Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63%
by nvm0n2 on Thursday October 12, 2023 @02:18PM
(#37860857)
You're agreeing with me, the reason the US has two parties is because they barely have any specific identities or policies beyond being left/right. They don't really bother with manifestos, they routinely see people totally at odds with the party elites mount leadership challenges - which can work - and they don't whip, as you observe.
In a system in which parties stand for little, you don't develop third parties. But even in countries with tighter party discipline, like the UK, third parties struggle to justify their existence and stand out from the crowd.
The reason third parties exist in other democracies is because of whipping. In the UK, in Australia, in France, in Canada, in Germany, in Israel, the MPs are whipped.
What does that mean? That means that party representatives have to vote with their group, otherwise they run the very real risk of being evicted from that group. When was the last time that a Democrat lost their (D), have been evicted from the Democrats because they voted differently? Even now, no Democrat would get evicted from the party for voting for a Republican Speaker.
The US whips very differently, and so all the fuel of the third parties exists within the two big political families.