Time for a Tea/third party?

The old adage about third parties in American politics is that they’re like bees: They sting once and then they die. Ralph Nader and Ross Perot altered election outcomes. But neither could get a third party going. I have little doubt that the Tea Party will have a substantial impact on the 2010 midterms and even the 2012 presidential election. The bigger question is, Will they become a permanent force in American politics that can challenge both Democrats and Republicans, or will they fizzle?

A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll suggests that the Tea Party could become a game-changing forcing in the coming years. According to the poll, more than 40 percent of Americans support the Tea Party movement, compared to a 35 percent positive rating for Democrats and the 28 percent favorable rating for Republicans.

Recent elections have taught us that third parties with an easily identifiable issue constituency thrive when there is unhappiness with the status quo. Increased social polarization over the declining economy, open-ended war in Iraq and Afghanistan, America’s movement toward socialism (vis-à-vis healthcare reform and economic bailouts) and trillions in national debt could create a perfect-storm scenario resulting in a string of Tea Party candidates gaining office around the country.

With the Democrats expanding government without a conscience and the GOP effectively shedding all adherence to fiscal responsibility, the time seems ripe for a new party — one that actually trusts the American populace to govern their own lives. Don’t look now, but that sound you hear could be the ground shaking beneath the feet of the two-party system.

Williams can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Power 169 from 9 to 10 p.m. and from 5 to 6 a.m.

Visit www.armstrongwilliams.com.