Bridget Everson Source 4

Does politics need to include third parties?

George Horsley Smith and Richard P. Davis.The Public Opinion Quarterly. Vol. 11, No. 2 (Summer, 1947), pp. 236-243. March 5, 2015.

Smith and Davis pose an important question, do the voters want the parties to change? If the answer is yes, they see these as the two solutions: “a) form a third party to take care of the putatively large number of American progressives; or b) Using the present framework, form two major parties so as to offer clearly-marked vehicles for liberal and conservative travelers”(237).  They conducted a series of tests to find out how voters feel about the parties and if things needed to be changed. When they were polled, the United States had just finished one of the most polarizing periods in history, the New Deal. Even after this period of history a small percentage of voters wanted to change the two party system. They continue on, by looking at history. Only a handful of instances have third parties successfully won an election. They also tested a variety of demographics and the data proved continual. No matter the occupation, education, or socio-economic status, a few amount of people would leave their party for a newly formed one. In general Smith and Davis show that, in reality, third parties are not needed in American government.

If voters are happy with the two parties maybe it’s not the candidates that are becoming more partisan. In reality, maybe the candidates are a fair representation of how American voters feel. If it has always been this way, why is there a need to change things? In 2015, American government is clouded with inactivity and 2 party issues and people see third parties as the solution. What is not usually seen is the representation of the people. If voters are satisfied with their ideology and the way they are being represented in the government, then third parties will not be right for the people. Maybe there is a reason that third parties aren’t frequently elected.

 The main question becomes, are third parties important to America’s political system? According to Nader and Amato, “Our two-party system is engaged in an unfair restraint of democratic participated”(171). On the other hand, Davis and Smith believe, “People are probably cynical about political parties”(239), making it very unlikely that voters would be enthusiastic about adding another. Although both sources appreciate democracy, they disagree when it comes to how many parties should be on the ballot. Nader and Amato see third party’s unpopularity as disrupting democracy but Davis and Smith see it as the voters speaking their minds.

After seeing both sides, I will look further into why third parties aren’t popular. This will even out my pro and con sources.