America vs. Third Parties

This is a really spectacular article on the state of third parties in America.
Well worth the read.

America vs. Third Parties

(CBS) This commentary was written by CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer. In springtime, a young wonk's heart turns to, um, third parties. Really.

No young person who has ever followed politics with the ferocity of a sports fan, no citizen who has been an idealist for at least a few hours, hasn't daydreamed about a third party or independent candidate – a third party winner, actually. At some point everyone with a civic soul, no matter what their ideological flavor, has yearned for an independent spirit to break through the homogenized, cuisinarted horse manure that is modern American politics.

Italy this week seems to have elected a new prime minister who isn't a party guy. Romano Prodi ran as the head of a coalition of parties, not one party.

Yet we are stuck with the same two parties, ad nauseam. It's like a world where there are two baseball teams, the Yankees and the Dodgers. Every year since the 1800s they have played 162 games against each other, and then played each other in the playoffs, and then the World Series. The players change, but never the teams.

It's "Groundhog Day" meets Sartre. No wonder people tune out.

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