[Am-info] Re: Global Resistance at home

[felmon davis]

On Tuesday 06 November 2001 21:01, Mitch Stone wrote:

>[...]
> >I'm against any third party in a circumstance where it leads to
> >disaster. There's nothing holy about the idea of an n-th party.
> > the important thing is promoting the issues you care about.
> >
> >I know, some people's issue _is_ that there be an n-th party. that
> >seems bizarre to me but so be it.
> >
> >Again, I hope I'm not shouting, just tapping the table for
> > emphasis.
>
> I come from the position that the current two-party system _is_ a
> disaster.
>

the Germans have a, what, five party system? (SPD, CDU-CSU, FDP, 
Greens, PDF in some places, and it depends how you count CSU-CDU 
(something like a coalition of two parties) and there are various 
other parties (including DVU - nazis) and 'lists'. 

but some of my German friends also think their government is a 
disaster.

Americans tend to be pretty trinitarian about all of this thinking 
mostly in terms of _three_ parties. 

increasing the number of parties isn't a panacea. not that you are 
saying it is, I know that. but some do get a little carried away with 
its salvational promise though.

I like the German system in some ways - they didn't understand 
Florida at all! - but I often find it hard to keep score: you see the 
FDP sometimes does a coaltion with the SPD, sometimes with the 
CDU-CSU; the CSU (Bavaria) sometimes goes for the throat of the CDU; 
the Greens flirted with the CDU (in Frankfurt); everyone tries to 
keep the DVU (Nazis) and the PDF (former communists) out (esp. in 
Berlin); one guy made his own party up and now is mayor of Hamburg; 
you know, that sort of thing.

my eyes cross when I try to think about Israel....

F.