Third-Party Pipe Dreams

Third-Party Pipe Dreams: I saw a Facebook post that argued that all the presidents on Mount Rushmore were third party guys. This can hardly be true for George Washington who had no party affiliation. Political parties were in their infancy when Thomas Jefferson was elected. It seems a new party was being started every election cycle. Jefferson belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party that he organized along with James Madison in 1791. It stood in opposition to the Federalist Party and dominated American politics from 1800 to the 1820s.

The Republican Party, founded in 1854, was strictly a northern party that had success broader than the presidency. “[I]t enlisted former Whigs and former Free Soil Democrats to form majorities, by 1858, in nearly every Northern state.” Try getting conservative evangelicals, libertarians, and various factions within the Republican Party to get a new party started. Do you recall that during the primary season that as each Republican candidate bit the dust, their supporters made it clear that they would not vote for one of the other guys.

If there’s one thing liberals can count on. Their supporters will stick with them through thick and thin. Look what happened to Todd Akin when he slipped up on a question about rape and abortion. Desertion and derision from enough Republicans that he lost the election.

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