Like someone finally having the strength to exit a toxic, dysfunctional, codependent, unhealthy marriage, the first wave of frustrated Republicans leaving the nest confirms to me something I've been thinking of lately: Moderate politicians of both parties are hampered by increasing diversity of policy (Dems) and ideology/culture (Republicans) and everyone - until now - is too afraid to leave.
They are also too afraid to think out of the box, held captive by a two-party system and unable to imagine political life outside it.
But enough. It's time to radically reinvent the process. This paralysis of the status quo and reticence to think wider is choking progress, action and consensus.
I believe this country would be well-served by the huge political shakeup and range of options if both Dems and Republicans split up their parties.
I'm tired of pundits and politicians saying there's "a fight for the soul of the party" or that the parties "have an identity crisis." To keep framing this challenge by its current structure is the elephant in the room and is missing the point.
Times change: media, information access/creation and technology evolve to give and/or stoke voices across the spectrum, whether despicable or innovative, and the existing two-party system simply can't contain this emerging diversity of competing political will.
Break it up, and smaller groups will find more common ground with each other. That's how coalitions are created in multi-party systems in many European countries. It can work and often does.
1) Moderate Republicans are boxed in by Trump's hijacking of the Republican party and his exposure of its historically racist but hidden core for what it is and giving it voice and license.
But not all fiscal conservatives share that cultural belief system -- and these new outliers, under status quo thinking, believe they have nowhere to turn, hence this first round of Republican exodus.
2) Dems are splintered between more traditional centrists and the rapidly emerging progressives /left of center voices, feeling held back by politics as usual and dusty thinking.
Yes, racism is abhorrent and yes it's different than policy; but the larger point is that the takeover of the Republican party - and potentially the nation - by white nationalists and the Trump base can only be countermanded if that sector gets isolated. And the only way to isolate it is to split the party system apart.
Here's what I envision: A four-party system of 1) Trump/far right Christian ideologues, i.e., what is now the current Republican party; 2 ) Moderate fiscal conservatives (right centrists); 3) mainstream Democrats (left centrists); and 4) left of center progressives.
A four-party system would allow for solid consensus and coalition building among the two centrist groups on core business such as infrastructure, budget, etc. Even some thornier areas like immigration has seen some bipartisan progress, only to be blocked by the fringe right. The far right in turn will start to lose their grip on power and sway, as the center groups -- and joined by the left progressives - will outnumber them and form coalitions to block the far right's more Draconian attempts.
Left progressives wiill need to settle in for a long game approach to advance their policies, but they will over time gain in numbers and will use that as leverage when centrist coalition legislation needs the progressive bloc numbers for a vote.
Practical implementation, the role of big money and the political will to see this done are all impediments; but in theory this the only way I can see how to overcome Congressional stasis and inertia. Unless I'm missing something - and I did a review beofre I wrote this -- there's nothing in the Constitution preventing this.
They are also too afraid to think out of the box, held captive by a two-party system and unable to imagine political life outside it.
But enough. It's time to radically reinvent the process. This paralysis of the status quo and reticence to think wider is choking progress, action and consensus.
I believe this country would be well-served by the huge political shakeup and range of options if both Dems and Republicans split up their parties.
I'm tired of pundits and politicians saying there's "a fight for the soul of the party" or that the parties "have an identity crisis." To keep framing this challenge by its current structure is the elephant in the room and is missing the point.
Times change: media, information access/creation and technology evolve to give and/or stoke voices across the spectrum, whether despicable or innovative, and the existing two-party system simply can't contain this emerging diversity of competing political will.
Break it up, and smaller groups will find more common ground with each other. That's how coalitions are created in multi-party systems in many European countries. It can work and often does.
1) Moderate Republicans are boxed in by Trump's hijacking of the Republican party and his exposure of its historically racist but hidden core for what it is and giving it voice and license.
But not all fiscal conservatives share that cultural belief system -- and these new outliers, under status quo thinking, believe they have nowhere to turn, hence this first round of Republican exodus.
2) Dems are splintered between more traditional centrists and the rapidly emerging progressives /left of center voices, feeling held back by politics as usual and dusty thinking.
Yes, racism is abhorrent and yes it's different than policy; but the larger point is that the takeover of the Republican party - and potentially the nation - by white nationalists and the Trump base can only be countermanded if that sector gets isolated. And the only way to isolate it is to split the party system apart.
Here's what I envision: A four-party system of 1) Trump/far right Christian ideologues, i.e., what is now the current Republican party; 2 ) Moderate fiscal conservatives (right centrists); 3) mainstream Democrats (left centrists); and 4) left of center progressives.
A four-party system would allow for solid consensus and coalition building among the two centrist groups on core business such as infrastructure, budget, etc. Even some thornier areas like immigration has seen some bipartisan progress, only to be blocked by the fringe right. The far right in turn will start to lose their grip on power and sway, as the center groups -- and joined by the left progressives - will outnumber them and form coalitions to block the far right's more Draconian attempts.
Left progressives wiill need to settle in for a long game approach to advance their policies, but they will over time gain in numbers and will use that as leverage when centrist coalition legislation needs the progressive bloc numbers for a vote.
Practical implementation, the role of big money and the political will to see this done are all impediments; but in theory this the only way I can see how to overcome Congressional stasis and inertia. Unless I'm missing something - and I did a review beofre I wrote this -- there's nothing in the Constitution preventing this.
