We Need More Parties!

The current state of American Politics is a mess.  We’re supposed to be a “two-party” system only by default but what we have now is one party and one cult.  There are lots of little parties on both the left and the right, but they tend to be narrowly focused and/or poorly funded/staffed (in that their candidates aren’t much to write home about).

I actually believe in the idea of “different voices help make better choices.”  I lived in Ann Arbor in the 70s when the Human Rights Party rose up and grabs some City Council seats.  Splinter parties usually achieve greater success at smaller levels of government simply because of the money i$$ue (costs of campaigning, etc.).  Certainly other small parties and independents have made inroads in other locales, but nationally, the last time someone other than a Republican or Democrat was President was 170 years ago (Millard Fillmore was a Whig, as was Zachary Taylor who died in office, allowing Fillmore this distinction).

When you look at other democracies, you see more coalition-type governments because there are multiple parties involved.  There’s less money, elections are shorter, etc. etc.  Lots of reasons.  Here in the US we’ve “evolved” to a two-party system almost by default.  There’s so much money involved, the time lag leading up to elections are enormous, and no one really seems interested in changing anything. 

It’s no wonder we’ve developed this “us” vs. “them” mentality, as a two-party system invited just that type of thinking.

But having only one party is a disaster waiting to happen.  Obviously, I’d prefer that if we only have one party it be the Democrats, but honestly that’s not a viable solution.  We saw what happens when there’s total control of everything by the GOP back in 2017-18.  And going into 2021 and beyond…well, no one really knows what’s going to happen for sure until they count all the votes in the Georgia Senate races and Biden is actually sworn in (I mean that last thing is a sure thing but there’s 70 million people who will hold out hope until that moment).

Yes, some will continue to hold out hope even after that.  But let me tell you what I think is going to happen after January 2021, and why that has me worried.

Once Trump is out of office, it’s like the curtain is pulled back on the Wizard of Oz.  He suddenly has no real power.  Oh, he’ll bluster and fundraise (not in that order) and TRY to hold the power of the GOP is his (tiny) hands, but…why would anyone fall in line? 

C’mon.  Impeached.  Two-time popular vote loser.  Never had favorability ratings about 50%.  Only President to end his term with FEWER Americans employed than when he started.  And as long as someone is dying of COVID, there is going to be massive reluctance to put the guy that fucked it all up on the Presidential pedestal.  Give me ONE good reason why the GOPpers should continue to march to his tune?  OK, he’s got embarrassing pix of Lindsey Graham.  But what about everyone else?

So who steps up to take up the torch?  (Not the tiki torch, BTW) – Here’s a list from Ballotpedia of both Republican politicians and business leaders who could be considered candidates at this time…

Republican politicians

·       Greg Abbott, governor of Texas

·       Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas

·       Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas

·       Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida

·       Mike DeWine, governor of Ohio

·       Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations

·       Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland

·       Josh Hawley, U.S. senator from Missouri

·       Mike Lee, U.S. senator from Utah

·       Mike Pence, vice president of the United States

·       Mike Pompeo, secretary of state

·       Marco Rubio, U.S. senator from Florida

·       Ben Sasse, U.S. senator from Nebraska

·       Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida

·       Tim Scott, U.S. senator from South Carolina

·       Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States

Republican business executives and public figures

·       Tucker Carlson, Fox News anchor

·       Donald Trump Jr., businessman and political adviser

·       Ivanka Trump, businesswoman and political adviser

 

The politicians are mostly Trump-sympathizers (or actually Trump himself, and the “business executives” are actually other Trumps (I am convinced Tucker Carlson is Trump’s cousin or something).  Hogan or Sasse aren’t strong supporters, true.  DeWine has been critical of Trump lately (and was one of the first to admit Biden won the election), but Trump campaigned for him in 2018.  Sure, Trump has a tendency to turn on people he’s supported in the past, but that’s a feature of people who suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder – they turn on ANYONE who isn’t completely loyal to them all the time. 
Who else ya got?

I always assumed it would be the Democrats that would divide into more than one group; progressives, greens, socialists, etc.  Sure, the Libertarians take from the GOP, but nationally they fall in line to vote red.  Maybe the Republican Party will splinter into two (or more) groups, one of more moderate Republicans and the other of the radical far-right tea-party Trump-loving GOPpers.  If not, it looks like they’ll continue to be controlled by either Trump or someone-very-much like him.

I’m not the only one concerned with this.  Perhaps this will be clearer at the end of January.  Or when Trump’s convicted and/or flees the country.  And even then, I have doubts…

What do YOU think?