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I once saw a sketch about joke parties in Monty Python's Flying Circus. There were the "Silly Party" and the "Sensible Party". The funny thing about the sketch was that the Silly Party kept winning by a stretch in almost all the races.

Historically, third party politics in America got its start with the "Anti-Mason" party around 1810.

Today, all of our "Third Parties" are a joke, and not the funny kind. We have the "Independent" Party, the "America First" Party, the "American" Party, the "American Independent" Party, the "American Nazi" Party, the "American Reform" Party, the "Christian Falangalist" Party, the "Communist Party USA", the "Constitution" Party, the "Democratic Socialists of America" Party, the "Family Values" Party, the "Freedom Socialist" or "Radical Women" Party, the "Green Party", the "Independence" Party, the "Labor" Party, the "Libertarian" Party, the "Light" party, the "Natural Law" Party...

Whew, can I take a breath?

The "New" Party, the "New Union" Party, the "Peace and Freedom" Party, the "Prohibition" Party, the "Reform" Party...

Well, you get the idea. And this isn't even a comprehensive list.

The point is, very few of us have actually ever heard of these parties. Certainly, none of us have ever seen them win a major race. When they enter, they don't have a chance, and the best they can hope for is to upset the balance between the Democrats and the Republicans. Essentially, our country is a two-party political system. So why do we have all these contenders?

Most people view a third party vote as a wasted vote. Ultimately it has no long-term effect on the election, and can often become tools of the major parties. The Democrats, for example, may have lost all hope of winning the Republican votes, but will attempt to help the Libertarian party gain their votes, thus securing the election for themselves.

In the end, however, third parties in our country have no real hope of winning any but the most insignificant elections.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Claerr.
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