Third Party Advantages

The only changes that would make the Third Party viable would probably be to make the system Parliamentary. What we have now is a “Winner take all system,” which represents our democracy. Parliament is highly unlikely since our founders chose a completely different system. With a system of voting by two-thirds in it allows elected officials the power to change or not change the law. The advantage of a two parties system is a strong central government and constant pressure toward the center. Some Americans think that this creates a system where you can project strength in military and economic policy. This has also allowed the US to prosper and sometimes dominate in world affairs to the point of “empire”.

At the moment, with Citizens United (CU) in place, I feel there is no viable hope for any third-party presidential candidate to run a successful campaign. CU affects the entire political campaign process

No major office has ever been won by a Green Party candidate, and won 't, until U.S. electoral law changes. That 's not going to happen as long as the Democratic and Republican Parties hold the keys to that gate. By voting Green, some feel it is sending a message. There 's also a lot of infighting in the Green Party. Angry, articulate, well-informed, opinionated people in a weak political position tend to do that.

Elections matter, especially local ones where it is possible to have some access to the decision makers and their decisions. But on a larger scale, it’s all about the money, which buys name recognition, which determines popularity, which is what elections are about. Values, ideas, interests even (except as determined by money), come a distant second, third, etc.

If the Democratic Party signs an iron-clad contract to change electoral law to provide for Instant Runoff / Preference Voting elections with proportional representation in local, state and national legislatures, the Greens and other Third Party, plus Independent voters might agree to vote for