The Status Quo - everyone talks about it, but what supports it?

The two-party system is the status quo in the United States. We all know this like we know the sky is blue. I have been doing a lot of thinking about what pillars or foundation the current system of power rests on, and I have come up with some ideas. These pillars are by no means a comprehensive inventory of how the status quo remains in place, but they are important pieces of the puzzle.

If you want change, you have to collapse one or more of the pillars that the status quo rests on. Ready for some demolition?

The Pillars:

1. Corporate and Special Interest campaign financing. Corporations and special interest want to stack the sytem to their advantage, so they donate - as individuals, via political action committees, via 527 issue-groups, etc.
2. Politics has been turned in to a spectator sport. Either by accident or by design, the two major parties have turned politics in to a spectator sport, where supporters sit in the stands and cheer for their team, but never take the field as players, or even work the sidelines. Their job is to simply make noise when their side tells them to. Citizen politicians are by far the minority in elected office, especially at the federal level. The career politician, supported by special interest financing, and an army of paid political operative, run the show, and amateurs need not apply.
3. Winner-take-all voting for single-seat elections. When elections roll around, we are sternly warned by the status quo not to waste our votes on third party or independent candidates. The participation of these candidates is somehow a problem, and a "spoiler." This voting system, and the message put out regarding it, serve as a method to coerce people into not voting their conscience. All registered Democrats must for a Democrat, no matter what. All registered Republicans must vote for a Republican, no matter what. Independents may vote for either a Democrat, or a Republican, but NOT for an independent candidate and not for a third party candidate.

In order for a system to collapse or be forced to change, at least one of these pillars must be kicked out from underneath it. I am aiming for #3. And you?

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Daryl Northrop