Challenging the power of the duopoly status quo in America

A recent news report by the Associated Press about the growth of third party candidates challenging the status quo of the duopoly entrenched power of the Republican and Democrat Parties echoes what Opinione wrote back on 23 July 2009. The news report comes as no surprise as Opinione discussed the potential blowback the duopoly was facing from the special perks and salary the members of congress enjoy. Although the story by the Associated Press reported on the growing frustration of American voters and how third party candidates can upset the status quo of the duopoly, the report did not explain some important issues. Most evident was the absence of reporting on the 93 percent re-election rate for both political parties and how these parties enact laws that protect them from serious challenges from other political parties. Unlike the news media which the Associated Press is a part of, Opinione will fill in the missing information the Associated Press omitted and explain how third and fourth political parties could be formed and supported to help average Americans get their interests taken care of in Washington, instead of the wealthy individuals and corporations which is the case today.

While the reporter alluded to the problems that third political party candidates face by writing…

“The lack of money, the institutional obstacles to a third party candidacy and a growing awareness among voters of the ideological differences between (the two Senatorial candidates in New Jersey)..”

the reporter and the editors at the Associated Press failed to elaborate on what some of the institutional obstacles are to non duopoly political party candidates. The reporter could have discussed the high percentage of incumbents getting re-elected due to their ability to get funding from lobbyists and people they help and the fact that other political parties are never allowed to participate in the national televised presidential debates. In very simple terms, the reporter could have added a sentence to the comments made by an associate director of Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics when the associate director explained some of the challenges third political party candidates face in America. Perhaps a sentence like, to confront the power of the duopoly political apparatus, a national third political party with a platform centered on removing the money from the system would be the best approach a third political party should take.

The reporter also missed an excellent opportunity to discuss the rating of the level of democracy in America compared to other countries in the world and the correlation this ranking has to the level of corruption in a government. This blog has discussed this correlation in the two posts, Democracy and Corruption- All Men are not created Equal, and American Independence in the New World Order. As discussed in one of the posts, the power of the two party system and the barriers they enact for other parties to form and challenge their duopoly of power, is one of reasons why countries like Japan, Malta, and Spain are considered to more democratic and pluralistic. In addition to the power of the two parties, the low voter participation of the electorate is another leading factor for the low ranking of America’s democracy.

This analysis of just one news report shows how the quality of the press also plays a factor in the difficulty any political movement will encounter when challenging the power of the duopoly status quo. The Internet however, like The Pirate Party in Sweden demonstrated, needs to be harnessed by political grass movements in order to challenge the long-standing relationship between the dominant media and the ruling elites in power and their benefactors.