58% of americans favor creation of third party

[sparkey]

The question is: what third party?

When you look at what's different between the US and other countries with more than two parties, a common difference is the electoral system. It is unusual to maintain more than two dominant parties (other than regional parties) in a FPP system. A "Tea Party" third party would pretty much be a sap on the GOP, resulting in either a moderate Republican Party or Democratic dominance. I see room for a moderate/classical liberal party ala the Minnesota Independence Party, which I would love to see in general, but only because it would be able to find room and balance in the middle. But as much as I'm a pro-third party guy, I would sooner want a change in the electoral system than for a single third party to come to prominence.

[sparkey]

... A "Tea Party" third party would pretty much be a sap on the GOP, resulting in either a moderate Republican Party or Democratic dominance. I see room for a moderate/classical liberal party ala the Minnesota Independence Party, which I would love to see in general, but only because it would be able to find room and balance in the middle. But as much as I'm a pro-third party guy, I would sooner want a change in the electoral system than for a single third party to come to prominence.

The Tea Party is just a third force for neo-liberalism.  The missing party is a socialist/social democrat voice in the US, and it will never be allowed.

"be allowed"...? We have had socialist parties in the US before, but there simply isn't a large enough socialist voting block in the US nowadays for one to spring up in the same way there are opportunities for moderate, classical liberal, and paleoconservative parties. Of the likelihood of the new third party being moderate (or non-right/left, like libertarian or populist) versus conservative or leftist, I would rank it: moderate > conservative >>> leftist.

[sparkey]

Can't we just switch to Proportional representation?  It would eliminate this problem entirely.

That's the key, but it's unlikely, because it would require a constitutional amendment, and Republican and Democratic congresspeople are among the least likely to support it.

[sparkey]

Can't we just switch to Proportional representation?  It would eliminate this problem entirely.

Absolutely not.

Do you mean that we can't "just switch" to PR? Or that it wouldn't eliminate the problem? Because if you mean the latter, I don't think that that's a defensible position. If "the problem" is a lack of third parties, then PR does fix it--look at anywhere in the world that there's PR. The Netherlands, for example, wouldn't have so many parties if they had US-style representation.

[sparkey]

There are already third parties....

The poll asked if a third "major" party was needed.