Belligerent Ghoul
Hall of Famer
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Money and blind loyalty.
I'm a member of The Tea (bagger) party and we are viable.
Joe Blow, former Log Cabin Republican
I'm a member of The Tea (bagger) party and we are viable.
Joe Blow, former Log Cabin Republican
Election system may be a factor too.
It's strange though, as here in Europe more and more smaller parties gain influence. It has to be said though that these are often populist movements and many disapper after a while. But I guess the Tea Party offers enough populist statements.
It's exactly the electoral system. In the UK others such as UKIP or the Greens in the early 90's can prove noisy enough to affect policies but when it comes to a general election they have no chance because of the money and the scale of the operation needed to win each seat let alone enough seats to gain any kind of power. Same for the US, as an outsider your best hope is to grab headlines and pressure the main parties politically. With different electoral systems people are more likely to vote for what they believe in rather than the lesser of two evils so you get more parties involved. At least in the US they have their checks and balances which makes it a little harder to steamroller policies through thanks to the lack of opposition that a two party system creates.
It's exactly the electoral system. In the UK others such as UKIP or the Greens in the early 90's can prove noisy enough to affect policies but when it comes to a general election they have no chance because of the money and the scale of the operation needed to win each seat let alone enough seats to gain any kind of power. Same for the US, as an outsider your best hope is to grab headlines and pressure the main parties politically. With different electoral systems people are more likely to vote for what they believe in rather than the lesser of two evils so you get more parties involved. At least in the US they have their checks and balances which makes it a little harder to steamroller policies through thanks to the lack of opposition that a two party system creates.
mattisek - man in Germany you have lots of viable parties. USA only has 2. It's pathetic man. Just like our soccer team.
How does it work at regional level in the US (counties etc)? All Republican/Democrats-dominated or are there a number of others involved too?