The Historical Rise and Fall of “Third Parties”
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The Historical Rise and Fall of Third Parties
Third parties, whether in the United States or other nations where a two-party system dominates, only gain strength when one of the two major parties fails somehow. This failure could be due to a division, a lost identity, or a breakdown of leadership. Many times, upon seeing this weakness, the third party will make a strategic move to win the disenfranchised electorate over.
Experts say, however, that the danger of a third party is its short-lived nature in the spotlight: it makes a smashing debut on the grand stage in its first election, bringing refreshing ideas to a weary populace. By the next election, however, the two major parties have had time to regroup and focus their efforts directly on the people the third party had won over. In the past, this has involved the major parties tweaking their own platforms and agendas to “follow the pack.†The end result is that the third party fades away into the background, and the two major parties once again take the lead on the stage.
It should be noted, however, that although third parties do tend to rise and fall quickly, the mark they make on the major parties is almost always evident. Their principles become part of one, or both of the two dominating parties. Their slogans are echoed in the banter of politicians who claim the ideas as their own.
In many countries around the world, the norm is a plurality of political parties; groups are born and die on a regular cycle. The United States, however, has had two dominating parties for so long, it will take persistence, organization, grassroots efforts, and awareness for a third party to hold its own. It will also take the creation of a new identity among voters; just like faith, education and work comprise who people are, so, too does politics. Voters must be convinced that the political party they belong to is a part of who they are.
What is a Green Party?
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Almost everyone has heard this term, Green Party. Yet not a lot of people really know what it means. Basically, a Green Party is a political party that is organized formally and is based on the main principles of green politics. So what is green politics? Well, it is plainly a political ideology that gives high priority on environmental goals such as grassroots policy and also participatory democracy. There are a lot of people that are now supporting the Green Party movement because of the fact there is a growing awareness on the protection of the environment and also alleviating the effects of global warming. It has been around for so many years however, the past ten years or so, there has been increased number of followers of this type of party.
Green parties normally call for some sort of social reform in order to decrease the amount of abuse of all our natural resources. They are advocates of sustainable energy which calls for less reliance on oil which is not a renewable source of energy. Some of them have already made bills pass in the legislative bodies of their country in order to development sustainable energy resources. Green parties also focus on the health of the environment and also, of course, the human being. This is very important especially in today’s day and age because almost all our natural resources are being depleted because of capital gains and also because of basic human greed.
Green parties support non-violence. That is why a lot of them opposed the war of terrorism which was mainly supported by other parties. Because they adhere to the spirit of nonviolence, most green parties feel that the war on terrorism somehow curtailed the civil rights of people. In the United States, a country where there is a huge amount of support for the war on terrorism, green parties are now calling for an end to it. Although, a lot of people feel that they are taking it to a very extreme level, there is still a growing amount of people that support green parties.
How Much Room Can Parties Allow for Multiple Identities?
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It’s impossible to find two people–whether husband and wife, brother and sister, or two best friends–who think exactly the same on every issue. Even if two people were raised in the same town, attend the same church, synagogue or mosque, and have similar personality traits and values, they will inevitably disagree on something.
So, too, are people who fall under the same political party. No two members of the Green Party believe exactly the same on every detail of every issue. No two members of the Republican Party hold the exact same values and ideas as each other. Two Democrats will envision different scenarios and details in how they would handle a crisis in policy.
Political parties walk a fine line in allowing for this individuality. While they want members to feel like they identify with the principles of the party, they don’t want to appear to be a dictator telling the people what they are to believe. Most importantly, though, political party leaders know that the real threat is in a fractured identity.
The question is: how does a political party permit breathing space while still keeping the herd corralled? Traditionally, when a party tries to overreach its bounds, it ends up trying to appease the crowds. In doing so, it loses what attracted voters to it in the first place: a strong cause and slogan.
What is it that ties a particular party together—what values, causes and themes? If a party is to change, it needs to have a clear mandate from its members before doing so. Otherwise, its demise is almost certain.
After the 2008 presidential election, the Republican Party found itself splintered in terms of identity. In the years since, it has strived to reevaluate what the ties that bind actually are. Therein, party leaders know, lies their only hope of revival and perhaps, survival.