There has been a lot of discussion, of late, between those who are fed up with the Democratic Party and those who consider the Democratic Party as the best and only way to change the system. There have been hundreds, nay, thousands of posts on this subject - many heated. One refrain often heard is that the American political system is basically a two-party system; thus, any move towards a third party is a wasted vote. Similarly, if a person registers Independent then he or she will be sacrificing the ability to influence party policy and have only an up or down vote in the end.
Both of these arguments have significant merit. The single-seat representative system we have in place almost guarantees a two-party system. And to have a real influence in the political process, a person needs to work within a party. I agree with almost all of the analysis in Crashing the Gates except for the conclusion. It simply cannot be done with the structure of the Democratic Party. The vetting process of the party structure ultimately favors DLC candidates or turns most others into approximations thereof.
Even the example of the ultimate success of the right wing in the Republican Party, has one important caveat. It took a long time - 20 years for the party, 30 years for Congress, and 40 years for the Supreme Court. We don't have that luxury. The United States is in a whole heap o' trouble. Our economy is heading south. The dollar is teetering on the brink of a meltdown that will make Argentina's experience seem like a picnic. We have no military capacity remaining to influence the current crisis in Iran short of the nuclear option - and a (p)resident perfectly willing to use it. Good Lord! Time? I think not.
So that leaves one reasonable alternative - the creation of a new, broad-based party which is fundamentally progressive. In last year's study of the American electorate by the Pew Center, liberals/progressives were the largest of its nine political divisions - nearly twice as large as the core conservatives of the Republican Party. Yet while the core conservatives have directed the Republicans for years, the progressives have been taken for a ride by the DLC crowd with the oft-used mantra, "We the best you've got. Take it or leave it."
http://people-press.org/...
So now we need to leave it. Progressives constitute half of the Democratic Party and well over half of the grassroots and small donors. If progressives leave en masse, the new party will be larger the rump Dems from the outset. Progressives are far more likely to retain hold on minority members than the remaining DLC Dems. In addition, a Progressive Party is very likely to energize and gain traction with a significant segment of those currently alienated by the "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" American political system.
Some argue that it cannot be done - that third parties never succeed. Clearly, third parties which are personality-based like Wallace's candidacy in 1968 or Perot's in 1992 and 1996 never outlive their stars. And for those who mention Teddy Roosevelt, the Bull Moose Party was a protest party - against Taft - again, one that existed only for an election cycle. But the political conditions today are more like those of the 1850s than anything else. It is no accident that the term, "Whigs", is floating about. The Democrats are in deep trouble.
I have a diary entry on the Whig parallels.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Bernard Weiner makes a powerful argument here in The Crisis Papers.
http://crisispapers.org/...
There are some simple steps one can use to let the Dems know that we are serious.
- Go downtown and switch your registration to Independent.
- Make contact with other progressives in you area and create an organizing committee.
- Put together e-mail lists and, if possible, get a statewide website up.
It's not all that different from what we have been doing for the Dems for years.
We've got the know-how. We've got the people. We've got the momentum.
Finally, we must stress that this movement has nothing to do with a third party and everything to do with replacing the Democrats within a two-party system. Lord, it's past time.
