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The LIGHT IN THE FOREST

The Lion's Den ... International & Political Debate

Towards more effective political debate

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[quote][i]Originally posted by Dark Woods[/i]
[br]So that you know my political affiliation, I am a Libertarian.

I watched with great interest the State of Washington Senate debate October 17 among the Democratic incumbent and the Republican and Libertarian challengers. Setting aside the questions of who "won" and "lost", I was reinforced in my view that third (and fourth, fifth) party and independent candidacies make political debate more effective.

My reasoning is as follows:

When there are only two candidates up for election, negative attack ads are likely to be effective--anything that hurts candidate B by definition helps candidate A. Thus candidate A has strong incentive to attack. (The same thing goes for candidate B).

When there are three or more candidates, a negative attack by candidate A upon candidate B may still hurt B, but the benefit may accrue to candidates C, D, etc. The incentive to attack is thus reduced. In these situations, the more effective tactic is to boost one's own positives.

While perfection is not likely in this imperfect world, imagine the higher quality of political debate if all (or even most) candidates concentrated upon presenting the features of their own programs, rather than attacking opponents. I think that the policies and programs presented would be greatly enhanced in quality.

Those of us in the United States can take a cue from our friends and associates in other countries, where mulitple parties are the norm.
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T O P I C R E V I E W
Dark Woods	Posted - October 18 2006 : 10:04:40 PM So that you know my political affiliation, I am a Libertarian. I watched with great interest the State of Washington Senate debate October 17 among the Democratic incumbent and the Republican and Libertarian challengers. Setting aside the questions of who "won" and "lost", I was reinforced in my view that third (and fourth, fifth) party and independent candidacies make political debate more effective. My reasoning is as follows: When there are only two candidates up for election, negative attack ads are likely to be effective--anything that hurts candidate B by definition helps candidate A. Thus candidate A has strong incentive to attack. (The same thing goes for candidate B). When there are three or more candidates, a negative attack by candidate A upon candidate B may still hurt B, but the benefit may accrue to candidates C, D, etc. The incentive to attack is thus reduced. In these situations, the more effective tactic is to boost one's own positives. While perfection is not likely in this imperfect world, imagine the higher quality of political debate if all (or even most) candidates concentrated upon presenting the features of their own programs, rather than attacking opponents. I think that the policies and programs presented would be greatly enhanced in quality. Those of us in the United States can take a cue from our friends and associates in other countries, where mulitple parties are the norm.
3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Dark Woods	Posted - November 14 2006 : 6:50:12 PM Thank you Chistina for your commentary!
Christina	Posted - November 06 2006 : 5:29:15 PM Got to swing in on one of my rare visits from the ether and say I totally agree with you here...I'm finding myself leaning more to the libertarian side of things all the time, AND I have been fortunate to watch a few pretty coherent debates on C-SPAN that include very good representatives of third parties. Unfortunately, here in South Carolina, the Libertarians can never seem to find anybody to run except guys from out in the boonies who want their pot crops to be legalized (and have spent way too much time smoking it...) Third parties, no matter how "out there" they are in some instances, do allow for better debate, more thoughtful ads and campaigns in general. I think our two party system is headed for the dumper in the next few decades and hopefully some third entity will emerge as an alternative. I know too many people who are completely disillusioned by the political process and because their views don't fit comfortably into the niche of either established party...and it's sometimes hard to convince these folks of the importance of voting! So HECK YEAH I'm all for a third party if it ever comes down the pike!
Obediah	Posted - October 31 2006 : 3:58:31 PM I think that's a very good point you made; 3 parties are better than 2. OTOH, 2 parties are a darn sight better than 1!!

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