Ralph Nader ran for President of the United States several times and never received more than 2.5% of the national vote. After Ross Perot, that actually makes Ralph Nader the most successful third-party candidate in decades - despite the fact that 42% of Americans are Independent voters, as compared to roughly 29% Democrats and 25% Republicans.
Read this op-ed from the Washington Post, written by Ralph Nader himself. Nader describes firsthand how difficult it is to run outside of the two major political parties. Pay particular attention to the institutional obstacles he faced in terms of getting on the ballot, facing litigation, etc.
The obvious question to ask is, if you were running for political office, would you consider running as an Independent or third-party candidate? Keeping in mind Nader's article, how might you, or any other independent candidate, possibly overcome the obstacles he describes?
Bernie Sanders, the current Democratic presidential candidate, used to be an Independent while serving as Senator for Vermont, but switched to the Democratic Party in order to run for president. He looks likely, as of this moment, to lose the nomination to Hillary Clinton. Would you consider Bernie Sanders' decision to run as a Democrat a smart political strategy?
Seeing the challenges that third party candidates face, I do not believe I would ever consider running in any political capacity as a third party or Independent. Unless you have unlimited resources, including money, connections and time, running for office under any political party other than Democrat or Republican is political suicide. As we had discussed in class and also as Mr. Nader pointed out, getting on the ballot would be an achievement in itself. The Democrats and Republicans utilize strategies (some deceitful and low as we see from the efforts to not only harass petitioners and invalidate signatures but also trying to defuse Nader’s campaign by having him spend money and utilize his resources defending false charges) that will push you off the ballots. The law firm was even allowed to freeze his personal bank accounts for 8 years!! How was this allowed to happen? And to think that taxpayers paid for this is even more insane. Looking at the unlimited resources of billionaire Ross Perot who ran in 1992 and 1996 and still lost (even though very successful as an Independent) it is almost an impossibility to run a successful Independent campaign. To me it would be comparable to taking a leap off a cliff and trying to climb back on after you realize that you are heading for the ground. Well, unless you believe in miracles…
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I think that Bernie Sanders’ decision to run as a Democrat was very wise, however, I do not think that the general public is aware of the trials these candidates face running as a third party. I sure was not aware of them, especially the amount of signatures needed to even get on the ballot. Meanwhile they are already there for you if you run under one of the two major parties, along with a wealth of other resources including money for your campaign. Even those who may be aware of how difficult it is running under the third party premise still have a hard time accepting a candidate who professes dedication to one party and runs under another (seeing the reaction of the DNC operatives regarding Sanders running as a Democrat instead of an Independent) Sanders obviously did his homework and made an informed decision weighing all his options as to if he could be a successful Independent candidate. Judging from the support that he has received thus far (even though the polls strongly suggest he will lose the nomination to Hilary Clinton) I still think he would not have gone the distance he has as an Independent candidate.
If I was running I wouldn't run as neither Independent, or Third Party. Looking through our past history the two major parties are Democrats vs. Republicans. There has been instances where a third party has tried to win. For example when Roosevelt tried running again he created the Bull-moose party. We all know how that turned out it was a major flop. The only way I would even consider running as a different party than the major two we have was if I had money, and I was a major figure in America. Major figure like a celebrity or someone that society listens too.
ReplyDeleteBernie Sanders switching up his party to a Democrat was the smartest move he ever did. He realized that he would have zero chance if he didn't choose between being a Democrat or a Republican. In US history, unfortunately I feel those are the only two parties that are the most popular or the ones that get most noticed. Although, Sanders will most likely lose the nomination to Hillary Clinton he wouldn't make it this far without have switching his party.
--Stephen Nourijanian
Firstly, It is undeniable that the two major political parties are the Democrats and Republicans. In fact, the Democratic party is defined as one of the two political parities in the United States organized by Thomas Jefferson. Similarly, the Republican Party is defined as a political party that began in 1854 and is today one of the two major political parties in the United States. I agree with you with, if I was to run it would be neither as an independent or third party. It would be slim to none that I would win.. or anyone rather. Hence, why Bernie Sanders ran as one of the top two parties....Democratic. If Bernie would not have chose one of the two major parties, he probably would not have gotten even this far. It also helps that he has money, which as mentioned as being helpful in the above post if running for president. Im sure candidates take Ralph Naders situation into consideration when running. He has faced many difficulties with running as a third party candidate, and as many times as he ran for president under that third party, he has not become president. Perhaps if he tries to run again ever, he will take a different route.
DeleteConsidering the insane amount of backlash and difficulties that Ralph Nader faced (being falsely accused of fraud for example), I doubt I would ever run as a third-party candidate. Also, considering the fact that a third-party candidate has never won, considering the limitations of electoral rules, and restrictions on minor parties - running as an Independent seems sadly to be a lost, though honorable, cause. A two-party system has been established in the US and has been utterly dominant for a very long time. Without the support of a major party, it is nearly impossible to win an election. With all of this being said - I think it was obviously a great strategy for Bernie Sanders to run as a Democrat. Ralph Nader claims he would still never run as a Republican or Democrat, but Bernie has shown at least some loyalty and connection to the Democratic party in the past - giving him at least a bit of rapport with the party to build off of. It's interesting to think about how Bernie might have done running as an Independent in this election, since he has received such overwhelming support from the American public. Though he may lose the nomination, the mere fact that he is still within mathematical reach of beating the powerful Hillary Clinton is amazing and just goes to show how important the support of a major party really is. Would he have received the same amount of support as a third-party candidate? Maybe not.
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ReplyDeleteBased on the reading and other's experiences I would still try to considering running an independent campaign. Someone needs to try and make a difference or try to change things in this political world. It's always a risk of some type of controversy when entering into the public eye. Things are exposed and things will get turned upside down but that doesn't mean it's right to favor one political party over the other one. Each should have the opportunity to run their campaign to what they believe in, with their own funding and their own support. The candidate should be based on their qualifications, attributes and the impact they have made in policies.
ReplyDeleteSanders should be able to be successful in his own merits based on his accomplishments and what he has to offer our America. How do people get away with paralyzing a candidate from continuing his run. I give Sanders credit for changing his political party but why does it have to be that way. He's been pretty successful during this election so it's working for him because if he didn't he wouldn't have probably last this long. So many challenges to overcome to run as an independent and/or 3rd party. Wealth and money do a lot of talking in this processes and it will take someone with a lot of influence and resources to be able to run independently and win
I completely agree with you. No candidate will be perfect as everyone is influenced by policies differently. For every person who is positively impacted there is someone who is negatively impacted. This is where perspective comes into play and the media can get its spin on it and flip it whichever way they wish. In todays day this is something that carries great influence.
DeleteA candidate should be able to run for office as a 3rd party more freely than what has been. Unfortunately, it comes down to money and popularity and has eliminated many quality candidates. The process will cause wear and tear on the party forcing them out of contention. Wealth and power carries great weight in a race which is a major flaw in the system. It should be based on qualifications, attributes, and impact on policies as you mentioned.
JS
Of course running as a democratic candidate is a political strategy for Bernie Sanders. Running with a well establish party save him many power and money that would if made it impossible for him to get elected now matter how idealistic he got.
ReplyDeleteRunning as a third party in the United States is extremely difficult. The electoral system does not allow this with a winner take all from each state. From the very beginning it was a two party country, which the founders did not expect or really want. Not only do third parties get back lash from the political parties, because they are taking votes away from them, but they get a backlash in the community. Change occurs very slowly. However, third parties are a good way to get out ideas and positions to the public and force the other presidential candidates to focus on those issues. Third party does not meet a moderate party where most of the voters are, it just means a party that does not completely identify with one of the major political parties. Ross Perot was the only candidate that actually got to attend the presidential debates and he did rather well around the country. However, Ralph Nader took votes away from Al Gore because both had the liberal vote. It is a good idea to get different things out in the open and force other candidates to address other issues; however, one would need significant resources. I would never run as a third party.
ReplyDeleteI think Bernie Sanders running as a democrat was a very smart thing for him to do. While Bernie may actually want to be President, I feel he is more interested in getting his position and certain issues out in the open that really need to be addressed such as college tuition. He is very liberal, so Democrat is not so different from where he is that it would not make sense. I think after Ralph Nader, both parties realized that they could not have anyone run as a third party who was more liberal or conservative, because it would take the votes away and ultimately hand the nomination over to the other party.
- Reem Rasheed
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ReplyDeleteI have to honestly admit that I would rather run as an Independent because I don't vote party lines. I want the freedom to vote on the PERSON. So I very well could have gone into the primary and voted for one of the top 2 party candidates but depending on your state they may never know if I would or not.Which discourages people to continue running because of the expense and then many popular people end up dropping out of the race.Which is exactly what the elite want them to do.
ReplyDeleteI think Bernie Sanders running as a democrat was a bad idea and a good idea at the same time because running as a democrat he might have a better chance to get more votes than running as an independent for the simple fact that They don't get a large enough percentage of the vote to get federal campaign money. Also, not enough people know about third parties because they do not have enough money to buy publicity. Also, if a third party candidate has a position that get him a lot of popularity, one of the two main parties will copy that position and take the popularity. Finally, the third parties don't get many votes because people feel that voting for a third party is throwing away their vote.
-CD
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ReplyDeleteRunning as Independent candidate surely has its hurdles such as gathering enough signatures on in petitions in order to get on the ballot in all 50 states. The money that is not readily available to the Independent because their party did not secure enough votes on the last election is another disadvantage as well. In Nader's article I was surprised that he was also harassed by private investigators from the two major parties. Bernie running as a democrat gave him the ability to focus on issues and then having to worry about making it on the ballot. I believe it was a smart political strategy for Bernie to identify himself as a Democrat because as a third party candidate he would be taking votes away from the Democratic nominee which lead to the Republicans winning the Presidency. This idea of taking votes away was apparent during the Ross Perot campaigns leading to Bill Clinton taking office. He does have the option to run as an Independent if he does not win in the Democratic caucuses even though he said he would not .To overcome these obstacles third parties would have to find a way to get on equal grounds against the two major parties and that would take a lot of money and support from the American people.
ReplyDelete-RG
Running independent means that you are not running as either of the two major political parties that are Republican or Democrat. Because you do not fit into either party that fits the masses it seems to be an outcast when running as an independent, something like a step child. Independent candidates endure thing in their campaign differently than the two major parties, for example media access. The fact that most print media and television sources only mention the major party contenders in their pieces presents us with a catch-22. The majority of registered voters rely solely on these sources to glean the names and platforms of all who are running. The non-viability of these ignored candidates remains a self-fulfilling prophecy. When financing a campaign, it too is also difficult to put together. Independents must rely on small, diffuse donations from individuals to drive their campaigns. The two major parties is fed, on the other hand, by corporate donations, union contributions and indirect funding through political action groups. Running independently seems like a bright side when maybe you have more freedom of your own champagne and where you wanna take it, but examples like these make things much more difficult.
ReplyDeleteKevin Jones
I think Bernie Sanders running as a democrat is a great idea, because he has a lot of good supporters, especially on the idea of him making college free, I believe he would get many votes from young adults on this issue. Sanders is a very educated man that sees weaknesses he can fix in America unlike other candidates thinks the presidential run is a joke. I give Bernie Sanders a great amount of credit for running as democratic party. But I'm still a Hillary Clinton supporters. No Harm
ReplyDeleteS.D
For someone to run for president as an independent in modern day America, it is not a good idea. The reason why I think that is because in America, people will vote for a party that has been in office and currently the only two are republican and democratic. At this point they are like two large brands and they have established brand equity. Republican/Democrat is equivalent to big brands such as Pepsi or Coke. The independent party is equivalent to some unknown product brand at an organic shop.
ReplyDeleteA known label slapped on to something is more comforting than a label that is unknown. Bernie Sanders has picked a known label to put on himself so that he can he reach out to a large audience. It is a good political strategy and it makes him part of a known group. Bernie labeling himself as a democrat helps him sell his ideas at a much larger level.
C.A
I think Bernie Sanders decision to run as a democrat to be a very smart strategy. He wouldn't have got that far if he ran independent. I don't think a independent will ever win. I think society see a independent as person who plays both sides. It's either you going to be one or the either. If a person talks about one problem they seen as this or that.
ReplyDeleteI wish a title didn't matter. I think if a person really wants to run independent, they need to talk about every problem. But make it more appealing to both parties. You have to be conversing to both parties. Make them see that it's more beneficial to take a independent than your own party. That you can make some changes happen. You should also have some money. Be ready for a challenge.
-TRW
Today there are at least 31 political parties in the U.S. Such as the Communist and the U.S. Marijuana Party. Bernie Sanders was not always a Democrat. He joined the Democratic Party in hopes of winning the 2016 Presidential election. Many criticize or questions if he made the right move by becoming a Democrat. Answers do vary, but I agree with his political decision to become a Democrat. There are many advantages to belonging to the Democrat or Republican Party.
ReplyDeleteThe benefits are tremendous along with the support and guidance one gets running on their political line as opposed to running independently. Our political system as well as our society are of the mindset that our President must be either a Republican or a Democrat.
First of all, the media does not give too much attention to third party candidates. By law this is illegal. So what does the media do to avoid illegal actions? The media will give or has done, giving third party candidates air time at awkward hours during the day. Such as, from three in the morning until five. Or in the middle of the afternoon when their audiences are a lot less. The prime time slots are reserved for the Democrats and Republicans.
Think about it, we as Americans do not know too much about candidates running, unless they are Democrats or Republicans. Americans are not even aware that other party candidates do run for the Presidency. One main reason is the media, another is the financial monies third parties lack and the third is the lack of trust or interest Americans have on third party candidates.
In summation, Bernie Sanders made the right decision to join the Democratic party to increase his chances of winning the 2016 Presidential election. --SF
Based on the reading and the lectures in class if I decided to run for a presidential candidate I would run under the Republican or Democrats party, in order to make my campaign more promising and easier to run.
ReplyDeleteAlthough most people believe that the United States has only two political parties. In reality there is actually have more than seven major political parties now. The two most popular parties which everybody knows are Republicans and Democrats, and are often referred to as the lesser of two evils by both sides. In addition to Democrats and Republicans there are other political parties, and they are known as Tea Party, the Constitution Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the Independent Party. Candidates running without a political endorsement from any party are known as Independent Candidates.
Which is primarily the reason why the current presidential candidate Bernie Sander decide to run under the Democrat political party, if he was to run on his own it would have been impossible for him have made it so far in the race. Bernie Sander strategy seems to be working and if he does not win he will at least have made father then what he would have made it.
M.E.