by Alexander Bleddyn

Created on: November 25, 2008

The United States is ready for a Third Party. With the Republican Party seemingly weakened as a result of the 2006 Mid-terms and the recent 2008 General Election, the time could be ripe for an Third Party to fill whatever void there may be. Many people on both sides of the aisle were dissatisfied with the candidates who received their nominations from the Democratic and Republican parties, and a good number of people were so disheartened or disillusioned that they either did not vote or they voted for "the lesser of two evils," who ever that may have been. The election system is broken, for a number of reasons.

It is unfortunate that the democratic process throughout the primaries, for both major parties, hinged on who had the most money, who could win in Iowa & New Hampshire (to states that have a lot of clout in the primary process but not in electoral votes), and who could win the vote of confidence of Big Money and Big Media. Of all the candidates running this past election cycle, only four were given sufficient visibility: Clinton, Obama, Romney and McCain; everybody else took a back seat because they either did not have the blessings of the mainstream media, the money, or both...and it is a shame. It is a shame the elections have become less and less about the issues and more and more about who is most popular, who is able to raise the most money, who is most capable of staying in the good graces of the media, and who is most able to sacrifice his/her principles and resort to the dirtiest of politics in order to get a vote. Therefore, candidates are weeded out to give the spotlight to those more deserving of the crown that the king-makers (money and the mainstream media) can bestow.

For eight long years, the atmosphere of the political process has been polluted by smear campaigns, the sacrifice of principles for votes, doublespeak and half-truths, and the kowtowing to financial backers and the media. But it is in this atmosphere that a Third Party could come in and revolutionize the process. To become viable, a Third Party needs to build a solid foundation on a clear, moderate/middle of the road platform that speaks to the average American who is more concerned with issues that truly matter in their daily lives; such as employment security, national security, education and health-care. Of course, there is the matter of getting that centrist message out to the masses, of which money can be a major hindrance. To overcome this obstacle, it would be wise

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