Reddit, let's say I'm a charismatic fellow with a couple billion dollars. If I worked hard at a grassroots campaign, could I get my hypothetical third party a legitimate chance of winning in 2012 or later?

There are many theories as to why third parties are dead in the water in the US, but many of them go back to money. Let's say I'm a really, really rich guy who has enough morals to hate special interests and businesses that might try to buy my vote. I start up a third party and begin a massive grassroots campaign around the country, attacking both Republicans and Democrats and portraying myself as a truly different third party candidate.

I also use my growing influence to poach politicians from the other parties in hopes that we can use this exponentially growing movement to take over in 2012, or maybe 2014 (or later, the year's not important). What I'm asking is, could this happen? What other obstacles would stand in the way of an upstart third party?