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New York/Heidelberg, 11 November 2009

Two-party U.S. political system contrary to founding fathers’ vision of America

New book, Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the system and Left Independents Out in the Cold, explores the two-party dominance in U.S. politics

Despite the unprecedented public involvement in the 2008 U.S. presidential election process, third-party candidates and supporters were shut out of the dominant two-party U.S. political system.

In his new book, Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the System and Left Independents Out in the Cold, George Mason University professor James T. Bennett explores the rise of the two-party political system. His book reveals how:

• The U.S. founding fathers distrusted political parties.

• By the end of the Civil War, the two parties had cemented their power and developed policies to help protect their duopoly.

• The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was sold to the public as a nonpartisan act of good government, but further blocked independent political parties in favor of Democrats and Republicans.

Not Invited to the Party includes a foreword by American attorney and political activist, Ralph Nader, and an afterword by Libertarian National Committee Chairman, William Redpath.

About the author:

James T. Bennett is Eminent Scholar and William P. Snavely Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy at George Mason University and Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice and Policy, both in Virginia, USA.

James T. Bennett
Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the System and Left Independents Out in the Cold
2010. 211 pages. Hardcover. $24.50; €24.95; £22.99
ISBN 978-1-4419-0365-5

The author is available for interview.

Contact
Joan Robinson
tel +49-6221-4878130