Has the Time Arrived for a Third Major Political Party?

An analysis by a concerned citizen

I am a baby boomer, born in a union household when most union guys leaned towards the political left. My father, a local union official, was and is a republican by nature and by action. I followed in his footsteps, never thinking that I would ever stray to the left or even mosey over to the middle. I wasn’t crazy about either candidate for president, but then again, most career politicians have left a bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach for quite some time now. My biggest fear now is that America will pay the ultimate price for letting their political process be controlled by a group of individuals who have only one concern in their lives. That being, how can they gain more power and how can they win the next election. WE now have a president with little or no practical experience for all intent and purposes and a legislature comprised of individuals with an average tenure of at least ten years in the house and even more in the senate. And what is even more concerning is the fact that incumbents who opt to run for their seats again fail less than 10% of the time. Which is why I have come to the conclusion that the time is ripe for the emergence of a third party which will not only make a difference but stand a chance at unseating one of the two machines (or both) currently controlling our once proud country.

In the midst of a global recession, it appears that people are starting to wake up and realize that the same old rhetoric just isn’t working anymore. The Tea Party movement is a prime indicator that the masses are rallying for a change. And apparently, it’s not the change that was promised during the last election cycle. Spending is not only out of hand but approaching near catastrophic levels. I never thought that there would come a day when the president of France would criticize the economic policies of a left leaning leader of the US. Or that the US government would have a controlling interest in both the banking and the auto maker industries but even that scary thought has become a reality. National debt has surpassed even the most adventurous projections with no end in sight. And now there are plans calling for instituting a health care overhaul that could add as much as 16% to the overall debt levels. Not to mention a cap and trade tax that threatens to add enourmous surcharges to every aspect of each and every americans basic cost of living. All with the weak promise that they can run it more cost effectively! Based on their track record running other programs like the Postal system, Amtrak and Medicare, why would the American public have any reason to suspect these claims of expertise?

When an estimated 1.7 million people gathered in Washington to voice their displeasure at the way the country is being run, the response from our political leaders, both D and R was pathetic. They either denied that this gathering occurred, discounted its attendance, denigrated the attendees’ characters or in some cases, tried to take credit for this up-swell of contempt for our governmental actions. Make no mistake about it; this is a grassroots effort that will become the model for all future grass root actions. There are no political leaders, but individuals, hundreds even thousands forming a loose but cohesive web of like minded individuals. Like a tsunami that forms after a severe deep water earthquake, the total volume of this swell won’t be see until it reaches a point of critical mass. At some point, this movement will either reach towering levels or miss its mark and dissipate harmlessly in open waters. Since I have never witnessed an event of this magnitude, the final outcome is still difficult to predict.

This brings me to the crux of this paper. Is America Ready for a three party system? Option number two is the emergence of a new, stronger conservative party and the delegation of the old Republican party to that of an also ran organization. At this point in time, it is simply conjecture. But with the likes of Harry Reid, Arlen Spector , Nancy Pelosi, Chris Dodd, Barney Franks and Barrack Hussein Obama running the country into the poorhouse, one can see that change is most certainly coming. Think my crystal ball needs a tuning adjustment? Consider this. Sarah Palin, the scourge of the liberal media and the Democratic Party in general, now has close to a million supporters on the social networking sight facebook. FYI, that's second only in popularity to our current commander in chief. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore her roll in any shift of the political framework. And the Tea Party movement, contrary to the print and major media reports, is actually gaining traction with little or no help from outside sources. Believe the reports or not, this train is picking up speed and considering it has been on the uphill grade for most of it’s short life, that is an accomplishment in and of itself. If this movement ever gets organized on a national level, we are talking the difference between a steam locomotive and a magnetic light rail. As one famous person once proclaimed “Hope and Change are inevitable”. I don’t think this was the type the then presidential aspirant was predicting but he has proved himself to be a oracle of amazing accuracy. Sometimes as the saying goes, you need to be careful what you wish for because you just may get it.

So where does that leave us? Well, I believe that the key to this dilemma lies firmly in the hands of those currently running our once proud country into the ground. Should they decide that they don’t work for the public that elected them, as they have for so long now, then the times will be a changing. And it will come sooner than most may imagine.

It will take some hard work and even a little luck but it will happen. No one can predict with any certainty what this new political party will look like or who will run it. Hopefully, it will be built on the backs of those calling for the change and assisted by the many who have finally reached the proverbial “tipping” point. And if it happens, maybe I will finally be able to get this tune out of my head. It’s a Steve Miller favorite and I cannot seem to shake it.

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.