It’s clear a viable third party is needed

Michael K. Casler, Las Vegas

Monday, July 25, 2011 | 2:03 a.m.

I’m nearing 60 years old and I have drawn this conclusion: We need a viable third party. Despite what they claim publicly, we have one party (Democratic) that favors a very large and intrusive federal government. We have another party (Republican) that claims it favors a small federal government, but that isn’t really true, and it too favors a large and intrusive federal government. That was actually OK until spending went out of control, taxes were lowered and the economy tanked. People could simply choose the party that spent the tax money in ways they agreed with and support that party.

Now we have two parties that are married to a large and intrusive federal government that is very expensive and neither one is willing to exercise the painful fiscal discipline necessary to get our finances in order and keep them that way. We have reached a point where to unwind what has been done will be so unpopular that both parties are unwilling to address the issue honestly.

If we allow the status quo by continuing to support these two parties, our country is going to go over a waterfall — lock, stock and barrel. We need a viable third major party to either win control of our government or to make the other two parties worry so much that the third party will gain control that they will be forced to tackle the unpopular issues and unwind the fiscal mess we are in.