Three could be lucky number for America
In western cultures the numbr three has been
considered lucky for many vears It is the
number of continuity (two parents and a
i hild), figures highly into Christianity ami
with the three-branch system of government,
< omes into U.S politics as well So why not three
major political parties'
According to an August \ru ) <>rk fimes CBS
News (>oll. pen ent of Amerii .ms would sup
port the forming of a third politic al party While
this does not say they would vote outside of the
current two-parties, it discs raise the < ham rs for
an "outsider" to take over the Oval Of fit <■
With th*> federal government
m>I up ns it is. the Kxet utive
branch loti by a politn nl irute
jiendent could benefit the coun
try in many ways
For starters, a "non-politi
cian" president could generate
more support from the Ameri
can public. With the current
Republitan/Democrat split,
fewer than 2fi percent of Ameri
OPINION
«n
KraotsdKK)
urns say they believe national
offi< oholders nn* doing a good job
This recreated, three-pronged government
i ould provide c dearer politic al identities to the
American people The Supreme Court would
remain unchanged; Congress could remain run
by politicians, and the president could serve as
an interpreter of politics for the common person
The public does not question the political
background of Supreme ( ourt justices, even
though they are on the same level of the presi
dent. While it is obvious that the president needs
an adequate political hat kground. it is also
important to have strong social and economic
experience. Politic i.tns are not the only pool of
candidates with these qualities
Second I \. an independent president would
once again divide government's three brant lets
inlo separate entities.
While The .Yen York YVmesCHS poll reported
that til percent of voters thought an independent
president would have problems dealing with
Congress, an attempt at ibis system would not he
out of line. Rather than grid-locking itself with
bipartisan flic kering. Congress would have to
work as a cohesive branch.
Thus far. there is no sign that an independent
could not make a fair showing in the next cam
paign. Indeed, with dissatisfaction with the two
a
t third party eould present a real s hak e tor
the \merican public not between the
lesser of two evils
99
party system growing, the independent could
capture a great deal more of tin* vote than H Ross
Perot did in t«2
I have (wen disappointed in the past few years
with the ma)or parties' inability to stu k to their
bus it: party lines I w.is as hurt by President Clin
ton's unwillingness to fully support gays m the
military as I was by the Republican party's insta
bility when dealing with abortion A third party
could fort e the Democrats and Republicans to
stake out their liehefs more clearly
With more obvious differences it would !>e eas
ler for voters to pit k a i undulate they identified
with I he third party i Quid de< reuse apathy and
present a real choii e for the American public
not fort Ween the lessen of two evils
While I am not ready to cast my ballot. 1 do
not rejec t the idea ol voting for a third party can
■■ At this stage, it's important not t
caught up in all the “support for c hnnge " that the
issues themselves are ignored
One problem with Perot s election bid in HK)2
was tfiat it was so open ended It identified prob
lems with this nation but provided no solutions
While I could easily identify the major platforms
of both Clinton and Hush. Perot's campaign
seemed to lie based on what he was not Republi
can or Democrat
More importantly, the I sec utive offic e should
not be closed to someone simply because he or
she does not identify with a major party The
American people will trust the government only
when they feel empowered and represented by it
The next presidential elec tion could either
make or break the idea of a three-party system It'-,
too early to predict a winner, but unless partisan
ship is forgotten and the real issues are addressed,
the loser is already obvious the voters
Am Kraatsi held, a sophomore mnioriii^ m biolo
gy, is it columnist for the Kmerald
No big deal...
(it s only your future.,)
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