Many Americans are exhausted from our two political giants, Democrats and Republicans. Their divisiveness inflames and divides us every four years. A substantial 63% of Americans believe “a third party is needed” because the Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job,” according to a September 2023 Gallup Poll.
While party diversity within our government would be ideal as it gives greater representation to those with differing opinions, Americans must treat third-parties with the same seriousness as our major parties and must not vote for third-party candidates based solely on their outsider status.
Major parties have become more polarized, raising tensions and driving independents away, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Those who sympathize with the need to de-escalate our provocative politics can be led on by organizations such as No Labels. While reducing hostility is certainly pure, No Labels use it to scam Americans into supporting them without ever being able to take action to achieve this goal.
Voting for or donating money to these parties can be enticing. They do not need to cater to the largest voting population, leading to their ability to focus on niche issues which attract single-issue-driven Americans. The problem lies in the tactics third-parties can employ, which creates a mirage of truthfulness.
Third-parties often recognize and exploit dislike for the Republicans and Democrats and their political methods while engaging in those exact same methods. Because Americans do not know the third-parties' full platform, this is done very effectively and can cause harm.
The approach No Labels takes promises to fight extremists on the left and the right with the idea of “Unity” presidential ticket with both a Republican and a Democrat, according to their website. While No Labels claims this will reduce tensions, this ignores the overwhelming factors, such as radical populism, which magnifies the tensions.
No Labels won’t be able to win the presidential election and enact the change they call for. No Labels’ best scenario is if they achieve the most votes from independents, which will lead to a Donald Trump victory, according to Third Way.
No Labels cannot win the presidency and lied to the American people by thinking they can. On Thursday, Apr. 4, No Labels ended its effort to create a presidential ticket after failing to find appropriate candidates, according to its website. While this organization failed to create a ticket, they still represent the most deceptive of third-parties and organizations by lying to Americans about what separates them from major parties.
No Labels has been exposed by Mother Jones for participating in the same crooked behavior that they criticize the major parties for. No Labels claims they never accept corporate money, yet rely on financing which has been dubbed “dark money,” according to PBS.
Although No Labels has claimed to be “fighting the extremes since 2009,” they support a firm which raises money for right-wing and election denier extremists, according to Mother Jones.
No Labels ethos as an organization is based on a lie as No Labels is supporting right-wing extremists. They participate in the same unethical behavior as our major parties, yet face little criticism from doing so. This is because Americans are scammed into believing the party's populism and do not recognize the party is just as corrupt as the major parties.
Although not technically a third-party candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fits the niche of running as neither Trump nor Biden and scamming the American people while doing so. RFK leads a campaign where many supporters are uninformed of his actual intentions, according to NY Mag. This leads Americans to vote for a man who, in reality, they know nothing about, potentially electing someone whose positions are mysterious.
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20% of voters who would consider RFK cited his connections to the Kennedy family as the primary reason for their support, according to a CNN poll. Only 12% of supporters said they support his policies and views. Americans could be supporting a man solely because of his surface-level identities.
RFK uses his name and populist ideas to gain attention and hides his less-favorable positions, which is dangerous. If RFK were to be elected, his populist guise would be ripped off, leaving Americans to see who he really is: an anti-vaccine politician.
These outsider parties and candidates seem attractive to many people, but we cannot give them a vote for just being third-parties. Parties like No Labels and personalities like RFK will not relieve America from its two-party system. And if they do somehow win, they will be just as destructive as Republicans and Democrats.
We must treat third-parties with the same seriousness as our major parties. It is too easy to gain momentum within the American population with nothing but an identity as the opposition. These third-parties can be just as corrupt, divisive and inflammatory as the Republicans and Democrats.
Not all third-parties commit the intense dishonest behavior we see in our political system. To identify which parties truly seek to abstain from destructive practices, we must be vigilant in separating them from opportunist ones.
The last thing any American wants to do is elect another corrupt politician. Americans should be cautious with third-parties, just as we are cautious with our major parties. This way, we can decipher which parties are acting in good conscience and which are scamming the American people.
Nate Bernard is a beat reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo
