I have spoken here at soapblox.com about a potential third party. I am not 100% behind this idea though I do believe it to be a possibility, especially when I hear prominent Republican figures like Newt the newt Gingrich talking of one.
Third parties, traditionally in American democracy, are avenues of complaint. The Populist “bull-moose†Party got a whole lot done as it lobbied the Democrat Administration of Wilson in the early 20th Century, as did the Know-Nothings did with the Republicans in the 1880s. The Peace and Freedom candidates leaned on the Dems in the 1960s and other third parties like the Free Silver Party have contributed significantly to the planks of the two major parties. The problem is that our current political system cannot support more than two parties. When the Whig Party collapsed in the 1850s, the Republican Party was born, devoted solely to the abolishment of slavery. The Whig Party too was born of the collapse of the Federalist Party.
So could the Republican Party collapse and a newer more Conservative Party be born? Or perhaps it’s the Pro-Business Elite that will break away and form the Business Party?
It is possible, YES, especially when angry Republicans like the Newt begin filling their own egos with possibilities.