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A Two Party System?

Update:  Once again, reader input on this topic has been excellent and thoughtful.  Please be sure to read the comments below!

Reader input has been overwhelming, and the comments have been informative and thoughtful since I decided to post a few politically-minded articles on this blog.  This is quite a change from the normal pace, what with the marvelous literary content and Pulitzer Prize-worthy content normally to be found here.  But hey, I get it.  So here’s one more thing to think about, and should you have intelligent contributions to make to this discourse, by all means, let’s hear what’s on your mind!

Question #1: Why do we have a two-party-only system in our government? 

Question #2: What if those two parties aren’t far enough apart?  (i.e. Would that mean we really only have a one party system)?

Question #3: What would your ideal political party platform consist of?

I can’t wait to read your inputs.  Too bad we can’t get answers to these kinds of questions to show up in the way we place our votes!

Thanks for participating!

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24 responses to “A Two Party System?”

  1. lisatower Avatar
    lisatower

    Lets bring back the Constitutionalists. I think there are 4 or 5 of us.
    Tim Tower ( and it Jr by the way. Tim Sr. is still a little techno resistant )

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  2. Laurence Goldkamp Avatar
    Laurence Goldkamp

    This is cool. The Founding Fathers on Leadership by D.T. Phillips is a great book to answer question 1 and 2. Thomas Jefferson became the third President by running against John Adams. Both men signed the Declaration and were both very American, agreeing only not on a few ideas. Though these men dissagreed on some issues, they still respected eachother immensely. However today…it’s not just ideas that are different, but the concept of Life and Freedom. Very different ball game, much more is at stake when chosing either or.
    To answer #3, I’m with Tim Tower on this one: Constitutionalists!

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  3. Greg Mogavero Avatar
    Greg Mogavero

    I hate just adding another question, but these posts have been extremely educational to me. I’m hoping someone could also include what mechanism(s) we have to affect WHAT each party considers their “platform items”. Is this where “K” street comes in (Lobbyists and Think Tanks like “The Heritage Foundation”)? Thanks.

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  4. Rory Sayers Avatar
    Rory Sayers

    We only need to know about the cycle body politic to understand the state of our country and world. The battle cry being proclaimed by both parties is CHANGE. It’s sad that the candidates are not true leaders and are clearly serving themselves fueled by their own ambitions. This problem is rampant throughout the world in a lot of arenas from homes to businesses etc.
    We need to ask ourselves if they are posturing for more control of the people they preside over?
    I guess what I’m getting at is it seems they seek personal power rather than serving the constituents. Real leaders serve to enable people to fend for themselves. Dependency is the lowest form of development and has been incubated in our nation for some time now. Lets examine our personal life to see the similarities. When we were born we relied on others for food, clothing and shelter. Then we hopefully learned to become self-sufficient. After that we need to learn interdependence.
    The real issue at hand is the foundation that all this is built upon. If trust does not exist then everything breaks down. Look at the economic and social climate. The root of all this discord is the lack of trust.
    Trust cannot be built upon lies. Honesty is key.
    A true leader will display unwavering character based on the core convictions of their heart. This is how trust is earned.
    The heart drives people’s actions and sooner or later the truth will come out.
    Getting back to the questions.
    The 2 party system (or is that 1 party) is not what the people of this country desire (voting for the lesser of the 2 evils). It is only that a reasonable alternative is currently not available.
    Why not an alternative party that would support personal freedoms, personal responsibility, and individual rights. I think that is what this country was founded upon.
    The platform would also include the overhaul of the tax code. A flat tax (say 10%) to only be used for common needs not wants of the nation. Sorry about all the accountants and IRS layoffs. You are smart and will find other more productive opportunities.
    I heard the average time spent figuring and preparing tax papers is 52hrs a year. How much growth in GDP has that led too?
    Businesses will become more profitable due to less litigation and tax dodging and therefore concentrate on expansion of market share creating more employment.
    People also would have less incentive to work under the table and the end result would be more revenue for our government to operate with.
    The leaders we would elect to do this would have to exhibit absolute moral principles based on rules higher than the current laws. “Do what is right because it is right”.
    There are absolutes and they must proclaim that there is and have the fruit to show that it is in their heart.
    We could name it the party of TRUTH.

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  5. Garrett Mees Avatar
    Garrett Mees

    this is most likely on the wrong topic but the biggest problem we have is that OUR reps don’t let each bill stand on it’s own merrit. Remember the old after school special cartoon Just a Bill! It is nothing like that in real life by the time Just a Bill gets to the floor for a vote it is a multi headed monster and with all the extra apendiges it is no wonder most bills stall on the floor, kinda like the 3 page bail out plan that became over 120 pages long. Not that it probably needed to be more than 3 I am not sure 120 was any better.

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  6. John Dickinson Avatar
    John Dickinson

    Why do we have a two-party-only system in our government?
    It’s where the money goes to support candidates.
    What if those two parties aren’t far enough apart?
    Then there is only a one party system. If you don’t agree with either party, vote for the right, regardless of the consequences. (Remember Brewster’s Millions movie “he throws most of his money at a protest campaign urging a vote for ‘None of the Above.’”
    What would your ideal political party platform consist of?
    Freedom to live within biblical moral constraints.

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  7. Dusty H. Avatar
    Dusty H.

    I see there only being one party, The Government! As you’ve probably seen “CLEAN ELECTIONS” being promoted at times, we never get the opinions of anyone other than the two so called parties that want to CONTROL us. Keeping us uneducated and poor and maintaining their own wealth through promising to take care of us so we can be comfortable! Where are the true patriots today, or have we all been programmed enougn already to accept that the solution is government intervention. A third party does exist, we just don’t have access to it because of the strong control the other two parties have on the situation. I don’t like ANY party telling me that they will take care of me and all I have to do is pay them all my money! It seems to me that the more people I talk to, the more I realize that the majority of the people are saying that it’s the government’s job to fix all the problems that we got ourselves into through breaking natural principals of money and thinking that we can live like a wealthy person in a big house and a rich man’s car without first paying the price of success through basic principals of nature and hard work ethic. We need to take a look back at history and see what the government’s role is according to the original documents placed in action by the founding fathers. I appreciate all the people out there who continue to represent the principals of truth. I agree that that third party should be called TRUTH. I feel that there are many leaders, including Chris, that are already leading this party and trying to implement these changes today! Thanks for all you guys do out in the feild every day. My vote goes for “THE FREE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!” Fight that Media War!

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  8. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    A platform for a new party:
    1) FairTax! Gets rid of the IRS. Encourages saving and investing. Will definitely bring businesses and capital BACK to the US.
    2)Eliminate No Child Left Behind and the Federal Department of Education. Let local and state governments run their own schools according to the needs and desires of their population.
    Unfortunately, NCLB, like ALL bloated federal programs, stiffles creativity and ingenuity while being incredibly inefficient.
    In my classroom, results never mattered. What mattered was which posters and slogans I had on my walls. I actually had 11 different administrators (local, county, and state) visit my room one year just to see what was on my walls. What a waste of money!
    I am also a strong proponent of school choice. I think students should compete for schools and schools should compete for students. I think that we should have ALL types of schools…schools that focus on business…schools that focus on engineering…schools that focus on science…schools that focus on the arts.
    Let’s create schools that appeal to students and parents. Let’s give people options.
    More than anything else, we need to limit the power and scope of the federal government and return to the principals laid down in the Constitution.

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  9. Bert Fall Avatar
    Bert Fall

    In response to question 1, there is no constitutional stipulation that there must only be two parties. In fact there is no mention of parties at all. There are currently many political parties that exist in the U.S. but most people are only familiar with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These have been the two dominant parties since the 1850’s. So dominant that they control every facet of government save for some local seats held by third party officials. In each State election rules are made by the Secretary of State and differ from State to State. The Secretary is always a member of one party or the other and it is extremely difficult for another party to even get a candidate on the ballot. For example, in my home state of Ohio, in order for a party to get a candidate on the ballot they must first obtain 20,000 signatures on a petition. This was recently lowered from 40,000 signatures when the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Ohio’s ballot access laws in September 2006 declaring it unconstitutional. I’m sure many of you can guess how many signatures are required by the Democratic and Republican Parties.
    The media also has a powerful influence in maintaining a two party system. Very rarely will they ever mention parties other than the “Big 2” and when they do it is usually brief. I have seen a number of interview with Libertarian candidate Bob Barr however most of them center mainly around whether or not he is a spoiler for John McCain. That is generally how third parties are regarded. Third party candidates are also very rarely invited to debates unless they have a certain percentage in national polls. (I’m not even going to go into how bogus polls are but they are very easily swayed one way or the other.) I believe that most people aren’t aware of other parties and if they are many are afraid to vote for them for fear of a worse candidate being elected. Personally, I don’t think that any third party is in a position to field presidential candidates. There isn’t enough money or recognition. I think the focus should be on congressional seats and seats at the state level. Essentially starting from the bottom and working up. I will admit, however, that after John McCain won the Republican nomination I told myself that I would vote for Bob Barr unless McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. Honestly, at the time I thought the chances of that were pretty slim. In a nutshell, I feel the only reason we have a two party system is because the D’s and R’s have such a majority that they overshadow any others. There are always people saying that if we had a multi-party system, like those in Europe, that nothing would get accomplished. I see their reasoning, however, I remind them that the Republican Party was once a third party made up of disenfranchised Whig Party members and some Anti-Slavery Democrats. The history of political parties in the United States in both interesting and confusing.
    Question #2: What if those parties are not far enough apart? I think the D’s and R’s are getting to close for comfort. Which is why I became a member of the Libertarian Party. Don’t get me wrong, I caucus with Republicans, but I feel that the LP is doing a far better job of promoting republican (the philosophy) ideals. Ronald Reagan once said “If you analyze it, I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom – and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is. I think that libertarianism and conservatism are traveling the same path.” This being said, I’ve found that there are members of the Republican Party that are conservative (or libertarian) and those that are not. If I were a psychic I would say that one day the conservative and libertarian voices within the Republican Party will either re-take the party (currently held captive by Neo-Cons) or join/form a different party.
    Question #3: What would my ideal political party platform consist of? Like I said earlier, I am a member of the Libertarian Party and I am very proud of its current platform. However, it is not perfect. My ideal platform would mandate that all policy should conform to the U.S. Constitution. I’m tired of politicians not playing by the rules made by our founders exercise authority they don’t have. The platform would be committed to small government, low low low taxes, a strong military (though I would say that a strong military doesn’t mean have it stretched all over the world and it certainly doesn’t mean having it at the mercy of NATO), protection of civil liberties, personal property, privacy, gun rights, and also defend the sanctity of life. One law I would like to see passed is that life begins at conception.
    Also, I don’t want to be just promoting the Libertarian Party. The Constitution Party also has some very positive core values. Their candidate of President is Chuck Baldwin though I admit I don’t really know very much about him. In Ohio there is also a Constitution Party member who is running for Attorney General as an Independent. His name is Robert M. Owens is also endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Ohio.

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  10. kckarate Avatar
    kckarate

    The perfect ideal political party is not far away (i.e. when Love comes back soon with His family to rule with a rod of iron for 1,000 years).
    Until then I think the best thing we can do is support the newly named PublicservanteventhoughIdon’tgetpaid party that supports paying minimum wage for lawyers and politicians; outlawing insurance companies; making it illegal (besides the adult death penalty) to terminate human life after conception; dropping tax rates to the lowest level yet to stimulate getting more tax revenue (amazing how that works); giving everyone permission to pray anywhere speech is permitted; giving everyone (that is not in jail) permission to carry a weapon anywhere they want; outlawing photo speed enforcement; and among other things, revising as many speed zones as possible and building more highways in congested areas (i.e. all highway planners are required to read “The Magic of Thinking Big”).

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  11. Kerry Konecny Avatar
    Kerry Konecny

    We have a two party system now because they have become entrenched in our political system from around the Civil War era. This was probably ok when there was a difference. Currently there are only a few differences I see and these are mainly moral issues not economic issues. As far as an ideal party…I would echo a lot of what has already been mentioned. Follow the Constitution, low income taxes used for only what we can’t do individually(defense, courts, law enforcement), small government(fewer Departments…for example eliminate Dept of Education, Agriculture, Interior to name a few), keep government out of business and let the market decide the “fair” price for goods and services, push for a line-item veto for the President, push for term limits for Senate(2 – 6year terms) and the House(4 – 2year terms), be for a strong military to defend freedom, and be for a strong enforcement of immigration laws.

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  12. Garrett Mees Avatar
    Garrett Mees

    New Party: TEAM America!
    Orrin Woodward for President
    Chris Brady for Vice President
    Randy Haugen Secretary
    The Policy Councel could be the new House and the Power Player would be how the Senate would be formed

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  13. Owen Derry Avatar
    Owen Derry

    Question #1: Why do we have a two-party-only system in our government?
    I agree with a most of Bert Fall’s remarks (Oct 8). One thing I would add is that perhaps the reason we have a two party system is two-fold: 1. Back in the 1850’s the two major parties were far enough apart that issues were discussed enough to the satisfaction of the voters. At that time, it worked well. 2. However, as time went on, voters became comfortable with the two parties and allowed power to vest in the two-party system. This may not have been done by conscious choice of the voters, but more by being lax and assuming that the government (politicians) would keep the best interest of the voters in mind. (For more discussion on this matter, listen to Team 126, Bob McEwen, Freedom Isn’t Free.) As Ronald Reagan said, we are never more than one generation away from losing our freedom. It is not passed on in our blood. Somewhere along the line, I think we fell into the trap of thinking that our freedoms would just stay with us forever. History has proven this to be false. Whether the fight is on the battlefield, on the Congressional floor, in the voting booth, in the media, or in the living rooms of America, it must continue year after year if we are to keep our freedom
    Question #2: What if those two parties aren’t far enough apart? (i.e. Would that mean we really only have a one party system)?
    I would answer ‘Yes.’ And then I would ask, ‘If you have a one-party system, which system is it?’ A de facto one-party system cannot debate and hammer out all the important issues because, by definition, it only has one side. It also has its own self interest in mind so it can’t and won’t monitor itself. This makes fertile breeding ground for complacency, pork-barrel legislation, and corruption. Do you then have a democratic government, or a socialist one, or what?
    Question #3: What would your ideal political party platform consist of?
    Something simple, just as the founding fathers had in mind. When I think of government and the problems we have today (take the financial bailout as an example), one thing comes to mind: If an issue is so complex that scores and scores of experts cannot agree on what the problem is, when it actually started, how much it will cost to fix, and how long it will last, how can anyone propose a workable solution? If that is the case, I think it is a clear signal that the government should not be involved, nor should it have been involved in creating programs and legislation in decades past that interrupted the free markets.

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  14. Dom.E. Avatar
    Dom.E.

    The two party system has actually been a part of American politics since 1792. You first had the Federalist Party (who supported a loose interpretation of the Constitution) and the Democratic-Republican Party (who were said the Constitution should be strictly followed). The Federalist Party died off and eventually the D-R Party would find itself split up. The core of the party became today’s Democratic Party.
    The Whig Party was the second major party between 1833 and 1856 only to be replaced in status by today’s Republican Party which came into power when President Abraham Lincoln won the Election of 1860. The Republican Party was an anti-slavery party which was born on July 6, 1854 in Jackson, Michigan (it was the first of four meetings which organized the party) in reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Republicans also had a lot of similar ideals that the Whigs had. The Democrats split during the antebellum crisis over slavery which allowed the Republicans to win the Presidency.
    It has been mainly a two party race with an occassional third party getting Electoral College votes since the mid-19TH century. There are several “third parties” but none of these parties are getting the publicity that the “Big Two” are getting.
    Personally, I think it is time for a third party to get out there and give us another choice. However, that could create a problem as the third party would steal votes from the Big Two and could cause a situation where elections could go to the House of Represenatives (President) and Senate (Vice-President) as no candidate would get the 270 electoral votes to win. In my opinion, tradition and the Electoral College have kept the rise of the third party from happening.
    The tradition of voting for two parties has many people voting for the “lesser of two evils” rather than “wasting their vote” on a third party candidate.
    The two parties today are similar in one thing: the politicians are serving their needs, their interests, and not serving the people that elected them in many respects. Too often lobbyists and those with the most dollars have influenced our politicians rather than the needs and concerns of the people. I think it’s time for some servant leaders in our government!
    This would be my party of choice. A party of servant leaders. A party whose leaders take the time to find out the concerns and true needs of their constituents and presses for that is the party for me. Right now, I don’t see that in Party A nor Party B and that is why I’m leaning towards a third party candidate again this election.
    As for my ideal political views, I think there are a lot of changes to a lot of policies. We need a leader who will fight for the American people by fighting for their constituents needs and putting the constituents concerns ahead of all else as long as it was legal, ethical, and moral. I think it’s time to bring jobs back to America as many people are reluctant to moving into the Information Age from the Industrial Era. We also need to look to fixing our internal problems before trying to fix the world and serving our people first. Of course, we need to finish what we have started overseas, but we need to start working on uplifting the poor in our own nation. I think it is time to put the clamps on those who are taking advantage of the American people (i.e. CEOs of these national firms who are making rediculous money while cutting jobs to keep their pockets fat). I think it is time to find a way to cut gas prices to the level they were a decade ago or at least to the level just prior to 9/11 which would reduce much of the financial strain many Americans feel.
    It is time that our government works for us!

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  15. Charles A. Avery Avatar
    Charles A. Avery

    Hi Chris,
    I know that you know that there are more than two political parties in the United States, although you would be hard pressed to name the others if you get all your information from the popular media. The Libertarians, Peace and Freedom, and Green parties are some of the better known unheard of parties.
    I believe things are ripe for change. Both primary parties are so entrenched in their defensive positions that the government has become almost frozen. There is an opening for a new party to take the center and force some compromise and common sense.
    From where I sit it does not appear that the two primary parties are getting close together. If John McCain is too liberal for the Republican party and Barack Obama represents the center of the Democratic party then I see a world of difference. Unfortunately, as has been pointed out we elect politicians, not statesmen or leaders. Everything is a sound bite and few people look beyond the image.
    The ideal party for me would be one that promotes tolerance while enforcing responsibility. I feel the Democrats believe too strongly in the “if they had less than I would have more” philosophy while also promoting a “you can have it your way and the taxpayers will pay for it” program.
    My Republican party seems to believe more in free enterprise, but at the expense of denying freedom of expression and passing laws to lock up anyone who doesn’t follow the Old Testament. How about the Tolerance and Accountability Party? Although we may have to work on the initials a little!
    Our political platform would be Luke 10:27, John 8:7 (“Love the Lord God with all your heart …love your neighbor as yourself.”) And, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be first to throw a stone at her.”

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  16. Dave Nelson Avatar
    Dave Nelson

    We tried having three candidates and that got Clinton elected. Ross Perot divided us.
    More and more human leeches are being created in the Gov’t System to believe in Poverty.
    People just want a …JOB.
    People just want a… HOUSE.
    People want the …GOOD THINGS.
    People dont want to do the things required to maintain their quality of life. When they start to lose their goodies they cry to Gov’t. They dont look for a new or better way to make money.

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  17. ASD Avatar
    ASD

    Dear Readers,
    Chris poses some very good questions. However, I don’t think that any of those issue’s are to blame for our woes today. By that I mean, for example, the two party system is not to blame for the serious challenges to our freedoms we face today and so on. In an ideal world a two party system will result in a great society and a three party system will result in a great society as well. However when excessive greed and the need for control enters the picture no system stands a chance of success.
    The best example I can think of to explain this is to look at a home where the husband, wife and children (the citizens) decide to employ a servant (the government)to help with the affairs of the home. Soon, very shrewd neighbors (bankers and people with influence) realizes that the homeowners (citizens) are too busy and the homeowners don’t have a clue or care as to what is taking place at home and have completely turned over the affairs of the home to the servant (the govt.). Through influence and corruption the neighbors use the servant (govt.) to steal from and enslave the homeowner (the citizens). Through this process the neighbours and servant (govt.) have become the master and the homeowners the servants. Unfortunately the homeowners (citizens) are too “busy” to notice that with each passing day they are on the path from being servants to slaves.
    That is it in a nutshell. Very simple. There is no need for complex words and fancy political party names. To date most citizens are unaware of this simple fact and continue to seek answers from the political party closest to their hearts.
    Since the time of the founding fathers to about 1900 majority of the politicians were honorable men/women that withstood the temptation of bribes and influence peddling and served their citizens well. Since about 1900 onwards majority of the politicians have increasingly succumbed to bribes and influence peddling and in turn served their citizens very poorly.
    This moral decay of our politicians is also mirrored in our society with the same timelines as stated above. Why is this you ask? It has to do with the fact that the education system supported by the ruling “elite” is devoid of teaching values and upholding the principles supported by the founding fathers. Overtime this system has resulted in the society we have today. Just imagine what we will have in 10 years if people don’t demand change. You can read more about this in John Taylor Gatto’s book “The Underground History of American Education.”
    For a clearer picture of what is going on around us, I recommend Aaron Russo’s excellent feature film “America: Freedom to Fascism.” You can get a copy on ebay etc. or just copy the following link and paste in your web browser:
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173&hl=en
    Let us all wake up to reality before it is too late for us, our children and our children’s children. It is too late in the game to be naive!!

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  18. Russ and Monica Rodriguez Avatar
    Russ and Monica Rodriguez

    It’s at times like where we should really be asking ourselves why we believe, what we’re believin’. Why is this basically a two-party system? I believe it’s mainly because Americans love the notion of a great battle between two teams, with the spoils going to the winner. Think major league sports – football, baseball, basketball.
    What if the thinking behind those two main parties isn’t all that far apart? Well, it would boil down to choosing which messenger we prefer, even though the messages are basically the same. Call it relatability, likeability, or media worthiness.
    Dov Seidman wrote in “How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything in Business (and in Life)” that in a connected world,countries, governments and companies also have character, and their character — how they do what they do, how they keep promises, how they make decisions, how things really happen inside, how they connect and collaborate, how they engender trust, how they relate to their customers, to the environment and to the communities in which they operate — is now their fate. What Mr. Seidman shared is basically the gist of what we seek in our Presidential messenger!
    What would my ideal party platform consist of? Well, it’s sometimes a real challenge to take the pulse of 300-million people quickly, so you can boil it all down to a short-list of issues. But to be perfectly honest, each party leader has quite the job to figure out what our national agenda should be. In the words of Thomas Friedman, author of “The World Is Flat”, I’d have to say rebuilding America is job #1. To heck with the rest of the world! We need to heal from years of overseas conflicts, this financial meltdown, the failure of our primary & secondary state sponsored school systems, an ailinig social security system, and wayy to much debt in our federal and state deficits. Thanks for asking these questions, and please know our prayers are with you and your family during Terri’s surgery today. We love you and are blessed by a great team leadership pool.

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  19. Charles A. Avery Avatar
    Charles A. Avery

    Hi Chris,
    I’ve already put in my two cents above. I just wanted to say that my thoughts and prayers are with you and Terri as well. We love you guys for all that you are and stand for (and we are not even in your team).
    God bless you!

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  20. Brett Oyer Avatar
    Brett Oyer

    I received this email. I think you will find it the truth:
    545 PEOPLE… by Charlie Reese
    Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
    Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the
    Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
    Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against
    inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
    You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.
    You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on
    appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
    You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
    You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
    You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
    One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine
    Supreme C ourt justices. 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
    I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that
    problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
    I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.
    Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their f ault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
    What separates a politician from a normal human being is an
    excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
    The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole
    responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
    Who is the speaker of the House?…She is the leader of the majority
    party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
    It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot
    replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility.
    I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable
    directly to those 545 people.
    When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the
    power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
    If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
    If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.
    If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it’s because they want them in
    IRAQ.
    If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.
    There are no insoluble government problems.
    Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom
    they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
    Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists
    disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation,’ or ‘politics’ that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
    Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
    They, and they alone, have the power.
    They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
    We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
    Brett Oyer

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  21. Steve Martin Avatar
    Steve Martin

    1: We have a system of government now where two parties are in the majority for a couple of reasons.
    They have enough money to out-compete any other smaller party that tries to enter into large elections, and none of the smaller parties have platforms that are different enough from the others and resonate with the voters. A group of people with the right views, enough money, and enough influence would be able to compete with the two party system…now where would we find such people?
    2: If those two parties are not far enough apart, I believe we will have strayed far from what our founding fathers envisioned when they built our government. If our choices for our leaders are based on the Small differences between them how can we as voters make a Big difference at election time.
    3: My ideal political party platform would be difficult to achieve in the current political landscape. It would involve cutting taxes, slashing spending, and paying of the national debt without sacrificing our safety. It would mean politicians tightening their belts and making some sacrifices of their pride, and maybe even risking not being relected.

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  22. Bill Kolasa Avatar
    Bill Kolasa

    Question #1: Why do we have a two-party-only system in our government?
    I’m not sure we do, exclusively. I only consider myself educated on the two major parties, Democrat and Republican, and even that has come from the Team’s training. So my limited view is only a one-dimensional spectrum: “Lots of Government” on the left, and “Very Little Government” on the right. There are the minor parties: Libertarians, Green, and independents (those who do not affiliate with any party), and maybe others. While the minor parties have no significant power, they may in the next few decades.
    I remember that when Ross Perot ran for president, I voted for him in our school’s mock election. As I recall, my reason was that he really genuinely seemed to know what he was talking about, cut through shenanigans and among other things said that we were going to know him as “Ross” if he won, not “Mr. President,” and showed us charts to illustrate his points. Yeah, I’m melancholy. 🙂
    Question #2: What if those two parties aren’t far enough apart? (i.e. Would that mean we really only have a one party system)?
    I agree, we would then have a “one party system,” with perhaps a smaller known spectrum band. Placements of its endpoints would be within the current spectrum.
    Question #3: What would your ideal political party platform consist of?
    1. Destroy bureaucracy!!! I admit; I’m vengeful on this one. I just hate red tape that prevents things from getting accomplished. I also admit this is just a (possibly humourous) goal, not a plan. 🙂
    2. Illegalize abortion again. I’m sorry this jumped to my mind second, not first.
    3. Speak benevolently but boldy about humans’ responsibilities to God (I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a campaigning pres. candidate in the past 16 years speak on that subject) and His principles above everything else, and have a publicly known desire to worship Him and be guided by Him. As Stephen Covey put it in chapter 3 of the 7 Habits, if we are not loyal to principles above all else, our lives will fall apart. My view is that God invented the principles of success just as He invented the laws of physics.
    4. Privatize a whole bunch of the government so that the entrepreneurs can run it more competently via first-party purchases. Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac would be among the first.
    5. Make a whole lot more environmentally friendly laws and incentives for companies to produce products that use way less energy, regenerate some of their wasted energy, and use alternative energy sources. (“We can rebuild it. We have the technology. We can make it better, faster, and have an abundance mentality to know that all resources are inventions of the human mind.”)
    6. Have a strong defense for the United States.
    7. Educate the nation on economics and politics like Bob McEwen does. When enough truth on that is taught, I believe the citizenry will then have the knowledge to get off the entitlement couch and will take responsibility to make their country great once again. Because really, until someone shows them an alternative of how to make things better, they honestly don’t know there is any vehicle besides complaining and wanting the government to solve all the problems–I didn’t!

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  23. Cathy Avatar
    Cathy

    Chris,
    Enough has been said, and well said, about the evolution of why we have two parties in the U.S. So I won’t go into that, to save people reading time and me typing it.
    I agree the two major current parties are far closer than most of us would like. My sponsor calls himself a Libertarian. My husband and I are registered Republicans, and vote mostly Conservative. It’s a way to tell the Republican Party here in NY my feelings about their issues and platforms. It also gets things done faster when I call my representatives and mention concerns over things.
    My ideal platform? Okay, just remember, you asked for it, Chris!
    1. Sanctity of Marriage a Constitutional Ammendment. Marriage is the basis of society, and is threatened today like never before. Let’s keep it safe once and for all, since activist judges are now trying to rewrite what the framers of the Constitution took for granted all those years ago!
    2. End abortion on demand. It’s a horrible plague of death on our land, and we are deserving of God’s full wrath for it. I know, I sound like an Old Testament prophet, but the Scriptures are still the same. God hates our murder of kids through abortion just as much as He hated it when the Israelites and their neighbors sacrificed their kids to pagan gods.
    3. A flat tax. Fair and square. 10% sounds good. Trim the bloated and overgrown IRS by 10% per year until the budget is balanced and the government is run like a business.
    4. Reform the dole. Get aliens who never worked a day in their lives in the U.S. off Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Make welfare payments gradually decreasing, to give people incentives to find work. Don’t give people with special needs kids automatic benefits. (They tried to give us this! We turned them down flat repeatedly!) Make it based on true need, like for medical expenses and the like.
    5. No more free ride for anyone else, either. No more farm subsidies. Stop paying farmers not to grow stuff. Let’s take a long, hard look at a lot of foreign aid, too.
    6. A strong U.S. military that is feared around the world by terrorists, and loved by those who love freedom. And paid a living wage. Enuf said on that.
    7. Elimination of the Department of Education. It is outrageous the NEA gets its own Cabinet post, and it needs to go. Let states do their thing, as long as they actively promote educational choice.
    8. Privatizing of whatever possible. And give the states back whatever possible, too. Make the bidding processes fair and open, with results published in the media for all to see. Trim back what’s left and bring agencies back to their original purpose and intent.
    9. Term limits for Congress. If we can’t have a President for more than 2 terms, why can we have members of the House and Senate for more than 2 terms? We can make the House terms longer, so they can get stuff done. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, too.
    10. Tort reform. Health care and legal expenses are out of control because of greed. Yes, there are valid cases. There are also stupid ones. Let’s take a long hard look at product liability, too.
    11. Go back to the Gold Standard and stabilize our currency. Let’s make a dollar worth one for a change.
    12. Reform the immigration system. Open the doors to people who want to work. (We have a friend who wants to work and can’t because his Canadian work permit is up and Immigration has been giving him grief for months!) Don’t allow the immigrants access to Social Security until they can prove they have worked in the U.S. for a minimum time, just like the rest of us.
    13. More encouragement of faith-based initiatives for social programs. Public praise for organizations who do stuff right, and spend donations wisely and well.
    14. Prayer in public schools. Let’s bring it back to being allowed again. Heck, many kids do it before pop quizzes, anyway!
    Orrin for President
    Chris for Vice President
    Policy Council for the Cabinet
    Round Table for Congress
    Rev Dickie for Chaplain of Congress
    (Though I know you guys might not be able to afford the temporary pay cut you’d have to take to do it!)

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  24. Carole Avatar
    Carole

    There are many excellent comments here.
    Yes, we now have one party, the Republicrats. The only challenge at this point are the Independents, yet they, too, seem to only choose among the Republicrats.
    We do need dissent from other parties to keep alive liberty. At this point it is nearly dead since Republicrats offer the same tired problems and solutions.
    I would strongly advocate that the Constitution Party at least offers the choice that Americans need to adhere to the law of the land as espoused in the Constittuion.
    First, Congress sold out America in 1913 by unconstitutionally legislating away their right to coin money and keep it solidly backed by gold and silver. Private central banking,i.e., the Federal Reserve,and fractional reserve banking, has now nearly destroyed our country.
    Second, by declaring corporations as human entities with human rights, but protecting them from many laws that restrain their behavior, we have created another monster. Lobbying is influence peddling and bribery has thoroughly corrupted our lawmakers.
    Third, Congress passes too much legislation, thereby diluting and further dividing our country into factions and groups. This is collectivist thinking and leads to chaos. A bill should stand on its own and there should be far fewer bills in Congress. The current practice has allowed government to grow beyond all ability to properly and fairly govern and to insinuate its power over the rule of law as established by our Constitution. Just look as what government interference in education has wrought for example.
    These are just a few thoughts, but it can all be summed up into returning our government to the real Constitution and eliminating all, but necessary government as the founders intended.
    I say this because today, the government we have, is the equivalent of the feudal system of old and current Europe. And it is far too large.
    We have abandoned the Constitutional Republic for Democracy, hence now, socialism and fascism. The only destination for such a government is totalitarianism. Activist judges now make law rather than interpret law.
    Once the country can vote itself trinkets and other benefits, we are on a path to self-destruction.
    Thomas Jefferson:
    “Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’, because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”
    “Dissenters who tell their fellow citizens what is really going on are subject to smear campaigns that, like clockwork, are aimed at the political heretic. Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” – Congressman Ron Paul
    “There is an alternative to national bankruptcy, a bigger police state, trillion-dollar wars, and a government that draws ever more parasitically on the productive energies of the American people. It’s called freedom. But as we’ve learned through hard experience, we are not going to hear a word in its favor if our political and media establishments have anything to say about it.” – Congressman Ron Paul

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