Op-Ed: Tea Parties Must Be Willing to Vote 3rd Party

Steve Hoodjer's Iowa Freedom Report | Op-Ed: Tea Parties Must Be Willing to Vote 3rd Party

This op-ed originally published by Kevin Litten in the Libertarian Party’s monthly newsletter, Libertarians in Action. You can subscribe to Libertarians in Action by contacting Kevin at k.litten@mchsi.com.

As the Tax Day Protests will soon be upon us, let us review why the Tea Parties are here and where the movement is heading.

Nobody is “behind the curtain, pulling the strings” of the Tea Party groups. There is no grand plan. Without any central control there are many Tea Party groups, each with a different motivation and reason for being. They are not an actual political party as they don’t run candidates. Tea Parties hope to influence politicians without being involved in an actual political party. Something akin to being a PAC or lobbying group.

The Tea Party’s goal is to reset/re-start/reboot government in such a way that it reduces its size and corruption; out of control spending; unsustainable deficits; bloated government employee compensation and pensions; the cost of wars; and taxation without representation. At present no major party embraces their issues. If that last statement offends any members of the D or R parties, send me a list of your party’s recent accomplishments to prove I’m wrong.

So why are tea parties forming now? Most voters don’t belong to political parties. Most Americans don’t even bother to vote. It is not that Americans are apathetic. A better answer might be that the choices the major parties provide are so appallingly awful, most voters choose to stay home on election day. If they don’t vote no one can blame them for buying into and legitimizing a corrupt system. Unfortunately as more voters leave political parties those that stay behind cause their parties to become more polarized. A small minority of party members select the candidates we vote on.

What does the future hold for Tea Parties? First, some people believe that the movement should become a true political party. If that were to happen then their candidates would need to address the entire range of issues dealing with foreign policy, abortion, health care, and so on. Most people just don’t have the stomach for it as you can see by looking
at how few people actually run the major parties.

The second thing that could happen to the Tea Party movement is that their issues would be absorbed. One major party may adopt some of their issues and the other party adopt their other issues. This situation is known as “politics as usual.” To have any influence, voters in the movement must be willing to vote against whoever opposes them. In many elections that will mean voting third party. If third parties become a power in America, our nation could adopt Instant Runoff Voting. Voters would vote for their first and second choice to select a winner. It would be like having free market elections. The better candidates would rise to the top regardless of political affiliation. Just as less choice results in higher-cost, lower-quality goods, greater choice would result in lower-cost, higher-quality government. I believe a major third party would be a good thing for Americans to embrace. Yet to date most voters don’t agree with me on this topic.

The final thing that could happen to Tea Parties would be they fade away. The Tea Parties might, but its members who are highly motivated, will carry on their struggle. Some political party will earn those voter’s trust. Without a political outlet for the movement’s energy things could get ugly. The last thing anyone wants is for peaceful protests to become violent opposition.

Some people believe that in simpler times the party bosses chose the candidates from the back of smoke filled rooms. Deals were struck, payoffs made, a good politician was one who stayed bought. It wasn’t corruption, it was business as usual. Now in the age of of the internet can’t politics be done differently? If Tea Party’s can produce the votes they won’t fade away. Parties in power will do what they must to stay in power. If Tea Parties become big enough to upset the balance of power, politics as we know it will never be the same. 2010 Is turning out to be a very interesting year.

Will the Tea Parties become America’s most powerful single issue group? Will they build a political home of their own? Or will they fade away? Whatever they are doing I believe they are changing America’s political landscape for the better.

Kevin Litten was the Libertarian candidate for governor in 2006 and a founding member of the local Tea Party group www.CRteaParty.org