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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_132867421329043 style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_132867421329065 style="RIGHT: auto">Hi David,</SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class="yiv1779769007hr yiv1779769007yui-non yiv1779769007yui-skip" id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_132867421329057 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 5px 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid; HEIGHT: 0px"></DIV><B><SPAN id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_132867421329092 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">De :</SPAN></B> David L Wetzell <wetzelld@gmail.com><BR><B><SPAN id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_132867421329098 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">À :</SPAN></B> stepjak@yahoo.fr; EM <election-methods@lists.electorama.com> <BR><B><SPAN id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290104 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Envoyé le :</SPAN></B> Mardi 7 février 2012 16h17<BR><B><SPAN id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290110 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Objet :</SPAN></B> Re: Kevin
V<BR></FONT></DIV><BR>
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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290408 style="RIGHT: auto"><FONT id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290158 style="RIGHT: auto" face="arial, sans-serif" color=#222222>dlw: I argue that the strength of the US presidency and regular presidential elections has the effect of building up our two-party system. <BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905638 style="RIGHT: auto">This is why I take as a given that there tend to be 2 bigger major parties and not as many serious candidates in "single-winner elections". This in turn tends to </DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905646 style="RIGHT: auto">reduce the import of the diffs among the wide variety of single-winner elections. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905656 style="RIGHT: auto">I think it works like this:</DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905661 style="RIGHT: auto">President isn't responsible to or chosen by Congress -></DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905666 style="RIGHT: auto">There is not<VAR></VAR> that much prize for having a majority of a house -></DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905671 style="RIGHT: auto">Weak party discipline (because of less focus on party: a candidate can get reelected even if his peers are unhappy) -></DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905676 style="RIGHT: auto">If you are a viable candidate, there is no need for you to carve out a new party. There is only room for two contenders per</DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905681 style="RIGHT: auto">race (under FPP), and there are two parties that will take you as long as you can win for them.</DIV>
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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905689 style="RIGHT: auto">dlw: Aye, but the prez election itself and its potential for coat-tails and the reward from capturing one or both of the US legislatures</DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905694 style="RIGHT: auto">does build up the parties who can afford to run a serious prez election race. <SPAN id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_13286742132905699 style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I think some of the weak party discipline is also due to the restrictions on donations to parties in the 1974 FEC act.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290390 style="RIGHT: auto">Our system wd function better if there was more intra-party discipline and the donations flowed thru the relatively transparent venue of the party. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290413 dir=ltr style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Personally I prefer weak party discipline. I like candidates to have independence, with the decision-making power</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">less concentrated. And I'm suspicious of what party policies designed at the national level would look like.</DIV>
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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290380 style="RIGHT: auto">KV: I think we could have three "parties" (if not a much greater variety of viewpoints) with the right method. I wouldn't care</DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290375 style="RIGHT: auto">if they are actually parties or just a higher number of real choices, on average, in a race.</DIV>
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<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290364 style="RIGHT: auto">dlw:Would it make a diff if our two major parties became two different major parties, bridging the gap between the de facto center and the true center?</DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290356 style="RIGHT: auto">If American forms of PR were adopted so that there'd still be 2 major parties per area, they wouldn't be the same 2 parties for all regions, which would then enable minor parties </DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290348 style="RIGHT: auto">to contest the duopoly. And if this got complemented by a host of LTPs(with coalitions) that specialized in contesting "more local" elections and voting strategically together in "less local" elections, </DIV>
<DIV id=yiv1779769007yui_3_2_0_15_1328674213290338 style="RIGHT: auto">along with other acts that hold elected officials accountable to their promises then we'd have better quality choices, even if the quantity is less than we'd prefer.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Yes, I think it would be useful if we could increase the incentive to stand at the median, even if two "parties" maintained</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">their grip on things.</DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I don't find PR very interesting personally. It can be its own goal, but it doesn't seem useful for the things I'm concerned</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">about.</DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Kevin</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></div></body></html>