOVERN, will obstruct anything from happening.
In a true Democracy – that would be seen as Treason to the People.
k –
Too many factions of either Republican or Democratic Party is EXACTLY what the US needs.
It’s the enormous amount of money involved that’s poisoning that.
Too many factions, too many beliefs – that what Democracy is about.
More and more people should separate themselves from those 2 parties – be independent.
STATE WHAT YOU BELIEVE THAN VOTE AS SUCH!!
Party politics is poison to true Democracy.
Money is as well, if not more.
In case nobody has explained it already:
Germany can do this because the voting system is based on proportional representation (like most democracies), unlike the US and Canada.
There are no wasted votes, parties will get seats in the “Bundestag” based on the percentage of votes for each party. There is a minimum percentage required (5%) to avoid splintering into too many parties (a problem that Italy has). Because a single party never gets enough votes for a 50%+ majority, the largest party usually forms a coalition government with one of the smaller ones. Both keep eachother in check. Germans would find it highly unsettling if a single party could rule the country with a 50%+ majority, that would be too reminiscent of the 1930s.
In the US, the voting system effectively only supports two parties. Even in small riding, how could a 10-15% party ever manage to get 50% to win just one measly seat? So people are voting two-party because they don’t want to waste their votes, and they cannot vote their conscience.
Rich and corporate interests on the other hand have discovered that they already own one party, and they just need to buy off 30% of the Democrats to own the country. And there is nothing the citizens can do about it, because there is nobody else to vote for.
V – as I posted earlier for a different post and I agree with you all the way:
Unfortunately, in the US you don’t have the option to vote ‘Socialist’.
The choices are between Democrats or Republicans.
Some Democrats should really be Republican, a couple of Republicans would never leave their Republican party, for whatever reason.
The thing is – Americans never get to vote for someone who actually stands for what they believe in. There should be a whole range of parties/beliefs, however the ‘money machine’ keeps that same range from truly materializing.
A true Democracy does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT, exist of a 2-party system.
In the Netherlands there are MANY parties. Some bigger than others, but all hold specific views. NOT beholden to lobbyists and money. True beliefs and views.
THey held elections in May I believe – they still haven’t formed a government. In a US democracy that would be unthinkable.
I say, in a TRUE democracy – that’s exactly what needs to happen. You need to find the correct mixture of people who can work together. They will find the mixture, they will work together, THEY WILL GOVERN AS THEY’RE ELECTED TO DO.
This US 2-party system is simply disfunctional. Especially the Republicans, although elected to GOVERN, will obstruct anything from happening.
In a true Democracy – that would be seen as Treason to the People.
It occurs to me that breaking the two-party system will be very, very difficult. The Republicans don’t want to change, because the right would shatter into too many factions, and the Democrats won’t do it, because as long as the Republican party keeps acting the way they have been, the Dems will always be “Not as Bad.”
So, do we just walk out and vote Socialist next time?
k: yes
I like Sophie already!
Unfortunately, in the US you don’t have the option to vote ‘Socialist’.
The choices are between Democrats or Republicans.
Some Democrats should really be Republican, a couple of Republicans would never leave their Republican party, for whatever reason.
The thing is – Americans never get to vote for someone who actually stands for what they believe in. There should be a whole range of parties/beliefs, however the ‘money machine’ keeps that same range from truly materializing.
A true Democracy does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT, exist of a 2-party system.
In the Netherlands there are MANY parties. Some bigger than others, but all hold specific views. NOT beholden to lobbyists and money. True beliefs and views.
THey held elections in May I believe – they still haven’t formed a government. In a US democracy that would be unthinkable.
I say, in a TRUE democracy – that’s exactly what needs to happen. You need to find the correct mixture of people who can work together. They will find the mixture, they will work together, THEY WILL GOVERN AS THEY’RE ELECTED TO DO.
This US 2-party system is simply disfunctional. Especially the Republicans, although elected to GOVERN, will obstruct anything from happening.
In a true Democracy – that would be seen as Treason to the People.
k –
Too many factions of either Republican or Democratic Party is EXACTLY what the US needs.
It’s the enormous amount of money involved that’s poisoning that.
Too many factions, too many beliefs – that what Democracy is about.
More and more people should separate themselves from those 2 parties – be independent.
STATE WHAT YOU BELIEVE THAN VOTE AS SUCH!!
Party politics is poison to true Democracy.
Money is as well, if not more.
In case nobody has explained it already:
Germany can do this because the voting system is based on proportional representation (like most democracies), unlike the US and Canada.
There are no wasted votes, parties will get seats in the “Bundestag” based on the percentage of votes for each party. There is a minimum percentage required (5%) to avoid splintering into too many parties (a problem that Italy has). Because a single party never gets enough votes for a 50%+ majority, the largest party usually forms a coalition government with one of the smaller ones. Both keep eachother in check. Germans would find it highly unsettling if a single party could rule the country with a 50%+ majority, that would be too reminiscent of the 1930s.
In the US, the voting system effectively only supports two parties. Even in small riding, how could a 10-15% party ever manage to get 50% to win just one measly seat? So people are voting two-party because they don’t want to waste their votes, and they cannot vote their conscience.
Rich and corporate interests on the other hand have discovered that they already own one party, and they just need to buy off 30% of the Democrats to own the country. And there is nothing the citizens can do about it, because there is nobody else to vote for.
V – as I posted earlier for a different post and I agree with you all the way:
Unfortunately, in the US you don’t have the option to vote ‘Socialist’.
The choices are between Democrats or Republicans.
Some Democrats should really be Republican, a couple of Republicans would never leave their Republican party, for whatever reason.
The thing is – Americans never get to vote for someone who actually stands for what they believe in. There should be a whole range of parties/beliefs, however the ‘money machine’ keeps that same range from truly materializing.
A true Democracy does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT, exist of a 2-party system.
In the Netherlands there are MANY parties. Some bigger than others, but all hold specific views. NOT beholden to lobbyists and money. True beliefs and views.
THey held elections in May I believe – they still haven’t formed a government. In a US democracy that would be unthinkable.
I say, in a TRUE democracy – that’s exactly what needs to happen. You need to find the correct mixture of people who can work together. They will find the mixture, they will work together, THEY WILL GOVERN AS THEY’RE ELECTED TO DO.
This US 2-party system is simply disfunctional. Especially the Republicans, although elected to GOVERN, will obstruct anything from happening.
In a true Democracy – that would be seen as Treason to the People.