Steve, I thank you for your post. Unfortunately, I can't agree with any of it, and I stand by what i wrote. Right-wingers aren't always angry--but they are about this. And their anger feels like hysteria. I'm a middle-of-the-roader--which is very clear if you read my work. I call 'em as I see 'em, and on this, your objections are off the wall. Most people are members of political parties, and they're not going to vote for something that bars such parties. And there's no evidence the governor is behind this. Perhaps Mr. Peace thinks he can convince the governor, but I would doubt that. And your conjecture about Schwarzenegger and Austria and his desire for a European model is off the wall, and wrong. I spent a lot of time talking with Schwarzenegger's Austrian friends, many of whom are involved in politics, and they are all strong party men, of the two major Austrian parties. Schwarzenegger himself has been a consistent supporter of the Austrian People's Party, or OVP, publicly endorsing candidates in their elections for years (until he became governor in 2003). He even talked about running for president of Austria and governor of Styria, his home province, as an OVP member. Austria has traditionally been a two-party system. It certainly was when Schwarzenegger grew up--every institution was affiliated either with the Reds (the social dems) or the blacks (the ovp). The challenge to that has come not from Schwarzenegger friends who are part of that system -- but from Austria's very angry right. Austria may be far away, but that dynamic isn't. The threat to the two-party system in this country is not from the middle. The nature of the parties means that the middle is well represented. The threat comes from the extremes, the far left and far right. If we see a third party in our state or our country, it will undoubtedly come from those extremes. Joe Mathews Irvine senior fellow, New America Foundation www.newamerica.net/blog/blockbuster-democracy/