Better Option

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

... are ignoring key issues due to partisianship that, if not addressed in the next 20 - 30 years, will actually cause the United States to decline as a nation.

Ummm, from where I sit you should have been saying that 20 to 30 years ago.

But yes, partisan politics as rarely good for the nation.

While the Tea Party was more successful than Occupy Wall Street,

I'm not sure about this, but I see very little of sub-federal US politics. OWS has had one lasting achievement - getting the idea of the 1% and the 99% into public discussion and into people's minds. The "1%" meme is in; the idea that there is a very small group of very wealthy and powerful people who have essentially corrupted and usurped the democratic process, leaving only a shadow play there for appearances, and are essentially running the country/world for themselves.
I think the Tea Party agree with much of this, but also object to big government in general, whereas OWS want - or don't mind - big government.

With those two points, I think a "rational middle" third party would need to incorporate the grassroot mentality and strategies of the Tea Party, sticking to local, state, and House elections, but refuse to be assimilated into either party. The goal of this party would be taking control over local politics while influencing politics at a higher level. By being a large player at the local level and not competing at the Senate and Presidential races, it forces those candidates to address the third parties issues, forcing both Democrats and Republicans back to center while marginalizing the extreme voices. If that happens, then hopefully, bipartisanship can occur again in Washington, allowing us to successfully tackle these large issues.

Interesting idea, but I fear that the whiff of power will attract ambitious power-hungry types, who will rapidly turn the new party into much the same as the existing two. Keeping it local might help a bit but pretty soon people who made a start as local mayor for the 3rd part will soon be hankering to be the 3rd party gubernatorial candidate, and then senatorial ...

Didn't one of your Founding Fathers call for a revolution every generation?