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Title: Americans Renew Call for Third Party
Source:
gallop
URL Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/143051/A ... ns-Renew-Call-Third-Party.aspx
Published: Sep 19, 2010
Author: Jeffrey M. Jones
Post Date: 2010-09-19 14:03:13 by abraxas
Keywords: None
Views: 1013
Comments: 79
Americans Renew Call for Third Party Fifty-eight percent of Americans, and 62% of Tea Party supporters, favor third partyb y Jeffrey M. Jones PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' desires for a third political party are as high as they have been in seven years. Fifty-eight percent of Americans believe a third major political party is needed because the Republican and Democratic Parties do a poor job of representing the American people. That is a significant increase from 2008 and ties the high Gallup has recorded for this measure since 2003. The finding, based on an Aug. 27-30 USA Today/Gallup poll, comes at a time when Americans are widely dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States and give relatively weak approval ratings to the president and Congress. Though the rise in support for a third party could be linked to the Tea Party movement, Tea Party supporters are just about average in terms of wanting to see a third party created. Sixty-two percent of those who describe themselves as Tea Party supporters would like a third major party formed, but so do 59% of those who are neutral toward the Tea Party movement. Tea Party opponents are somewhat less likely to see the need for a third party. The desire for a third party is fairly similar across ideological groups, with 61% of liberals, 60% of moderates, and 54% of conservatives believing a third major party is needed. That is a narrower gap than Gallup has found in the past; conservatives have typically been far less likely than liberals and moderates to support the creation of a third party. Independents, as might be expected given their lack of primary allegiance to either of the two major parties, express a greater degree of support (74%) for a third party than do Republicans (47%) and Democrats (45%). Over time, independents have consistently been the political group most eager to see a third party formed. But each party group is more likely now than in 2008 to support the formation of a third major party. At that time, about two months before the presidential election, 38% of Democrats, 40% of Republicans, and 63% of independents thought a third party was necessary. Bottom Line Election results in recent years and polls from this year indicate Americans are frustrated with the job the two major parties have been doing. In 2006, voters elected a Democratic majority in Congress to replace the Republican majority, and in 2008 they elected a Democratic president to replace an outgoing Republican president. Polling on voters' 2010 voting intentions suggests that they may be poised to replace the Democratic majority in Congress with a Republican majority. But that seems to be as much because voters are rejecting Democrats as embracing Republicans. Given the lack of alternatives, it perhaps is no surprise that Americans' desires for a third party are as high as they've been in at least the last seven years. And while the formation of an official third party is not imminent, that desire may be manifested in voters' strong anti-incumbent sentiments this year. Survey Methods Results for this USA Today/Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Aug. 27-30, 2010, with a random sample of 1,021 adults, aged 18 and older, living in the continental U.S., selected using random-digit-dial sampling. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points. Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone-only). Each sample includes a minimum quota of 150 cell phone-only respondents and 850 landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents for gender within region. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday. Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, education, region, and phone lines. Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2009 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in continental U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. View methodology, full question results, and trend data. For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit http://www.gallup.com/.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 35.
#8. To: abraxas, farmfriend (#0)
A "third" party is a bad idea. Here's why. You get election after election of leftest wins while the right-of-center voters sort out their two parties. Multiple viable parties on all sides of the political spectrum might be better, but still one would win by plurality. The best solution is to take over the Republican party and turn it into what a third party would have been.
You are missing the point in the problem with the two party fraud, Dillo. This right of center, left of center, dog and pony show ignores that both parties, no matter the degree from center, DON'T REPRESENT THE PEOPLE. Both parties are CORPORATE WHORES. Yes, multiple parties would be great. But, first people need to accept the painful truth that neither the Dems nor the Pubbies represent the interests of the people or the Constitution. Until this happens, you will see more of the same, not less.
I do not disagree with any of that. Instead of challenging the Repubs with a third party and ensuring leftest domination, take over the Repubs from within. If you go the 3rd party route, you might as well vote for the Democrat, because that's what we will get regardless.
Well, Dillo, GW Bush made it painfully clear to me that the Pubbie party CANNOT be saved. Just look at it will ya: Linsay Graham, McConnell, McCain, Ensign. Corporate Toadies every one. It's too corrupt.....just like the Dems. You still aren't getting it. These two parties are two sides of the SAME COIN. This notion that one is better than the other is silly and only by an insignificant degree. We need a party FOR the people, neither R nor D will do FOR the people. We will never make the Pubbies what we want. They are corporate whores, not whores for the people. Ditto for Dems. I don't care if you blame me, but I will not continue on with the farce that there is a rats hair worth of
BINGO! McStain was just icing on the cake. Do we need to go back further, to Herbie Bush and Bud Drole?
lol....those traitors should have been a clue. But noooooooooooooooo. Hence, more idiots year in and year out. They only say what people want to hear at election time, like McStain complainng about the dream act when just a short time ago he was El Amigo por Amnesty. Yet, they voted for him to run AGAIN. I vote for him to just run away, south of the border please. It's insanity that we the people continue to sail in this sea of corruption, awaiting the sinking that is sure to come while the crew continues to blame one side or the other of the two party fraud. As for me, I'm jumping ship, enough is enough.
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If a third party is right-of-center it will be compete with the Republican party for a finite vote pool.
That means any leftest candidate can win by plurality.
I know, I know. We've got that already with Rino Republicans. It would be worse.
By the time they get their act together, it's too late.
#15. To: Armadillo (#8)
#23. To: abraxas (#15)
This right of center, left of center, dog and pony show ignores that both parties, no matter the degree from center, DON'T REPRESENT THE PEOPLE. Both parties are CORPORATE WHORES.
Yes, multiple parties would be great. But, first people need to accept the painful truth that neither the Dems nor the Pubbies represent the interests of the people or the Constitution. Until this happens, you will see more of the same, not less.
My issue is that a third party attempting to usurp the Repubs will spit the vote giving the Dems a win by plurality.
The Repubs are not perfect, but they are still better than a Dem.
They are the lesser or two evils.
Make the party what we want.
Who then shall I blame?
#26. To: Armadillo (#23)
Instead of challenging the Repubs with a third party and ensuring leftest domination, take over the Repubs from within. Make the party what we want.
#30. To: abraxas (#26)
the Pubbie party CANNOT be saved
#35. To: hondo68 (#30)
Do we need to go back further, to Herbie Bush and Bud Drole?
Replies to Comment # 35.