Are two parties enough? What impact would a third party have?
Lee Hamilton was vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission and currently serves on the President’s Homeland Security Advisory Council. Prior to these appointments, Hamilton served for thirty-four years in Congress as a Democrat, representing Indiana’s Ninth District. In March 2006, Hamilton, along with James A. Baker III, was announced Democratic co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, organized by the United States Institute of Peace.
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| 1. Why does Lee Hamilton think that third-parties are powerful? What does he cite as evidence of this political power? |
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| 2. Why does Lee Hamilton believe that there is room for third-parties in the American political system? |
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The thing about Republicans
Lisa Witter is the chief operating officer of Fenton Communications, the largest public interest communications firm in the country.
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| 3. What is Witter’s evaluation of the role of parties? How does this compare with the assessment offered above by former Maine Senator George Mitchell? |
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| 4. Are Americans really “post-partisan”? What would be the benefits of a post-partisan political landscape? How would a post-partisan approach to politics affect the claim that “politics is conflictual”? |
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Are two parties enough?
Matt Bai is a political reporter and staff writer for the New York Times Magazine. Bai graduated from Tufts in 1990 and received a Master’s from the Columbia School of Journalism in 1994.
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| 5. What barriers does Bai speak about in the above video? Why does he feel these barriers are less formidable than they have been in the past for third-party political power? |
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| 6. With the barriers lowered for third parties to gain access to the political process, what does Matt Bai believe is the key issue for third-party success? Why? |
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