Light a Candle...

Why we need a two party system...

Amy Ridenour and Instapundit have been participating in an on going discussion on how the Democrats can regain popular support. However, it begs the basic question - is a relevant opposition to the GOP needed?

I say that it is, most emphatically. To understand why, one need look no further than Mexico, where one party dominated its political system for decades. Just like the free market system, when there is competition the consumer wins. They inevitably get more choices, new ideas, better services, etc. The same is true in politics.

In a monopolistic environment (political or economic), one sees lack of responsiveness, lowered productivity, reduced choices, a reliance on dogma vs innovation. Hmmm, sounds like the current Democratic party, never mind...

If one looks back over US History, there have been several major parties, though only two 'majors' at any given time, Federalists, Whigs, etc. The current Republican party was born as opposition to Democratic support for slavery (which saw the end of the Whig party). The point is that we need a two party system, but we don't necessarily need either the Democrats or the Republicans.

As it currently appears on the public landscape, the Republican party would seem to have a sound message, and a strong base. The Democrats offer a less coherent picture. It appears that the leadership has been captured by the more extreme left elements. The polarization/demonization of any internal dissent has been reflected in the same practice regarding their external political opponents. This leaves the moderate majority within the party essentially without a voice. So their choice becomes either Democrat first, or they must leave the party.

I have known, and know people who vote party regardless of issues. When asked why, the 'issues' they are site are ones that the Dems have not realistically supported since Kennedy and Johnson were President - they actually align more closely to the GOP, but will not admit to it.

We, the US, need a viable two party system. A system where constructive debate (not demonization and denigration) can search for and find the consensus and compromise that is, in the end, the real bedrock of the US political system. It is telling that many (most??) Democratic voters tended to be voting against Bush rather than for anything the Democratic Party represented. That is a dangerous sign for the longevity of the party, if they care to notice it.

I don't feel that the Democratic party is a viable opposition at the moment. The internal struggle to bring the Dems closer to the mainstream, with its inherent fratacide, may never happen; I certainly have doubts that any current figure within the Party can bring together suffiicent support to take the party back from the extreme fringe that has captured its leadership. What the Democratic party illustrates most clearly is the danger of trying to be everything to everyone.

It seems the most likely outcome, if there is to be a 'new party', would be a split within the Democratic party as the moderate core separated itself from the fringe (as opposed to the rise of a new party from whole cloth). What would they call themselves and how likely is such a fission? Only history will tell us the ultimate outcome of this struggle.

However, there can be no doubt that a political landscape dominated by the GOP is just as dangerous to us as the current weak and polarized Democratic party.

posted by Clayton @ 9:45 AM