Third Party Coalitions and Factions

By Joshua Cash

In 2000, a still controversial election, the U.S. Supreme Court inaugurated George W. Bush as president over Democratic hopeful Al Gore. Many Democrats blame Ralph Nader as a factor in “spoiling” Gore’s chances. Others, such as Democratic Leadership Council CEO Al From, dispute this assertion, citing evidence from exit pollers that had Nader not engaged in the election, more people would have voted for Bush. Regardless, as more candidates run for office, the number of votes received by any one person splits further. Third party and independent alternatives struggle to gain a stronger electorate each election year against not only the major parties but also each other. The strength for each third party wanes as issues and organization divide supporters into smaller groups. Fractionalization is a major problem facing the third parties, which they must overcome in order to reach major political success.

For example, parties bearing the Socialist name fielded three different candidates for the 2008 election, so within that particular political school of thought, which is already significantly marginalized, voter support becomes split three more times. The U.S. Socialists have faced fractionalization since their early years, and the issue still prevents ideological success today, which is ironic given Socialism’s espousal of collectivism and unity. Indeed, each Socialist candidate split roughly 20,000 votes nation wide in the 2008 election so that each candidate ended up with less than 10,000 votes.

In the 2004 election, the Reform Party gave its endorsement to the Nader campaign. More than rallying support to Nader’s efforts, the Reform Party’s endorsement allowed Nader to bypass the often onerous task of collecting signatures to be on the ballot in seven states. However, in the 2008 election, the Reform Party endorsed John McCain, whose policies radically differ from Nader’s views. Ross perot’s “deficit hawk” party may make this particular endorsement because of a perceived conservatism in McCain’s budget plans, but many economists argue that neither Barack Obama nor John McCain can deliver on their plans to decrease American debt and get the deficit “under control.” Such an endorsement alienates other third party supporters and undercuts Perot’s message of the two dominant parties being inadequate.

On Sept. 10, 2008, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney and Chuck Baldwin joined Ron Paul at a press conference to unite in their support of third parties. Some of these candidates are diametrically opposed to each other issue wise, but cooperated for reasons summed up by Paul. “It’s the process that we’re begging to change,” Paul said. Bob Barr, who was invited to Paul’s gathering but never arrived, held his own press conference shortly after the event. “I’m not interested in third parties getting the most possible votes,” he told reporters. “I’m interested in Bob Barr as the nominee for the Libertarian Party getting the most possible votes.” Barr’s independence might have been an attempt for him to keep his focus solely on his core political ideals, but the approach cost him valuable support. Barr’s strategy alienated Ron Paul and his supporters, and on September 23, 2008, Paul gave his endorsement to Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party’s candidate. Barr may have refused to attend Paul’s conference because of Paul’s refusal to join him on the Libertarian ticket, but the lack of cooperation cost Barr a valuable endorsement, but the lack of cooperation cost Barr a valuable endorsement despite Barr’s sizable lead over Baldwin in votes.

Inter-party politics also plays a role at a local level. In a campus third party debate sponsored by the Demosthenian Literary Society at The University of Georgia, representatives from four different third parties and one independent addressed key issues. Among the issues generally agreed upon by all speakers, one stood out in particular: election reform. Winner take all electoral systems hurt the alternative parties, and many third party affiliates claim that systems such as proportional representation would better serve the electorate as a fair system. A major roadblock in the way of third party success, election reform has Libertarian Party speaker Marshall McCart and Constitution Party member Ricardo Davis espousing a united front of third parties to lobby against the electoral system. This call for unity echoes Paul’s cry for change in the political process.

Organizations of UGA often work together over specific issues. UGA progressives associate Xavier Kim says that the Living Wage Campaign was aided by groups such as Campus Greens, Students for Peace, the Women’s Studies Student Organization and the Student Government Association. Such cooperation shows that activist groups and other organizations with specific points of interest can come together over issues that might not directly tie into their stated goals in an attempt to improve their communities. Thus, political parties with broader platforms can cooperate for both political gain and communal improvement.

Libertarians of UGA representative Tiago Moura says within the Libertarian Party are groups who cannot agree on how to approach specific issues, such as immigration, but these factions engage in direct discussion with others within the party. Moura notes the need for inter-third party debate about relevant issues. “The lack of compromise on several views that the presidential candidates hold, for example, often come across as pigheaded and platitudinal probably due to this lack of discourse,” Moura says. A strong need exists for the third parties to cross party lines to engage each other to perhaps achieve consensus on particular issues and co-operate to strengthen the movement. Instead of two-party “bipartisanship,” third parties break their own partisanship to strengthen their standing among voters.

Perhaps working at a local level is the first place third parties and independents need to start. Kim claims that third parties and independents don’t do enough at a local level to increase support. “One of the most effective means for third parties to change the power dynamics of politics in the US is to engage the local community and running for local offices while building trust and visibility in the community,” Kim says. By starting small, alternative parties and independents can co-operate and make a larger impact on communities while showing the electorate a new side to policy and political thought. Local and national co-operation among the third parties and independent candidates will represent the first step in breaking the two party system.