by pmcolt » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:50 am
As a longtime libertarian, I'd like to see gains made by any third parties, but I doubt it will happen.
The big-L Libertarians suffer the same problems every election cycle. The party is run by its most rabid extremists. They will nominate a candidate who is uncharismatic in debate, who is incapable of talking about everyday issues without referring back to abstract political philosophy, and who generally sounds like a radical anarchist to the general public. Thus, they are dismissed as just a group of fringe lunatics for another four years.
The big-G Greens suffer from being seen as simply the Ralph Nader party, as well as the party of eco-freaks. They're currently only on the ballot in 20 states. Unless they manage to alter their image radically, and come up with some pretty glowing candidates, they won't be taken any more seriously in this election than they were in the last one.
Short of a major party realignment (something really goofy, like, say, the Libertarian Party joining up with the libertarian wing of the Republican Party, the Constitution Party, and the Dixiecrats), I don't foresee huge gains being made. People fed up with the current system will either "vote for change" by voting against incumbents, or just stay home.
Best before June 2000