This upcoming election will be the first time that I can legally vote for a candidate. Ashamed to say, I've always been apathetic towards politics. I learned quite a few things after doing some research on the two major parties, as well as third parties.
1. The Republican party originated from the joint opposition to human enslavement and government tyranny. The name "Republican" alludes to equality for all.
2. The symbols of the donkey and elephant came from the cartoonist Thomas Nast. He drew a Democratic donkey trying to scare away a Republican elephant. The two animals have stuck since then.
3. The Democrats are committed to investing in the technologies and support for more advanced research. Obama lifted federal restrictions on stem cell research and allowed scientists and doctors with new resources.
4. Although third parties are not as popular to the general public compared to the two main parties, they still play an important role in elections. In the 2000 election, Ralph Nader ran as a member of the Green Party. He received more than 97,000 votes in the state of Florida. It is reasonable to assume that a majority of those votes would have went to the Democrats rather than the Republican if they had to choose. "This was the election that came down to the contested recount in Florida. George W. Bush was named winner by a margin of only roughly 450 votes" (eNotes).
5. Due to the lack of financial resources, the third parties are rarely portrayed in the media. The two major parties consolidate dominance with high profile primaries and national conventions using the tax payers money. How can third parties compete with that?
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