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Third Parties : “They Ain’t Got a Chance”. Ralph Nader: 2000, 2004. Ross Perot: 1992, 1996. What is a Third Party?. Any political party organized in at least a few states, other than the two current leading parties http://politics1.com/parties.htm.
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Third Parties: “They Ain’t Got a Chance” Ralph Nader: 2000, 2004 Ross Perot: 1992, 1996
What is a Third Party? • Any political party organized in at least a few states, other than the two current leading parties http://politics1.com/parties.htm Jesse Ventura, Independent Governor of Minnesota, 1999-2003
History of American Third Parties No minor third party as ever come close to winning the presidency! • Only eight third party candidates have won any electoral votes • Only five, including Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 and Ross Perot in 1992 have won more than 10% of the popular vote
Ideological Parties • Based on set of beliefs Examples: Socialist, Communist, and Libertarian Parties Libertarian Party 2000 campaign ad
Single Issue Parties: • Concentrate on one public policy or issue • Example: Prohibition Party in 1892, Right to Life, Strom Thurmond and Segregationists, “know nothings”, Free Soil
Economic Protest Parties • Disgusted with major political parties in areas of economic discontent Example: James Weaver and the Populist Party won over 1 million popular votes and 22 electoral votes in 1892
Splinter Parties: • Split away from one of the major parties Example: Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive Bull Moose Party), Ross Perot (Reform Party), Ralph Nader (Green Party)
Purpose of Third Parties Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858 • Though very rare, a third party may replace one of the major parties • 1856, the Republican Party replaces the Whig Party
Purpose of Third Parties Third Parties have influence: • Major parties often take on the ideas of third parties • In 1992, both the Republican and Democratic Parties took on Perot’s reform government ideas about reducing the deficit • “Spoiler Role” • “Innovator Role” George Bush (Republican), Ross Perot (Reform), & Bill Clinton (Democrat) during 1992 Presidential debate
Purpose of Third Parties: • Once the major parties incorporate their ideas, third parties burn out • Populist Party platform was assimilated into the Democratic Party in 1896 William Jennings Bryan, Democratic candidate for President, 1896
http://www.therealdifference.org/issues.html Ralph Nader, 2000 Election
Reformhttp://www.reformparty.org/ • Libertarian http://www.lp.org/ • Natural Lawhttp://www.natural-law.org/ • Socialisthttp://sp-usa.org/ • Prohibitionhttp://www.prohibition.org/ • Greenhttp://www.gp.org/