No, a third party is non viable. But the right move would have been exactly what the crazy right wingers have done with the Republicans. Get organized and primary the fuck out of the people blocking things.
The “tea party” gave us the blueprint, but we’ve been too dumb and lazy to follow it. When they didn’t give us the public option with Obamacare, every primary since then should have been about cleaning house of the corporatist, establishment Democrats and replacing them with real progressives. But since we’re too lazy and dumb to vote in primaries in mass numbers, their establishment people keep sailing to victory.
Decades ago, a group calling itself The New Party tried to eliminate the spoiler effect of third parties through the practice of electoral fusion, that is, allowing the same candidate to run and appear on the ballot under more than one political party. That way, they’d know where their support came from. But the Democratic Farm Labor Party (Minnesota’s Democratic Party organization) went to court to shut it down, offering the specious argument that it would confuse voters.
Would the corporatist, establishment Democrats allow an upstart progressive movement into its primaries?
That system is only for Presidential Primaries. There’s a primary for most positions all the way down to dog catcher. Getting a partisan seat gives you a voice in the state party and possibly the national if your seat is high enough. Get enough Congressional seats and you control the special delegate swing in Presidential Primaries. Might they change that system as a progressive movement gets more seats? Sure, and they can have another riot outside their national convention too.
The very thing you call rigging is vulnerable to a tea party style primary challenge.
Correct. This is why there is essentially zero chance at political reform in this country without large scale violence. Granted, that violence will almost certainly be misdirected, but I think given the actual state of the system it truly is a forgone conclusion that we will see mass civil unrest within the next (~20) years.
No, a third party is non viable. But the right move would have been exactly what the crazy right wingers have done with the Republicans. Get organized and primary the fuck out of the people blocking things.
The “tea party” gave us the blueprint, but we’ve been too dumb and lazy to follow it. When they didn’t give us the public option with Obamacare, every primary since then should have been about cleaning house of the corporatist, establishment Democrats and replacing them with real progressives. But since we’re too lazy and dumb to vote in primaries in mass numbers, their establishment people keep sailing to victory.
Decades ago, a group calling itself The New Party tried to eliminate the spoiler effect of third parties through the practice of electoral fusion, that is, allowing the same candidate to run and appear on the ballot under more than one political party. That way, they’d know where their support came from. But the Democratic Farm Labor Party (Minnesota’s Democratic Party organization) went to court to shut it down, offering the specious argument that it would confuse voters.
Would the corporatist, establishment Democrats allow an upstart progressive movement into its primaries?
The closer they hold primaries, the worse their voter turn out gets. It’s a double edged sword.
You’re ignoring primaries are rigged, the party can just ignore the results, and pro-corpo candidates take in an insane amount of bribes.
That system is only for Presidential Primaries. There’s a primary for most positions all the way down to dog catcher. Getting a partisan seat gives you a voice in the state party and possibly the national if your seat is high enough. Get enough Congressional seats and you control the special delegate swing in Presidential Primaries. Might they change that system as a progressive movement gets more seats? Sure, and they can have another riot outside their national convention too.
The very thing you call rigging is vulnerable to a tea party style primary challenge.
Correct. This is why there is essentially zero chance at political reform in this country without large scale violence. Granted, that violence will almost certainly be misdirected, but I think given the actual state of the system it truly is a forgone conclusion that we will see mass civil unrest within the next (~20) years.