No Need for a Third Party

George Washington warned us about the problems with political parties.  In essence they work to promote the power of the party rather than serving the public.

So do we need to establish a third party when the current parties consistently ignore their constituents?  Let's review that last sentence, because the problem lies in our expectations that member of a party perceive the people who elected them as their constituents.  I contend that party members serve the party - that the party is the constituent, so in reality they must ignore the people who elected them when their wishes are in conflict with the party's goals.

So there is actually danger in seeking to establish another party as the solution to this process.  A new party will simply create a focus point for political power brokers to target for takeover.  It can only provide a temporary (perhaps only one or two election cycles) solution.

So what are we the people supposed to do to exercise our political responsibility of guiding and directing the Federal Government through our careful selection of elected officials?  We already have the answers among us - public organizations which fund and support political candidates.  Working with and fundraising for these organizations are the most effective way of bringing Constitutional candidates to the foreground.

But don't we still have to do this within the political party framework?  At the moment, yes we do.  But we are completely able to do so.  This requires registration within political parties (and provides the opportunity to take on party leadership roles to encourage more Constitutional goals).  Individual states govern the process of getting candidate names on their ballots.  For the most part the major political parties have automatic access but some states offer alternatives through petition processes.  Again, working with a public organization that promotes Constitutional government can provide the basis for these petitions; but it is actually easier to run a Constitutional candidate within the existing political parties - as long as we are consistently careful to support only those Constitutional candidates rather than supporting the party.