Reply #2: Do you *really* think a "non-Democratic" candidate could beat a Repub, [View All]

when no third party candidate has ever done better than 27% in the last 100 years?

I won't beat a dead horse by getting into the necessities when it comes to building a nationally-strong third party. Let's just say none of the third parties right now meet the criteria. Some have local strength, yes, but none are anything close to competitive on the national level.

Absent a strong party that can compete in most of the 50 states (by "compete," I mean "can come close to winning," not "can get 1.3% of the vote"), you need a candidate who can either finance himself/herself or is famous enough nationally to get both financing and votes.

In recent memory, Perot comes closest to meeting both criteria, and even he didn't make 20% of the vote.

Sorry for addressing just one point in your post, but I think people should understand what it takes.