WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A majority of U.S. adults, 58 percent, say a third U.S. political party is needed because the Republican and Democratic parties "do such a poor job" representing the American people, found a Gallup poll released Wednesday.
These views are little changed from last year's high. Since 2007, a majority has typically called for a third party, according to Gallup.
The poll comes around six weeks before the midterm Congressional elections and at a time when most Americans hold a dim view of both parties in Congress, with only about four in 10 viewing each party positively. Americans' views toward the two major parties have been tepid for much of the past decade.
However, even when the party's images were more positive in the past, including majority favorability for the Democrats throughout 2007 and favorability for the Republicans approaching 50 percent in 2011, Americans still saw the need for a third party, Gallup found.
The first time a Gallup poll asked whether a third party is needed was in 2003, when a majority of Americans believed the two major parties were adequately representing the U.S. public. It was the only time this has been the case.
Since 2007, a majority has said a third party is needed, with two exceptions occurring in the fall of the 2008 and 2012 presidential election years, according to Gallup.
A historic 60 percent high favoring a third party came in a poll conducted during the partial federal government shutdown last October. At that time, only 26 percent of Americans said the parties were doing an adequate job. That figure is up to 35 percent now, but with little change in the percentage calling for a third party.
Although Americans express a desire for a viable alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties, third political parties have had little success in American politics. The U.S. political system makes it difficult for third parties to hold elected office given the Electoral College system of electing presidents and election of members of Congress from individual states and districts based on the candidate getting the most votes.
Such a system generally favors two parties -- a center-right and a center-left party -- that have the ability to assemble a winning plurality or majority in districts and states across the country. Also, some states have restrictive laws on ballot access that make it difficult for third-party candidates to appear on the ballot, said Gallup.
Americans' preference for a third party may reflect their frustration with the way the Republican and Democratic parties are performing, as well as the idea that the system ought to be open to new parties, regardless of whether this is viable in practice, Gallup said. Editor: Mu Xuequan
Poster Comment:
But what if by default, as with Democrats and Republicans, it is left to Jews to organize and fund raise campaigns for a third party and these Jew duals continue to select only candidates who give top priority to the thieving and warmongering policies of the illegal Israeli state...