The single most important reason why to switch to a parliamentary system: Green Parties.

[Smith_3]

Green parties play an important role in any countries politics that allows for them. Green parties are the way to go. In our country we will never have one that matters, until the "Winner Takes It All" is abolished. Let every party get seats in the parliament relative to their absolute number of votes, and let the largest coalition provide the president. Until this happens we will never have any leader other than corporate sponsored Democrats and corporate sponsored Republicans.

And before you "Nader voters gave us Bush" people start ranting off that election season isn't the right time for this again: According to you it is never the right time for this. There is always some really important election to be won, that forbids discussions about green parties to be held. If you blame people who voted Nader for Bush being elected, following the same logic I can say anyone who didn't vote Nader is to blame.

[Frances]

1. When you can get a viable Green Underground

group going, then people will take you seriously.

[Smith_3]

4. True, the greens started as a movement. Nudists, Enviromentalists and Pacifists.

Don't see it happening in america :eyes:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. In a multi-party parliamentary system

it is harder for the corporations to buy off everyone. That is what I see as a key. Right now, I think many folks in both parties have been bought and paid for, making the few honest fellows, like Feingold and Kucinich, rare rather than common.

[DJ13]

3. I think the most important reason to switch to a parlamentary system would be

the ability to vote "No Confidence" so we could oust bad Presidents like Bush without the BS of a full impeachment.

[mike_c]

5. agreed, 100 percent....

eom

[Peregrine]

6. Why do Greens have a presidential candidate

when they can't get any elected to the House? How many Greens are there on school boards, city councils, state houses, state senates, any elected post.

I don't know about you, but I do not take any party seriously that doesn't try to build from the bottom up. When the Greens have 10% of the state legislatures nationwide, then I will care.

[LeftCoast]

7. You are confusing a parliamentary government with proportional voting

The two are not the same. For example, the UK has a parliamentary government, but a first-past-the-post electoral system like ours so (for the most part) you get only two parties in Parliament and only one in power. What I think you mean is a proportional electoral system in which people vote for a slate of representatives rather than just one. There are an infinite number of variations on this type of system, many involving a minimum percentage of the vote before your party is seated. In Germany for example, parties much reach 5% or they don't get in. This prevents electoral splintering (dozens of micro parties dominating) which was a major contributing force to the rise of the Nazis.