Red vs. Blue = Trump vs. Pence

@MrHappypants

@curtise We don’t have a two party system either. In addition to the regular two you hear about, we have the libertarian party, green party, tea party, conservative party, and other smaller ones. Even independents run for President. Of course, due to lack of funding, nobody wins unless you’re supported by the democratic or republican parties but we do have more than two.

@cengland0 Everything I needed to know about the US’s third parties I learned from the Simpsons.

Seriously though, I do know that there are third parties in the US, but they are virtually unelectable to any national post. There have only been eight outside party members of the House of Representatives and nine Senators in the modern era.
Currently there is a single independent non-voting delegate to the House from the Northern Mariana Islands’ At-large congressional district, and two independent senators (King from Maine & Sanders from Vermont).

Contrast that to Canada where we currently have three parties with official standing in the House of Commons (Liberals 182 majority governing, Conservatives 97 in opposition, NDP 44 in third party status), with an additional ten Bloc Quebecois, one Green, and one former Liberal sitting as an Independent. (The reason the Bloc and Greens aren’t given official standing is that a party need to elect a minimum of 12 members to the House to for that.)
Our Senate is appointed by the government, so it historically only held Liberals and Conservatives because those were the only two parties who have won elections, but even that is changing, with all former Liberal senators being kicked out of the Liberal party to sit as an independent liberal caucus, and further to that some have switched and all new senators have been appointed as independents. We now stand at 40 Conservatives, 19 ind. lib. caucus, and 42 independent.
Now you know more about the status of the Canadian House and Senate than you probably ever wanted to. But don’t blame me - I voted for Kodos.

@curtise
I think parliamentary systems are more likely to result in serious power sharing among more than 2 parties. But have no data.

@serpent On that, I agree. Ties are the devil.

@wishlish

We wear painful uncomfortable stupid expensive unpractical clothing that means we can’t move around properly or sit comfortably in order to prove we are dressed up for some sort of serious event.

Isn’t civilization wonderful?

Although ties had a point once. On a fox-hunting field or sporting field or battlefield or at a riding event or horserace/steeplechase, ties made excellent bandages and slings. Injuries were somewhat inevitable.

@MrsPavlov Do you think we’ll ever see him wearing an invisible tie?

@nogoodwithnames You mean one to match his invisible empathy?