Yesterday morning, before I went in for my early shift, I read this great diary about an Epic Twitter Rant by Steve Schmidt:
In epic Twitter thread, Steve Schmidt explains why 1/6/21 will be the end of the Republican Party.
This is a great diary and the gist of is that after the BS that will happen on 1/6, the Republican Party as it currently stands will go the way of the Whig Party, as the Autocratic Faction and the Pro Democracy factions will not be able to coexist, and the Republican Party as it is now will split in two.
I started thinking about this and I wonder if he is right, and the Republican Party goes the way of the Whig/Bull Moose/Reform Parties. If he is, what happens next? I thought of some questions and wanted to enlist the brain trust here.
1. Who would inherit the name Republican Party? What would the other party be called? Who would WANT the name, because from a branding point of view, the name Republican Party has been so damaged and tarnished.
2. What would happen to the electoral advantages that the Republican Party already has? For example, along with the Democratic Party it is guaranteed ballot access, access to matching funds, etc. If it currently VERY difficult for an Independent or Third Party to qualify for the ballot, and this is obviously by design of the two major parties. I doubt the “New Republican Party” would want to give those advantages to the other party. And if they did, that would also open the door for the Libertarians (the I got Mine so F You Party) Greens ( Getting Republicans Elected Every November), and every other minor party wanting in.
3. I think a third party would almost make this country ungovernable. For example, let’s say hypothetically that Ross Perot wins in 1992. What could he get done since NEITHER the Democratic OR Republican Parties or Politicians would want to work with him? They would have attacked him from both sides!
4. What happens to the Electoral College? The EC needs to go, and I have said so here many times. How could there be a clear electoral winner with 3 major parties?
IMHO, the LAST thing this country needs is to become a multi-party system like Israel for example. That would lead to too much coalition building and more of a Prime Minister type situation.
What do you all think? I have to work early today too so it will be a while before I can reply to comments.
I look forward to your comments.