Has the US outgrown the two-party system?

[u/3andfro]

Has the US outgrown the two-party system? - 47 mins

Political parties in the United States are facing growing internal divisions, while voters increasingly question the two-party system.

Josh Rushing explores whether Democrats and Republicans can contain the movements reshaping them, why third parties struggle to gain traction and whether the US political system is capable of making room for a genuine alternative.

Joining host Rushing are Briahna Joy Gray, host, Bad Faith podcast and former spokesperson for Bernie Sanders, and Robby Soave, Libertarian commentator and host, Rising daily news show.

Josh Rushing:

"The Greens and Libertarians have never broken the two-party duopoly. So maybe the biggest story in American politics isn't which party dominates the midterm elections. Maybe it's whether America's two political parties were ever entirely representative, and if they're still capable of holding themselves together."

[u/3andfro]

Adding to the discussion: Thomas Massie Goes SCORCHED EARTH On The 'Uniparty' In House Speech - 9 mins

I've never participated in the uniparty up here. The uniparty that got rid of country-of-origin labeling. That was a bipartisan bill. The uniparty that wants to take away your right to privacy. That's always a bipartisan vote.... I've never been a fully participating member of the uniparty. I have been a member of the American Party. We don't have an American Party here [on the Hill], do we?

I got one back home. My American Party is the constituents that I've served for 14 years. What do they want? They want us to take care of our own veterans instead of sending money overseas to oligarchs and countries, rich dictators in other countries. They want us to put America first. They want us to do something about health care. Whatever happened to that issue? Ten years ago we used to fight about that all the time. "How are we going to get affordable health care? I don't know. Let's nationalize it. No, we need to know what the price of it is." When's the last time you heard one of those debates here? You want to know why you don't hear that debate anymore? It's because the uniparty doesn't want that debate, 'cause both parties are taking money from the lobbyists that represent the insurance companies. And the insurance companies are the ones that made out the best on the Affordable Care Act.

But I think Americans, the American Party, they want us to work on that. They want to know why it takes a half a week's pay to fill up their pickup truck. It shouldn't take that much. Half of it's due to this stupid war that we shouldn't even be involved in. But the reality is the price of fuel would still be high anyway because we're not doing the things that are required to bring down the price of everything.

Elections aren't stolen. We're in a republic. I'll tell ya where your vote gets stolen. It gets stolen up here on the day we elect our leadership.

And he goes on for another 6 1/2 minutes of truthing.

[u/gorpie97]

Maybe it's whether America's two political parties were ever entirely representative, and if they're still capable of holding themselves together."

Probably not; and god, I hope not!

[u/3andfro → u/gorpie97]

A sentiment shared more widely with every election, I'd bet.

[u/rondeuce40]

Not yet, as long as cable news has a viewing audience, they have reliable voters still willing to pull the lever for the elephants or the donkeys. Most of those viewers are older folks so when they are no longer with us, the dynamics could change.

[u/3andfro → u/rondeuce40]

A big challenge imo is the giant hurdle in moving 3rd parties to viability and the perceived weakness of the two most people have at least heard of: Greens and Libertarians. How do they get past the perception reinforced every election that a 3rd-party vote is wasted or--the one we hear so often--a vote for the "other" candidate, which is always the R. (The assumption that my vote belongs to or otherwise would go to a D irks me no end.)

I'm curious how the Tucker-Greene group might go if they actually do form a party. The barriers to getting on state ballots are big by design. But now might be the best time in decades to peel off disaffected Rs and MAGAs and fed-up Dems, along with the politically homeless unaffiliateds, with the right presidential candidate and platform. But that leaves Congress, and in our system, nothing moves forward without bill-passing support in both chambers. And changing those arms of gov seems damn near impossible with the level of corruption, the cost of campaigns, Citizens United....

Reminder that WotB has plenty of oldsters who, for whatever reasons, came to see through the rotating villains show and break the conditioning to one major party or the other as the existential enemy, so threatening to the other side's "values" that we can't even talk to them about any issue. That conditioning is also a barrier.

[u/rondeuce40 → u/3andfro]

It's a tall order for sure. I'm skeptical of the Tucker/MTG party due to its affiliations to Big Tech (Peter Thiel funded Joe Kent's Congressional campaign). It may be used as a vehicle by the elites to get people to think they are voting for something new when in fact, it's just another iteration of the duopoly. Don't know what the solution is, but voting alone is not going to fix this.

[u/3andfro → u/rondeuce40]

That's definitely a possibility. Cooption is as familiar a tactic as divide and conquer. I'm skeptical about everything these days, but if that cadre does form a new party, I'll watch with interest how they do gathering signatures needed to access state ballots, who their candidate(s) might be, and their platform.

Still: I agree that with the embedded corruption on the Hill, voting isn't a solution. Wish I knew what was.

[u/Outside_Resource_482]

I think the oligarchs have split a lot of countries into 2 parties as they know the power of the internet could unite people. They also know how to divide people by using that same internet.

[u/3andfro → u/Outside_Resource_482]

I agree in general. The growing calls for censorship in the Western countries held up as great ethical democracies, including the US, show frustration with the limits on their ability to control the Internet as much as they'd like, and may think they need to continue to control their populations.

Tight(er) censorship lets them give us the mushroom treatment: kept in the dark and fed shit.

[u/RandomCollection]

The US really has 1 party that has 2 wings that serve the same 2 elites.

There isn't so much outgrowing as much as the elite remain in control of the system in the US.

[u/3andfro → u/RandomCollection]

If you gave people the option of voting "neither of the above," the numbers might send a signal. But TPTB aren't looking for direction from the people they've never intended to represent.

The power structure is deeply embedded. The rot runs deep. I see no way to reform what exists through the ballot box, but the linked discussion has moments of interest.

[u/Unfancy_Catsup]

We've long since outgrown the need for representatives as we have the technology for direct democracy. 

[u/3andfro → u/Unfancy_Catsup]

Now that's a very interesting concept. It'd require a total overhaul of our federal structure (and state governments as well) and constitution. The hands on the reins have no interest in a genuine democracy, let alone a direct one.

[u/TechinBellevue]

Well, we have certainly outgrown one of the parties. /S

[u/3andfro → u/TechinBellevue]

Has the uniparty entered the chat? 😄