With a government shutdown upon us, and an even worse default on U.S. loan payments looming, it is time for moderate Republicans in the House to consider breaking with the extremist Tea Party wing of their Party and forming a third party that, at least for now, can govern with the Democrats in a unity government...
What follows in the extended section is a slightly longer version of an op ed I just published on this theme: http://blog.nj.com/...
With a government shutdown upon us, and an even worse default on U.S. loan payments looming, it is time for moderate Republicans in the House to consider breaking with the extremist Tea Party wing of their Party and forming a third party that, at least for now, can govern with the Democrats in a unity government.
Even if Congress and the President can somehow agree on a temporary solution before we reach the debt ceiling, governing by crisis has become the new, dysfunctional normal. But it does not have to be that way.
If a leader of the traditional pro-business, pragmatic wing of the Republican Party negotiated with the more moderate 100 or so of his Party, and the most conservative Democrats, he or she could form a substantial and viable new party, and thereby change the dynamic in Washington. Here's a suggestion for this party’s new name: the Conservative Party.
It’s obvious what the civic advantages to such a move would be, but it will be objected that it’s politically impossible. To see why not, consider the five main objections.
Objection 1: Third parties never succeed in American politics.
Normally, third parties either never take off, or, as with the Tea Party, are swallowed by one of the big parties. But in a time of political turmoil, party loyalties can splinter, and a new party can take over. The Republican Party itself grew out of and displaced the American Whig Party. This could be the time for the Conservative Party to emerge from and displace the now dysfunctional Republican Party.
Objection 2: There is no middle any more. Most districts are either very red or very blue.
Reply: This objection presupposes a two-party division. Cut the pie up differently, into Tea Party Republicans, center-right Conservatives, and center-left Democrats, and it seems likely that many of the districts would become Conservative.
Consider how Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won in the general election in 2010. She lost to a Tea Party Republican opponent in the Republican primary, but she was the strongest candidate when the general election came around.
Objection 3: There is no reason for a Republican in a safe seat to take such a drastic step.
Reply: There are actually three reasons to do so. First, many Republican members of Congress want to be able to contribute to governing, and think the Tea Party is too extreme.
Second, many of these Republicans are not in safe seats. They are in danger of losing their seats to Tea Party challengers if they try to compromise in Congress.
Third, the Republican Party has bet the farm on the failure of Obamacare. If it turns out to be popular, they will want a way to distance themselves from the die-hard Republican opposition to the law.
Objection 4: Working with the Democrats would put Nancy Pelosi in the speakership, which would be anathema to almost all current Republicans.
Reply: A new unity government could form only if the Democrats and Conservatives agreed in advance on reasonable power sharing. Conservatives could insist that one part of that deal be that one of their members, or someone other than Pelosi, become the new speaker.
Objection 5: The Democrats would never play along with this idea, so it’s a non-starter.
Reply: For the Democrats, this would, indeed, be only a second best solution. But wishing for total domination is probably a pipe dream. If Democrats want to keep the government functioning, they have good reason to work with the Conservatives to make this break happen.
Objection 6: The Conservative Party would still want to win the support of Tea Party voters, and therefore this break would unstable and futile.
Reply: The divorce would leave such bad feelings that for a while Tea Party Republicans and Conservatives would want nothing to do with each other. During that time, however, the normal functioning of a government run by the Conservatives and the Democrats would restore at least some faith in Congress and the government's ability to address national problems. And that, over the long term, would do more than anything to tamp down the Tea Party fervor, push the remaining Republican Party members to the margins, and restore sanity to our democracy.
This break may well be too hard to swallow for too many Republicans in Congress. But it is time at least to consider this step. Otherwise, the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party may wreak real damage, both on the economy and on our political system, rather than relent. This need not come to pass. Centrist Republicans have the option of breaking free. It would behoove them and the country as a whole if they did so.