Cool news from Tennessee:
This past Saturday, Donn Janes, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee’s 8th District spoke in Paris, TN, to an estimated 300 Tea Party activists from the West Tennessee area.
“As of today, I am no longer going to run for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican,” Janes announced. “We need to change the way we elect our representatives. We continue to rely on the two-party system to provide us with different choices; but thanks to this corrupt system, there is little difference between the two of them. Both parties voted to increase the size of our government; both parties voted to trade your freedoms for security; and both parties are responsible for our monstrous debt, our failing economy and the exporting of our jobs overseas. I will be running as an independent Tea Party Candidate, a candidate who doesn’t answer to or work for party leadership, but a candidate who will work for the people of West Tennessee.”
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Throw the bums out. All of them. And this is how it begins.
“Throw the bums out. All of them. And this is how it begins.”
This is how the stupidity begins. Third parties normally do far more harm than good. The American political system has something called the Electoral College. We do not have a parliamentary system! It is essentially an all or nothing proposition. Third party candidates and their supporters indulge in feel good politics. They are unwittingly allies of left-wing Democrats. Al Franken is the Democrats 60th U.S. senate vote because some dumb conservative ran a third party campaign. He ultimately doomed the Republican incumbent.
Everyone has ideas, and everyone who goes to Washington wants their ideas to influence the country. Janes can prove his non-bum status by promising to fight for structural change to government itself that is neither Republican nor Democrat. Term limits, some measure that binds Congress and the citizens equally to any law Congress passes, and an end to earmarks.
I hope more little “r” Republicans take this route…
The reality is that the very shortcomings we revile in (R)’s are considered attributes by the (D)’s. So of course the mantra “they are both just as corrupt” is just another BigLie by the LibRule elite intent on pandering to the unwashed masses. So a 3rd party is a wet dream for the corrupt (D)’s because it will split the votes against them and allow them to win with 40% of the vote. Just ask Bill Clinton how useful idiot Ross Perot gave him the presidency… twice.
This may be counter productive. Three parties is NOT going to cut it. Just put more Democrats back in office.
Run as REAL Conservative Republicans and you’ll WIN and get the support of Independents, Conservatives, Tea Party supporters, and Republicans and Democrats who believe in the Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution.
If the Tea Party folks don’t vote for the best candidate within the two party system, regardless of party, then all is lost.
In some individual races, neither of the two party candidates may be acceptable; what then?
Ten months before an election where the country’s destiny hangs in the balance, and we’re going to split the Right?
This is a good idea for WHAT reason?
The last thing this country needs is a bunch of little Ross Perots handing the Dems more power- sheer madness.
A party of people who do not have a shared value system is useless. Such a party’s goals will, even if attained, satisfy no one. The only question is how far you will be willing to stretch your value system to share it with people like Michael Bloomberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their goals do not include satisfying you, that’s for sure!
Hmm. Third parties CAN win, when their constituents are pleased enough with them and/or terrified enough of the alternatives offered. This typically requires the proven track record that only incumbents can muster, and even then it can be damaging in the long run… Joe Lieberman may be facing his last term in office.
In any election that has a single winner, there will typically be only two people with a chance of winning… the guy with the most votes, and the guy with the second most. It’s a side effect of the fact that most people who even bother to vote make up their minds well in advance of Election Day. It may not sound fair, but I like it better than an election that has the possibility of a mass write-in campaign for “Bill Ayers” actually working.
I am from Minnesota and this is how ended up with Gov. Jesse Ventura and Sen. Al Fraken. Third parties split the vote and you end up with some real goofballs squeaking in on 36% or 43% of the vote. Be very careful.
If independents hurt the Republicans maybe they will stop feeding us a bunch of lies like ‘small government’, ‘less corruption’, ‘control the borders’, etc. etc.
Throw all of them out and start over. Or, throw one party out and let the other legislate its radical agenda. Either way we are going to be picking up the pieces and paying for their collective non-sense for a long long time.
Oh, wait, we’re already doing that.
I hate to break it to the “True-Red” GOP partisans, but you’ve got it 180 degrees backwards. Right now, the GOP essentially holds conservatives and libertarians hostage with the threat of “vote for us or the Democrats win and there will be gays having sex in the streets and death panels and a 150% tax rate on everyone who’s not on welfare!” And then they get elected and do whatever the hell they want – open borders, increased spending, more entitlements, fewer rights, etc.
Sorry people, I’m not voting for that crap under some vague fear that if I don’t it will be worse. Look at what we’ve got right now – the Official Armageddon Scenario: an ultra-left president with full control of both houses of Congress. Yes, they’ve done some damage, but the world hasn’t ended. In the process they’ve damaged their own brand more than conservatives and libertarians could have done on their own.
I’ve got a question for you GOPers who refuse to look at third parties: what law of human nature do you think will prevent power concentrated in a political party from corrupting it just as badly as the power that’s concentrated in Washington has corrupted our federal government? It’s the exact same phenomenon, just at a smaller scale. Why do you believe in competition in the marketplace of goods (a “free market”) and refuse to have on in the marketplace of conservative / libertarian political ideas. Your phone company has a monopoly on your phone service. Right now, the Republican Party has a monopoly on your political ideology. Both treat you just as badly. Your phone company options are held in check by government power. Your options with political parties are limited only by your courage.
The third party complaints all seem to center around Presidential Elections. That’s the hardest of hard nuts to crack. Look at what happened in NY23 – they were a hair’s breath away from pulling off a last-minute Independent win over highly-funded candidates from both parties. This is doable. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. And it’s the only way we’ll ever break free of the political duopoly that’s selling the country down the drain while we bicker and argue about who’s going to screw things up faster.
Also remember, it’s not just us – liberals and progressives are just as upset with the Dems as conservatives and libertarians are with the GOP. Fracturing the political duopoly will do more to reform government and ensure better representation than term limits will. Let’s get to it.
Nope. Here’s how you do it.
You run as a fiscal Republican fiscal and a socail Democrat.
From the GOP side, you take a reduction in the size of government, an end to earmarks lawmakers stuffed into bills and a simplification of the tax system.
From the Democratic side, you take abortion rights, civil unions, an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and a focus not on benefits for people of one nationality or other, but on helping poor people with regards to education and jobs regardless of their color.
You might just draw enough people from both sides to form a new coalition that is based on true American values.
No one vote doomed a Republican incumbent. The Republican party doomed that candidate. If it takes electing more Democrats to wake up the voters then more Democrats it will be.
I will NOT vote for a Dem/Rep in any federal election. I do have libertarian leanings.
The revolution began twenty years ago. Feel free to join us. Now, or later.
The time is long past when nanny-statist “compassionate” “conservatives” could win elections simply by claiming to be “not the Democrats” — because we’ve seen too much evidence that the claim is false.
Guess who were the vote-splitting third party SOB’s in 1856? And their radical platform was to outlaw polygamy, repeal the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and subsidize the transcontinental railroad.
Have they added anything since?
Liberalism is a disease which must be eradicated. There are more of US than THEM. We have been silent and inactive in the past, but NO LONGER.
Fight any way you can – Independent, Conservative (R), Constitutionalist, ANY PARTY EXCEPT DEMOCRAT. Put your money and your time where it will do the most good. Be generous with both.
We need to capture Congress in 2010 and begin CITIZEN hearings on corruption under Pelosi (the witch) ,Reid (the racist), and Obama (THE ONE). TAKE AWAY THEIR PERKS AND PRIVILEGES once out of office.
Only ONE PENSION PER GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE. TAKE ANY OTHERS AWAY AND APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE DEFICIT.
This is ridiculous. Third party candidates never succeed in the United States. That’s why we have the Democratic party and the Whig party. Always have, always will.
Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me
How can one oppose such sophisticated,
informed political commentary ?
There is no political solution to an
economic problem; If the economy gets
much worse, there will be a phase change
in the people’s priorities, and your
cogent analyses will have just as much value
as a hydrodynamic evaluation of an iceburg.
Revolutions, even non-violent ones, are not
decided by elections; The recent rush to the
exits by Democratic incumbents is indicative.
Someone needs to tell the Republicans that third parties cause Democrats get elected as the Republicsns are rapidly becoming the third party.
I’m voting Whig, myself. Because everybody knows that third parties are useless and futile. As is trying to do away with slavery. We can only slow it down a little. Hell, EVERYBODY knows that.
This guy is actually a Libertarian. He wasn’t going to win anyway so who cares what he does. Steven Fincher will be the next Congressman from this district, a Republican.
A third party sounds like lots of fun. Conventions, ballot access petition drives…all those things that really aren’t going to happen before deadlines which are already expiring. It would be much wiser to settle on a select few policies that you think can win. No earmarks? What politician is going to vote for that? Pointing to the Republican party and saying it was once a third party WITH IDEAS that were easily placed on a business card [NO to slavery, NO to Kansas-Nebraska, etc] is NOTHING like the RINOblicans of today. They’re just NO to Democrats. Try this on a neighbor…you have to get your income reported to the IRS with W-2′s and IRS Form 1099-misc, why not make government “redistributed income” reportable as IRS Form 1099-GOV. You can’t stop the thieves if you don’t know where the money IS!
I am voting my heart in the upcoming election. I will vote for the representative that best matches my beliefs. I am tired of voting repetitively and uselessly to sell my country to China. Either give my country back or get out of the way. I don’t care what party this candidate claims. Republican, Independent, Democrat, even GOOOH. I’ll vote for the one that best matches my belief system regardless. I want people that represent me and my district, NOT the republican party, Certainly not the democrat party. I’m voting for a representative, not a voting block.
I watched the Democrats shred Sarah Palin and then I watched the Republicans do the same thing to her when she didn’t sit down and shut up like a good girl. I’m sick of it.
If you think I should be voting Republican because they’re not Democrat then you need to WAKE UP. It’s not happening. I’m not doing it. My friends aren’t doing it. My district isn’t doing it. It’s that simple, get it through your head. I will vote for the candidate that best represents my district the way the system was intended to work rather than the bastardized system that it’s become. Full stop. If I have to suffer through two more years of Democrat control in order to make the Republican party understand that then I’ll do it. The country will be bloody and wounded at the end of that time… it won’t happen without damage but it will survive and we will have it back.
I’m somewhat at a loss as to what’s going on here. Neither Steve’s post, nor the linked to article, shed any light on it. And the comments, to date, are even worse. (See brain dead #14)
This is TN, not NY 23!
Janes will not run in the Republican Primary because? He’s, seemingly, saying that putting an “R” by his name will corrupt all his good Conservative beliefs. What a “putz”!
He believes all Republican voters are corrupt and dance to the tune of their “Party” masters. What a “putz”!
I posit he doesn’t think he would win the Primary yet thinks the majority of Republicans, who’d be rejecting him there, plus x # of Donks will let him win the General. What a “putz”.
Janes should just run in the Republican primary, espousing his solid beliefs, if he can’t win there, he has no chance in the General.
Get to DC is #1, working toward your beliefs once there is #2, not the other way around.
And only now do I see jms beat me to the punch.Damn.
To be clear, it’s no lie that the GOP leadership has these shortcomings. The basic problem is that the entrenched folks are treating politics as a career choice and their party like any generic widget maker with a “brand” to be marketed. Like so many MBA whiz kids who think packaging and positions matter more than substance, they’ve screwed their own brand. “We’re not as bad as the other guys” is a crappy marketing campaign, especially when the other guys are as bad as the Democrats. But the GOP leadership is still employed. How do we fire them and get somebody who cares about the product running the party?
The phrase “out of the frying pan and into the fire” comes to mind when talking about third parties. But, y’know, if you stay in the frying pan long enough, you’re cooked anyway.
Sigh. Third parties face a structural disadvantage: our winner-take-all elections make that the case. As has been noted, third parties usually only act as spoilers (see Perot 92 or Nader 2000). And for those who are talking about the Whig Party and the birth of the Republicans in 1856, you really need to get your history right. The Whigs were imploding in a way that the Republicans are not and will not. And the two parties we have now have not changed since 1856. A third party replacing the Republicans is just not likely.
The key is to take over the Republican party from the inside. Run real conservatives/libertarians in local races and in primaries. Get Tea Party types into positions as precinct leaders and state leaders. Then the party itself will be more responsive to the conservative agenda.
“Throw them all out and start over again!” is the croak of the reckless, the feckless, the ignorant and the lazy. No one can expect any political party to give them exactly what they want, but if you don’t learn to make alliances and stand together it is guaranteed that you will get exactly what you don’t want.
I thought it was a costume party!
If that makes no sense, you don’t know the source of the title of this post: a film that looks more and more like a documentary every day. Chaos, power grabs, buffoonish leaders…
When the Beltway Republicans realize they do indeed need conservative allies, we’ll talk.
What idiocy. This is exactly the practice that has gotten us to this horrifying point. We libertarians have been told to “suck it up” and align with the Republicans because they stand closest to our principals. Only to find that their tent folds immediately upon winning the latest election. At that point, they feed at the public teat with relentless abandon, and we’re screwed once again.
Fuck that. The Republicans don’t deserve us. I can deal with true conservatives, but it’s going to have to be on my terms. I’m tired of them calling the shots. If they want to play, they need to do it by my rules.
And I view this as a variation of going Galt. If I’m going to participate in the system, then it is on my terms. And if I keep losing the vote, then I’m completely content with withdrawing my financial participation in the meantime, and letting the losers and leeches take over the government and drive the country to ruin. At some point, there will be nothing left to steal, and the true lovers of liberty and personal responsibility will step into the void and rebuild the system from scratch.
I may not get exactly what I want going third-party. But I’m getting exactly nothing but a butt-fucking playing by the current rules. If you like that, go for it. It’s your integrity being rolled.
Voting Republican for fear of electing a Democrat is short sighted. If you want your issues to matter, you have to make the party earn your vote. Guaranteeing it to one party or the other makes your vote irrelevant to both parties.