This article addresses in detail Americans Elect’s troubles specifically, and addresses challenges to third parties generally. Hat tip to Kevin Thompson.
The fledgling group’s inability to coalesce around a candidate points to the difficulty of breaking into a system heavily weighted to favor Republican and Democratic politicians — and the struggles of attracting mainstream candidates willing to forgo parties for an independent run.
“Part of the problem was, they couldn’t get serious candidates to throw their hats in the process,” CNN contributor John Avlon said in assessing Americans Elect.
Often seen as “spoilers” for candidates in mainstream parties, third-party candidates are nothing new in presidential elections…
The only fatal flaw here is CNN’s failure to cover the Green Party candidates every day. CNN should give Green Party fair and equal coverage.
The CNN story opens with the historic cliches, and gets worse.
All of these mainstream media stories, as usual, ignore the Green Party. Ignore that the Green Party is running outstanding well qualified candidates for not only President of the United State. The Green Party and Independent Greens are running for local, state, and federal office. Greens are running strong candidates for Governor, U.S. House, U.S. Senate. The Greens are a real nationwide party in the U.S.
This group from AE should move over and form an alliance now with the Green Party.
Ballot access was not a problem for them. Candidate recruitment and possibly vote counting was.
When even what looks like the CIA’s pet third party is stymied, it shows what Libs and Greens have achieved (and still have to do) fighting this crazy ballot -access ‘system.’
This is off the subject, but we had a very useful ballot access victory today in court. The early deadline for new parties to get on the ballot in California was enjoined. This will help other similar lawsuits now pending in Oklahoma, Alabama, North Carolina, and Montana.
and addresses challenges to third parties generally.
Maybe should classified under 3pg in addition to nlr?