The Breakup of the Two-Party System? A Bad Thing, or Good?

People are having a tough time with the Republicans nowadays. And with good reason.

Over 70 million of them voted for 45. 45, with all his corruption. 45, with all his incompetence. 45, with all his insults. 45, with all his dysfunction.

Tough to believe that that many people wanted four more years of that. But they didn't have much choice.

That's because we only have two real choices: Republican and Democrat. Regardless of the candidates and what they really represent, the choice is usually the lesser of two evils. It isn't a positive one. That's why our presidential races, for one, usually have such poor participation.

But the Electoral College has something to do with that, too. It's winner-take-all for the electoral votes in a particular state, which discourages third parties from getting involved. If they happen to make a good showing in one state, they usually don't nationwide. It's token. So why start something you can't finish?

Direct popular vote, though, would give multiple parties a chance. They could perform poorly in some states but spectacularly well in others. They wouldn't have to be burdened with one of the usual labels and all the baggage that goes along with them. They could be what they are--a far more distinctive choice. They might lose one campaign, but the numbers might inspire them to hang in there and get more involved four years later. The more parties, the more choices. The more choices, maybe the more participation.

Could that promote radicalism? Perhaps. It could feed into people's needs for a stronger identity, too.

Steve Schmidt understands that. A founding member of the Lincoln Project, ostensibly moderate Republicans who see the existential threat of 45, he's crossed over to the Democrats with at least what he says is a single issue: The maintenance of democracy, which he believes continues to be under duress. He won't be a liberal standout, but he will be an articulate advocate for decency amongst us. He will be trying to pull progressives back to the middle, where the country can better operate.

The result might just be the kind of coalition government, at least in Congress, that Britain and other European countries practice. Laws have to be passed, so even without actual majorities, parties would have to combine to get a budget, provide for the national defense, and approve of presidential appointments. There would be more negotiating between the executive and legislative branches. People would actually have to talk to each other.

Bernie Sanders gave up much of his significance to the Democratic left wing by telling people to support Joe Biden. That was after he had finished second in quite a few primaries, giving up only after it was clear that he had no path to the nomination. His complaints about the nominating process, voiced with bitterness in 2016 after he lost the race to Hillary Clinton, were largely muted. Protest votes for him never greatly materialized.

But that was because Democrats, and a few Republicans who kept their heads on straight, were faced with an existential threat (which is being realized at this very moment). Something of a coalition has been formed, but will it last? What will the people who created, and supported, the Lincoln Project do now?

Standing alone, by themselves, won't do. That's a path to oblivion. They might not want to join the Democrats, either. So will they test the waters and run candidates for Congress and/or state legislatures in 2022? Will they run to remind Republicans that there used to be a far more rational, if conservative (actually conservative) party that respected the due process of law and respected the guardrails of decent behavior? Will that be the new primary threat to Republicans, not those even farther to the right than they currently are?

Why would they want to do that? Because, for instance, two members of QAnon are now members of Congress because the Republicans couldn't bring anybody else forward. These people believe, among other crazy things, that Democrats are at the base of an underground movement to kidnap little kids and drink their blood. What kind of nonsense is that? And what's it doing in the houses of Congress?

Will these awful ideas find fresh ground to grow? Or will they get buried amidst legitimate Congressional business and fade away? Recent developments would not suggest the latter. There's the stonewalling behind impeachment charges, for instance. That set a irrational tone.

Wisconsin's own kook, Senator Ron Johnson, this week held futile, pointless hearings about (wouldn't you know it) election fraud, as if it still happened and as if there were still something anyone could do about it if there was. He's done nothing but make noise, but the noise has been recorded, as it must be, and can be used by more kooks.

Is it time to break up the two-party system in favor of kind of a hybrid? We will see. There is a restlessness now, beyond the exhaustion of 45's endless tirades and crushing of logic and decency. We have to either get back to normal or create a new one. Returning to the former feels inadequate.

Be well. Be careful. Wear a mask, while the vaccine arrives. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.

Mister Mark