May 29th, 2003, 08:06 PM
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Major General
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Join Date: Oct 2002
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Re: OT 2 party political system
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Originally posted by Chief Engineer Erax:
Just some questions (from a non-American) : the 2-party system is a matter of custom, correct ? People are used to having 2 parties so that's why there are 2 parties ?
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Essentially. Leagally, parties have nothing to do with the US election system. However, practically, people polarize between two.
Quote:
Originally posted by Chief Engineer Erax:
Is there anything to prevent the rise of local 'other' parties ? parties that have their own candidates at the state level but support other parties at the national level ?
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It has happened a few times in the past, but inertia usually keeps it from happening - people believe that other parties don't have a chance, and then, rather than "waste" (as they think) their vote on candidates that don't have a chance, they pick a candidate from one of the two big parties so that they have influence. Such thinking is what causes the difficulties of getting another group in.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
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