Arianna Talks The Two-Party System

Arianna Huffington didn't pull any punches discussing the two-party system at last night's Intelligence Squared Debate.

Arianna's view of the American political scene? "The two-party system is like a stale marriage. Democrats and Republicans need something to spice it up." Click to watch her discuss what she thinks needs to change.

Arianna Huffington on the 2-Party Debate (2) from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo.

Arianna also lamented the fact that the U.S. is only ranked 10th globally in upward social mobility. She said "being behind France in upward mobility is like France being behind us in croissants and afternoon sex." Watch the segment below.

Arianna Huffington on the 2-party System from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo.

More about the Intelligence Squared debates here.

 

Comments

[NevadaLiberal]

09:40 PM on 02/16/2011

We could keep the two party system, but turn the process 180 degrees. We could limit the campaign season to 8 weeks, and we could go to only publically funded campaigns, and eliminate PAC's. If we take the money out of the campaigns, it would probably solve our issues.

[AbstractImp]

09:24 PM on 02/16/2011

A REAL Middle could Push Out Both Parties.

[GuangxiDad]

10:10 PM on 02/16/2011

There is no such thing as a real middle. You either have core beliefs or you don't.

[hypnotoad72]

10:20 PM on 02/16/2011

Beliefs are immaterial if you're easily bought and sold...

[Lancer 101]

02:14 PM on 02/17/2011

Yea we all have core beliefs, then some mid-ground ones, then a few extreme ones, then some weak ones. I doubt every single person can be defined strictly by core beliefs.

[SageSpencer]

09:16 PM on 02/16/2011

We SO need a third party, maybe even a fourth!

[Birdman]

10:18 PM on 02/16/2011

And what woudl that help? Somone getting elected that only 20 to 30 percent can agree on? think about it what we have now is one candidate gets over 50% and the other less than that. Yet we seem to not get anything done. Now you are suggesting that 3 or 4 viable parties further splitting the country into itty bitty pieces. Heres a thought how about making all ploitical parties illegal period. and may the best person win. But then again could you imagine having 10 or 12 people running for president? Not sure what the answer is, maybe have elimination votes where we have 2 or there preliminatry elections where only 2 make it to the final election. But no political parties.

[OldTulsan]

08:49 PM on 02/16/2011

Ballot access laws have been rigged by the two-party duopoly to make it almost impossible for independen­t or third-part­y candidates to get on the ballots:

http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/ralph-nader-ron-paul-agree-ballot-access-laws-are-rigged-against-independent-third-party-candidates
Ralph Nader & Ron Paul Agree: Ballot Access Laws are Rigged Against Independen­t & Third Party Candidates | The Liberty Voice

http://www.freeandequal.org/videos/free-equal-ballot-access-movie/
Free & Equal Ballot Access Movie

http://rangevoting.org/Strangle.html
RangeVoting.org - Stranglehold of 2-party domination

There was more turnover in the Soviet Politburo than in the U.S. Congress

Then there is the need for millions of dollars to compete with corporate campaign contributions, especially after "Citizens United" decision.

This bar graph shows the 2008 presidential campaign expenditures::

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/
Banking on Becoming President | OpenSecrets

Now imagine 2012 elections with the "Citizens United" decision.

[OldKatt]

09:54 PM on 02/16/2011

I think the Citizens United Decision--- coupled with the Koch brothers, Dick Armey, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, etc--- was a conservative backlash against the grassroots fundraising ability of Barack Obama in 2008.

Now what we need is a backlash against the Citizens United Decision. See http://www.progressivesunited.org.

[songbookz]

08:38 PM on 02/16/2011

A vote for either party is a vote for corporatism and a vote against freedom, vote 3rd Party - any 3rd Party.

[HAlexandria]

08:26 PM on 02/16/2011

"America's only political party has two right wings, one called Republican, the other Democratic. But Henry Adams figured all that out back in the 1890s. 'We have a single system,' he wrote, and 'in that system the only question is the price at which the proletariat is to be bought and sold, the bread and circuses."

-- Gore Vidal

[naschkatze]

08:18 PM on 02/16/2011

So, are you on the side of those of us, Arianna, who want a multi-party coalition form of government.

[GrantS]

08:03 PM on 02/16/2011

I only partly agree with those who say we have a one party system. I actually believe that there are some Dems who don't sell out to corporations; it's just that there is far too few of them.

[OldKatt]

09:43 PM on 02/16/2011

Yes. Russ Feingold was one of them, but unfortunately, corporate campaign money helped his GOP opponent beat him. But Feingold has started http://www.progressivesunited.org, which aims to fight back.

[boyd3b]

08:03 PM on 02/16/2011

Wish we could have a no party system.

Parties allow the electorate to be lazy. Instead of researching each candidate, voters look for the candidates with their favorite letter, and then vote for that candidate without knowing anything about the candidate.

[stalana]

07:59 PM on 02/16/2011

before talk about the two party/ we need to talk about and fix the voting system.

[Ernst Angst]

10:14 PM on 02/16/2011

I have always liked the idea of a direct democracy.

[Danek Greori]

07:58 PM on 02/16/2011

Though we are given the impression that there really are two parties in this country, too often it feels as if there is only ONE political party. After all, you'd have to be either uninformed or just naive to ignore the fact that the paychecks to our politicians come from their corporate sponsors and the lobbyist for said sponsors. Our tax dollars are now nothing more than a small bonus in their pockets.

Even if you subscribe to the idea that there really are two political parties, you might wonder why only 2 have any actual power in America. Why? It's the religious undertones of this country. Not Christianity per se, but just the general idea of a God and a dichotomy. No matter what your race, faith, or creed; when you grow up in America you have it drilled in to that this world is full of good or evil, and that there are no in betweens. As Americans when then tend to classify and think of everything in this manner. More than 2 major choices in anything in US society would confuse people and leave them unable to think of one option as the "good" and the other as the "evil".

There is only one power in America, and it's heads are Faith and Money. Everything else is just an illusion to kept the public preoccupied.

[Fairiswhat]

07:52 PM on 02/16/2011

"The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers."
"Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so the American people can 'throw the rascals out' at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy."

-Carroll Quigley

[opines]

07:46 PM on 02/16/2011

We don't have a two-party system. We have rule by the military and corporatists who dictate policy to elected officials.

[AggieReal]

10:07 PM on 02/16/2011

Can't argue with this.

[leftLibertarian]

07:42 PM on 02/16/2011

Both major political parties supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Patriot Act (sic) and the Wall Street Bailout.

Time for a change.

[AggieReal]

10:09 PM on 02/16/2011

Trouble is throwing away a vote on a 3rd party usually ensures the worst of two viable candidates gets in...

[leftLibertarian]

07:43 AM on 02/17/2011

voting for who you think will do the best job is not throwing away your vote

[comment from Ron]

07:33 PM on 02/16/2011

There is so much diverse political thoughts in this country that I could never see how only 2 parties could encompass it all. I think the Democratic Party could break into a few separate parties, and the Republican Party could break into a few dozen separate groups.