Fear of a Drumph Planet

[JustWinBaby]

(04-22-2016, 01:15 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The problem is that the influence of money has made it impossible for a viable third party to ever exist.

Money only works because many voters are lazy and/or disinterested to the point of ignorance.  If voters were only influenced by ample information they can find online, then spending boatloads of money on ads would be ineffective.

Probably the bigger issue is the mainstream media is essentially an extension of the Repub and Dem party.  The media is required to give equal time, but seems like they have plenty of ways around that.  So the lack of national coverage means a 3rd Party candidate would have to spend even more to be noticed and heard - Ross Perot bought primetime spots, but I'm not sure he would have been as effective today in the new media environment where less people are tuned in and everyone has more options to tune out.

80% of the country will happily (and blindly) pull the lever for a Repub or Dem.  You need 5% (I think) to get on stage for the Presidential debates in the general....so really the math is set-up to work against an independent.  To say nothing of the ground game and infrastructure needed to turn-out the vote for you in each state (which, again, speaks more to the disinterest and general malaise of the electorate).