Thoughts At Large wrote a series of articles on this subject in 2018.
June 25th:
Two Party System. Dead?
- Changing of the Guard:
- The silent generation and the baby boomers are no longer in charge!
July 2nd:
Two Party System. Survival?
- History of the two party system:
- The founding fathers did not want the two party system!
- We have always had the two party system!
July 9th:
Survival of the two party system.
- Breakdown of political parties and the political philosophy they represent.
August 6th:
Is there a simple answer to a very complex problem?
It would do little good to rehash what was said in those articles, but these articles and the research behind them has led Thoughts At Large to the very definite conclusion that the two party system is dead!
The reason is very simple; the Democrat party and the Republican party no longer represent the majority of the American people! If you really look at what is going on in the nation's capitol, your state capitol, or any level of government, it is clear that the people in power represent the elite ruling class.
Having said that, the question is what do we replace the two party system with?
First, we must recognize that the United States is no longer made up of Republicans and Democrats. There are over 50 political parties and one major force that is not an organized political party.
The top 5 political parties are:
- Democrat
- Republican
- Libertarian
- Green
- Constitutional
Plus the fastest growing non political party:
- Declined to State (Independent, no party reference) etc.
Political parties or factions as the founding fathers liked to call them are and have been a part of body politics since the beginning of this country.
The history of how political parties determine how the country is governed looks something like this:
One party, which normally leads to totalitarian, or dictatorship, for example the Soviet Union, or California.
Two parties, or maybe the wording we are looking for is two major parties whose job it is to represent all major political views.
Three parties, normally lead to one or the other of the major parties losing votes to the third party and does not necessarily give the third party power.
Four parties or more, normally leads to chaos with no party gaining enough power to govern. In the case of the parliamentary system, one of the two parties has to put together a ruling coalition. Doubtful that would work in a representative republic.
Before we can continue the discussion on the two party system, we should look at the basic political philosophies that are present in the U. S. today:
One: Conservative:
Government is not the solution, Government is the problem! However, the average conservative believes that the government should make laws that control social behavior; abortion, for example. What major or large political party represents this view? Some would argue that there isn’t one!
Two: Socialist
A strong federal government can solve all problems. State government and the citizens should be subservient to the federal government.
Represented by: Democrat Party and the leadership of the Republican Party.
Three: Libertarian
Almost no government interference with individual freedom. Government is in effect a necessary evil. Represented by: Libertarian Party!
Four: Environmentalist.
The environment above all else including national defense, economy, business, standard of living. Represented by: Green Party
To answer the question: Can a representative republic work without a two party system?
In August of 2018 Thoughts At Large was convinced the answer was NO!
November 2019, Thoughts At Large is convinced that the answer must be YES!
What has to happen is all of the 5 major political parties and Declined To State must have a seat at the table! This can not happen with just two political parties that have a vested interest in expanding their power in Washington, D.C.. What makes it even worse is the elite ruling class is turning over real power to the administrative state, commonly called the Deep State!
Question: Since the taxpayer is paying for the primary elections, why are some voters denied the right to vote in the primary because they are not a Democrat or Republican? This denies them the right to determine the general election candidates!
The key is each party pays for their own primary. This requires significant backing for the parties platform and prospective candidates!
Thoughts At Large realizes that 50 political parties having a primary would be complete chaos so some common sense rules would have be made to limit the primary to 5 or 6 parties. The saying, “the devil is in the details” would really apply in this situation! That being said, all major candidates must be represented in the debates and their names placed on the ballots in all 50 states!
Really analyzing this subject and coming up with suggestions as to how this could be accomplished would probably take a 200 page article. This article would be just the start of the debate, but it is a debate we must have.
Something to think about!
Can the Republic survive if we continue doing what we are doing?
