Third Review

Why Elon Musk's third-party efforts will fail:

There are a number of reasons that no third party has taken off. Lack of serious financing is one. And the lack of compelling candidates is another. And then there’s the lack of infrastructure. Trump took off once he ran as a Republican. Not when he was trying to run as a third party candidate twenty some years ago. But the bigger picture is that while a lot of people hate both parties, they’d rather pick someone from either party than vote for a third party. It’s not just the perception that they’re throwing their vote away. There really isn’t any meaningful space for a third party to come into. Some variation of fiscally conservative and socially liberal has been tried again and again. But for anyone who really objects to social conservatism, the Republicans are more socially liberal than they’ve ever been. They’re not fiscally conservative anymore, and that’s what some of the current controversy is about, but considering that political power comes from spending money, is a ‘fiscally conservative’ political movement even possible as a reality rather than just as rhetoric? When push comes to shove, members of Congress get power from spending money. It’s easier to create a third party than to fundamentally change how this system works.

Change doesn't come from the top...