Quote:
Originally posted by SecretMethod70
All it takes is citizens who have the courage to ask for it. The Republican party splashed into existance against all odds, basically obliterating the formerly powerful Whig party. The people who voted Republican weren't nay-sayers, they were doers and they fought for what they believed in. The more we voters have the courage to do that, the more people who don't will learn that there are people who agree with them and also have the courage to do the same. This is how change is brought.
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That isn't exactly true.
The Whig Party was already dead in 1854, when the Republican Party was founded. The Republicans at first were mostly former Whigs who were anti-slavery and pro-union, along with a coalition of small third parties with those beliefs. The only reason for their quick rise was the political turmiol of the years leading to the 1860 election, when Lincoln won the presidency and caused the southern states to secede.
You are right about the second part though. All it takes are people who believe in the party.
My point, however, was that Congress would need to be controlled before any third-party president would have real success in office.