Third parties need recognition

Daevon Reynolds, Copy Editor

It’s not fair for only the Democrats and Republicans to get prime coverage by the news and media and steal the limelight from the little guys.

Third parties deserve greater recognition in elections than they are currently getting. They need the ability to appeal to lost voters and help break the solidifying mold that is currently American politics.

Third parties are overshadowed by the big buck parties, which force many Independents to become Democrats or Republicans in order to have a say in how things are going. This pulls attention from more relatable and down-to-earth parties that understand the working class and see the struggles of trying to make ends meet on a tiny minimum wage.

Below are various parties:

The Libertarian Party is a party that stands on principle. It seeks to eliminate consistent government interference and is all for letting people do what they want as long as it does no harm on others. The Libertarian Party believes that the only real job of the government is to protect the people from force and fraud and eliminate taxes at every opportunity.

The Constitution Party is a party that is heavily conservative, wanting to stop Obamacare, amnesty and immigration, gun control, common core and Agenda 21, which is an agenda to bring the world closer together. This party runs on correcting government behavior and forcing it to only abide by all the founding documents that created it in the first place. It seeks to return the government to following every letter in the Constitution and securing the “inalienable rights” expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

The Green Party is all about peace, ecological wisdom, grassroots democracy and social justice. This party reflects most ideals of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in that it follows a grassroots campaign, particularly interested in “cleaning” the government so that it works better for all and not just the top one percent.

There are many more minor third parties but the previously stated ones are most recognized by the Federal Election Commission and the majority of the 50 states.

Third parties are important and have always been important for pushing and forcing progression of laws and better regulation. We can’t forget that both the Democratic and Republican parties were once third parties, helping to shape democracy and fix a broken system at their respective conceptions, but currently they are the ones needing to be pushed out and fixed.

As unrealistic as I may seem that third parties can change the corruption, it is even less realistic for them if they aren’t able to be elected high enough to change the system. Third parties being able to shift attention forces the big boy parties to pay attention and change.