@thirdspacepolitics.bsky.social
Reposted
Unless Democrats can promise genuine transformative change (and not just a return to a broken status quo), they will continue to lose elections.
Trump is awful. But it is not enough just to be the alternative. There must be a real vision. I am not seeing it yet.
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Trump is awful. But it is not enough just to be the alternative. There must be a real vision. I am not seeing it yet.
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
April 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Unless Democrats can promise genuine transformative change (and not just a return to a broken status quo), they will continue to lose elections.
Trump is awful. But it is not enough just to be the alternative. There must be a real vision. I am not seeing it yet.
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Trump is awful. But it is not enough just to be the alternative. There must be a real vision. I am not seeing it yet.
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Reposted
Lisa Disch: "In the 19th century, a third-party vote was much more than a gesture of protest." Back then, #FusionVoting 🗳️ helped to sustain a multiparty system that was much more representative of voters’ ideologies and preferences. Learn more: centerforballotfreedom.org
February 21, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Lisa Disch: "In the 19th century, a third-party vote was much more than a gesture of protest." Back then, #FusionVoting 🗳️ helped to sustain a multiparty system that was much more representative of voters’ ideologies and preferences. Learn more: centerforballotfreedom.org
We *can* build multi-party democracy--with real, people-based parties--on the other side of the GOP's current power grab. Countries all around the world have invaluable lessons to teach us
April 13, 2025 at 3:51 PM
We *can* build multi-party democracy--with real, people-based parties--on the other side of the GOP's current power grab. Countries all around the world have invaluable lessons to teach us
All three of these countries, like most of Latin America, have presidential systems, with a history of presidents acting as dictators (with outside help). Just because you become a dictatorship does not mean you stay one.
April 13, 2025 at 3:50 PM
All three of these countries, like most of Latin America, have presidential systems, with a history of presidents acting as dictators (with outside help). Just because you become a dictatorship does not mean you stay one.
Many people think this is inevitable, but it is not. Oligarchy is not an iron law. We can form new parties. We can hold party leaders accountable.
April 13, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Many people think this is inevitable, but it is not. Oligarchy is not an iron law. We can form new parties. We can hold party leaders accountable.
These case studies offer great lessons for those of us in the United States. We have widespread disengagement, in part because our two "parties" are mere brand labels, not linked to grassroots organization or participation. Our "third parties" are more about symbolic dissent than claiming power
April 13, 2025 at 3:45 PM
These case studies offer great lessons for those of us in the United States. We have widespread disengagement, in part because our two "parties" are mere brand labels, not linked to grassroots organization or participation. Our "third parties" are more about symbolic dissent than claiming power
Equally fascinating, Morena has maintained a system of sortition (random selection) for selecting some of its candidates for the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, the country's lower legislative house.
Poertner cites data that this engagement successfully blocks elite capture and increases engagement
Poertner cites data that this engagement successfully blocks elite capture and increases engagement
April 13, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Equally fascinating, Morena has maintained a system of sortition (random selection) for selecting some of its candidates for the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, the country's lower legislative house.
Poertner cites data that this engagement successfully blocks elite capture and increases engagement
Poertner cites data that this engagement successfully blocks elite capture and increases engagement
Due to the stronger ties between party and movements in Bolivia, the internal discord was not a source of rupture the same way it was in Ecuador. MAS did not eliminate dissent from its base, but neither did the discord permanently destroy the founding coalition
April 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Due to the stronger ties between party and movements in Bolivia, the internal discord was not a source of rupture the same way it was in Ecuador. MAS did not eliminate dissent from its base, but neither did the discord permanently destroy the founding coalition
These case studies present fascinating new illustrations of party democracy in action. Both President Morales in Bolivia and President Correa in Ecuador engaged in actions which alienated grassroots indigenous movements and sparked protests
April 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
These case studies present fascinating new illustrations of party democracy in action. Both President Morales in Bolivia and President Correa in Ecuador engaged in actions which alienated grassroots indigenous movements and sparked protests
When social movement leaders and party leaders have struggled together in formative or decisive years, the relationships between the party and the social movements have become strong and enduring, which Poertner argues has happened in Bolivia and Mexico
April 13, 2025 at 3:36 PM
When social movement leaders and party leaders have struggled together in formative or decisive years, the relationships between the party and the social movements have become strong and enduring, which Poertner argues has happened in Bolivia and Mexico
All three parties have relied heavily on connections to grassroots social movements and organizations, whether they are small and local (more so in Mexico) or national and large (Bolivia)
April 13, 2025 at 3:34 PM
All three parties have relied heavily on connections to grassroots social movements and organizations, whether they are small and local (more so in Mexico) or national and large (Bolivia)
A recent book by @mathiaspoertner.bsky.social presents fascinating examples from Latin America of successful 21st century mass parties: the Movement to Socialism (MAS) in Bolivia, The National Regeneration Movement (Morena) in Mexico, and the Proud and Sovereign Homeland (PAiS) party in Ecuador
April 13, 2025 at 3:31 PM
A recent book by @mathiaspoertner.bsky.social presents fascinating examples from Latin America of successful 21st century mass parties: the Movement to Socialism (MAS) in Bolivia, The National Regeneration Movement (Morena) in Mexico, and the Proud and Sovereign Homeland (PAiS) party in Ecuador
What is the fate of mass-membership political parties in the 21st century? Some commenters have argued that they are dated, as socialist and labor parties decline across much of the world, and as personality politics rise, aided by mass media and social media
April 13, 2025 at 3:29 PM
What is the fate of mass-membership political parties in the 21st century? Some commenters have argued that they are dated, as socialist and labor parties decline across much of the world, and as personality politics rise, aided by mass media and social media
Fusion Voting Conference in Kansas!
Sadly, most states prohibit fusion voting, which lets a party exercise its right to endorse a candidate even if another party also endorses the candidate
@workingfamilies.org, @newamerica.org, @washburnuniversity.bsky.social
www.washburnlaw.edu/academics/ce...
Sadly, most states prohibit fusion voting, which lets a party exercise its right to endorse a candidate even if another party also endorses the candidate
@workingfamilies.org, @newamerica.org, @washburnuniversity.bsky.social
www.washburnlaw.edu/academics/ce...
Fusion Voting in Kansas | Washburn Law
The Robert J. Dole Center for Law and Government in partnership with New America presents Fusion Voting in Kansas: Past, Present & Future
www.washburnlaw.edu
February 27, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Fusion Voting Conference in Kansas!
Sadly, most states prohibit fusion voting, which lets a party exercise its right to endorse a candidate even if another party also endorses the candidate
@workingfamilies.org, @newamerica.org, @washburnuniversity.bsky.social
www.washburnlaw.edu/academics/ce...
Sadly, most states prohibit fusion voting, which lets a party exercise its right to endorse a candidate even if another party also endorses the candidate
@workingfamilies.org, @newamerica.org, @washburnuniversity.bsky.social
www.washburnlaw.edu/academics/ce...
The two-party system is at the core of the current crisis: one of the main reasons so few Republicans will oppose Trump is because the only real opposition is the Democrats, whom they viscerally hate. If there were more than two parties fewer people would endorse everything 'their side' does
February 26, 2025 at 10:02 PM
The two-party system is at the core of the current crisis: one of the main reasons so few Republicans will oppose Trump is because the only real opposition is the Democrats, whom they viscerally hate. If there were more than two parties fewer people would endorse everything 'their side' does
There wouldn't be this bizarre game of treating Senate Democrats like a smattering of individuals with some vague ideological overlap, asking each of them to do the right thing one-by-one.
The weakness of our parties is undemocratic.
The weakness of our parties is undemocratic.
February 25, 2025 at 8:48 PM
There wouldn't be this bizarre game of treating Senate Democrats like a smattering of individuals with some vague ideological overlap, asking each of them to do the right thing one-by-one.
The weakness of our parties is undemocratic.
The weakness of our parties is undemocratic.
A *real party* would have a *policy* for its elected members to implement on questions like this. (That platform could be something like: no voting to confirm any Trump nominees.)
If I were a Democrat, and I saw Trump do a purge of high-level generals who were women and people of color and wouldn't be "yes men," I wouldn't vote to advance JD Vance's college friend for Secretary of the Army.
And yet....16 Democrats just did so
And yet....16 Democrats just did so
February 25, 2025 at 8:47 PM
A *real party* would have a *policy* for its elected members to implement on questions like this. (That platform could be something like: no voting to confirm any Trump nominees.)
This illustrates perfectly why *pro-parties* reform is essential to fighting the far right. Germans angry at the status quo parties of the center-left and center-right have *several options* to cast a protest vote. Here, it's the old way or Trump.
@leedrutman.bsky.social
@leedrutman.bsky.social
.@ClaraJeffery convinced me to put my many incoherent thoughts about the German election (and what it might tell us for US politics) into a slightly more coherent form. Warning: I cried writing this. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Eighty percent of Germans voted against the far right. Can that happen here?
A reminder that the small-d democratic tent is big.
www.motherjones.com
February 24, 2025 at 1:21 PM
This illustrates perfectly why *pro-parties* reform is essential to fighting the far right. Germans angry at the status quo parties of the center-left and center-right have *several options* to cast a protest vote. Here, it's the old way or Trump.
@leedrutman.bsky.social
@leedrutman.bsky.social
Instead, we have the Democratic Party, an amorphous collection of membership-free entities with no enforceable platform. Because the Democrats "monopolize the opposition" (in Schattschneider's phrase), and because most races are safe, we are in a weak position to exert any pressure on them
February 23, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Instead, we have the Democratic Party, an amorphous collection of membership-free entities with no enforceable platform. Because the Democrats "monopolize the opposition" (in Schattschneider's phrase), and because most races are safe, we are in a weak position to exert any pressure on them
If we had real political parties in this country, now would be a perfect time for politicking: recruiting more people to become dues-paying members, advancing platform measures like *no confirmations for any Trump nominee*, no appropriations until the president stops illegal impoundment, impeachment
February 23, 2025 at 10:44 PM
If we had real political parties in this country, now would be a perfect time for politicking: recruiting more people to become dues-paying members, advancing platform measures like *no confirmations for any Trump nominee*, no appropriations until the president stops illegal impoundment, impeachment
Politics in the US has been at a dead-end long before Trump.
We cannot change the dominant two parties, due to their internal lack of democracy.
We cannot create viable third parties, due to ballot access obstacles and our first-past-the-post electoral system.
We need structural change!
We cannot change the dominant two parties, due to their internal lack of democracy.
We cannot create viable third parties, due to ballot access obstacles and our first-past-the-post electoral system.
We need structural change!
February 22, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Politics in the US has been at a dead-end long before Trump.
We cannot change the dominant two parties, due to their internal lack of democracy.
We cannot create viable third parties, due to ballot access obstacles and our first-past-the-post electoral system.
We need structural change!
We cannot change the dominant two parties, due to their internal lack of democracy.
We cannot create viable third parties, due to ballot access obstacles and our first-past-the-post electoral system.
We need structural change!