Public Education On Independent and Third Party Politics

More and more I am convinced that a large amount of people in the general public agree with independents and proponents of third parties on their complaints about the American two-party political system and its limitations. More and more I am observing pundits seriously exploring the third-party question in mainstream media. Vigorous discussion usually ensue in the comments section of web sites on the pros and cons of third party activism. People are genuinely intrigued and looking for alternatives to the two-party system.

What is interesting to me in these discussions is that, for the most part, actual third-party advocates and independent activists who have been working in the trenches on these issues for years are rarely consulted or their opinions highlighted in these explorations of third parties. Except for a few rare exceptions (Jackie Salit of the CUIP being the most prominent example) most third party and independent advocates are not tapped for their knowledge and experience on the challenges of being an activist for third parties and independents by the mainstream media. I think that is a huge opportunity lost to educate the public and a gap that the third party and independent community should seriously consider filling.

It is one thing for dissatisfied partisans to philosophically explore the possibility of third parties. It is quite a different experience for the discussion to have the voice of an actual activist who has been working this beat for years. In my mind, the issue of how to make a third party a viable choice in a two-party dominated landscape becomes a much more interesting (and educational) discussion if it included information such as alternative voting methods designed to reduce the spoiler issue, such as instant runoff, range and other voting methods. Or how about the role of electoral fusion laws in how third parties have become a force where it is legal? Or the challenges of ballot access for third parties – not theoretical discussions of how hard it is to accomplish -- but real, boots-on-the-ground experience from actual third parties and independents who have managed to secure ballot lines and the trials and tribulations they had to go through to accomplish that feat?

Most regular people who are not familiar with third party or independent activism would not know about these things. But imagine what would happen if enough light bulbs got lit in peoples’ minds about how realistic – not how unrealistic – third party and independent activism can be. Especially if guided by the wisdom of people who have been in the trenches of this type of activism for years or decades.

I see, therefore, a need for a serious, coordinated public education campaign by actual advocates of independent and third party politics. A campaign designed to:

(a) let the public know that there are activists who have been working on these issues for years;

(b) let the public know about the practical, nuts and bolts issues involved in third party and independent activism;

(c) educate the public about the different methods and strategies third party and independent advocates have developed to compensate for the role they have to play in an uneven playing field; and

(d) introduce and make known the various big players within the third party and independent community – the people which members of that community look up and whose efforts have been most effective through the years in galvanizing the community.