The two party system will always be a mainstay in American politics, at least for a long time to come. The reason for this is because it’s basically the same vested interests that are controlling both parties. Major corporations contribute to both parties that way whoever wins helps to ensure that they will still get their way. It becomes a win win situation for them. The “them” in this case are the corporations. The big corporations. For documentation on just how powerful these corporations are in this global G8 economy see Mark Achbar’s movie “The Corporation.” Corporations run this government and corporations are not going to take any chances on running someone from either party that may hurt their chances of staying in power.
Having a three or four party system like some of the democracies in Europe would be too destabilizing to the status quo and cause uncertainty in the markets causing a global economic upheaval. The powers that be won’t let that happen. The important thing in all of this is to maintain an “image of Democracy” and the best way to do that is to control the lens through which this whole scenario is played out – The Press!
Once in a while a story/scandal comes out against the Liberals, once in a while a story/scandal will come out against the Conservatives. The Liberals will come out and protest what the Conservatives are doing and it will get a lot of airplay but in the end the agenda is followed – whatever that agenda may be it is almost always in favor of the corporate power brokers. When such an image of an oligarchy becomes apparent the press jumps right in and runs a story on corporate greed and Enron prosecutions. Everyone sees the veneer of Democracy at work and then forgets about the problem assuming our judicial system will take care of it. and we go on to other topics like the war or crime or Anna Nicole Smiths baby’s paternity suit etc. etc. We all have a short memory and the greedy CEO’s and corporate barons go back to raping and pillaging the stockholders, the small time investors, the labor forces and third world countries as well as gullible consumers and anyone else who will buy into their “greed is good” credo. The press is in on it. The press in fact, actually help to perpetuate the whole scenario, and there is not much we can do about it because those in the press who do stand up and fight against this horrible hegemony either lose their job, get blackmailed and scandalized and/or are forced to resign and join some small time press that barely has enough of a budget to stay afloat or get any respectable recognition.
Yes we can vote, but those who hold the real power don’t subject their authority to elections. They are the ones who decide who shall run against who and let’s not kid ourselves whoever they select from either party will already owe something to them as soon as they win the election. We think this is a Democracy but really it’s not it’s money and greed and power that control the whole show and the press is one of the leading actors in it.