One of the most common complaints about the American two-party system is that it a longstanding duopoly that edges out alternative minor political parties before those minor parties have much of a chance. There are several reasons for this enduring duopoly, from our winner-take-all electoral structure and that the existing two parties crafted our election laws to the tendency for the two parties to co-opt popular minor party positions and the ever-present spoiler effect (i.e., voting for a minor party is seen as throwing one’s vote away, essentially).
If you’re interested in the more academic explanations for the persistence of the two-party system in American politics and an assessment of two-party vs. multi-party systems, here’s a link to one of my previous posts on that subject.
In this post, I’ll explain why we need a robust opposition party, how the GOP is failing massively at providing the necessary opposition as the party out of power and the consequences of that.
The Necessity of Opposition Parties
In 1950, prominent American political scientists came together and decided that a critical issue in the American political landscape of their day was that the Democrat and Republican Parties were too similar. I know, it’s hard to imagine.
They outlined their solution in a paper called, “Toward a More Responsible Party System.” This paper said that the two parties needed to campaign on and implement specific policies, organize the members of Congress to advance their political goals, and create a cohesive party from the local to the federal level, among other things. While some academics hold this paper partially responsible for our rampant political polarization today, it makes some good points.
A viable political party needs to stand for something, make a compelling pitch to voters, and then do what it said it will once it gains the majority. Members of that party, both within the halls of Congress and across the American electorate, need to unite and participate in the legislative process. And one party should be distinct from the other so voters have some range of choice.
That last point is crucial. While there are always limitations of representation no matter how many parties a political system has, there needs to be at least two viable choices for two reasons. First, voters need to be presented with different policy agendas so their participation in the political system makes a difference. Secondly, parties need to compete with each other to come up with the best policy agendas because this competition can create better policy proposals by testing them in the robust debates that should occur during every election cycle.
Unfortunately, the Republican Party as of late has proved to be a pathetic opposition party by this standard.
The Failure of the Republican Party
The GOP has gotten worse since I outlined the litany of failures of the Republican Party in this post.
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has actually said that the Senate Republicans won’t be putting forth an agenda for the 2022 election cycle until they regain the majority because “This midterm election will be a report card on the performance of this entire Democratic government, the president, the House, and the Senate.” While that may very well be true, voters still have a right to know what they’re voting for before they elect a Republican. Is it just me, or does this remind anyone else of Pelosi’s “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” nonsense.
Americans deserve better than a “vote for me because the other guy’s worse” campaign slogan. Voters should be given a meaningful choice between two policy agendas, not a chance to weigh in on a schoolyard-level verbal fist fight. Wouldn’t it be great if politicians were less hung up about getting back into power and more interested in actually making our country better? Roll call for those politicians would resemble this: Bueller… Bueller… Bueller…
McConnell can’t even stand up for his voters when the Republican Party did the right thing and censored Reps. Cheney and Kinzinger for taking on the mantle of Democrat operatives after Pelosi denied the GOP’s picks for the January 6 investigatory committee (something a real opposition party would have taken on, by the way). That “investigation” has become a kangaroo court for the far left to punish its legitimate political opposition, and the Republican Party has by and large done very little, if anything, to stop it.
Not to mention the Senate Republicans’ failure to defund COVID-19 vaccine mandates and Indiana Republicans’ inability to protect kids from critical race and transgender counseling in schools and protect religious freedom. And that’s just for a start.
What a pathetic excuse for an opposition party. It’s about as useless as a screen door on a submarine.
Entering an Age of Single Party Rule?
One of the markers of a totalitarian regime is the monopolistic and tyrannical rule of a single party that is highly monitored and even violently controlled by party leaders. Now before you lose your mind and accuse me of fear mongering or go to the other extreme and start screaming that the totalitarian sky is falling, hold on for a moment. I am not saying that America is a totalitarian state or that every Democrat is advocating for a communist dictatorship.
In fact, I think that some Democrats are solidly against that form of government, but powerful factions led by the likes of “The Squad” are culling the moderates from the party. This began with the Tea Party’s victories in the 2010 midterm election, which led to the massive defeat of Blue Dog Democrats (the more centrist members of the party). But that’s a post for another day.
I am saying that when any party is left unchecked, that party will almost always abuse its power. Republicans have not been immune to this even in the 21st century. The passage and subsequent renewals of the Patriot Act, which undermine the civil liberties of Americans, is a testament to this. In fact, the Patriot Act has opened up the ever-growing surveillance state that targets law-abiding American citizens. That’s gone well, hasn’t it?
So, how have the Democrats abused their unchecked power? Well, there’s the investigation into January 6, which I have explored in detail here and here. To make matters worse, there is credible evidence that only 10% of the subpoenas issued in conjunction with the congressional investigation into Jan 6 have anything to do with what transpired at the Capitol that day.
And they’ve engaged in witch hunts before. Look at how many Trump allies have taken hits on fishing expeditions like the Mueller investigation and the FISA warrants obtained by using a fake dossier bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton associates.
Don’t care about Trump? Then look at how the Biden Administration wants to read your text messages on COVID-19 to correct what they believe is “misinformation,” their calls for silencing dissent online, and how the Secretary of Education Cardona solicited the infamous letter from the National School Boards Association so the Department of Justice could call parents at PTA meetings “domestic terrorists.”
This isn’t about partisanship. Republicans were fools for using the impeachment clause against Clinton because of his affair with an intern because they weaponized impeachment for political purposes. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That’s why our founders divided power across three branches and various levels of government. Parties that push those boundaries, politicize their constitutional duties and prerogatives, and target citizens of the opposition party deserve to be replaced.
Conclusion
There are some “good apples” in both parties, but party leadership in the GOP in particular is failing spectacularly. As far as I’m concerned, primary every politician from both parties who doesn’t make good on their campaign promises. We could use more turnover in Washington, D.C., that’s for sure. But that requires that we all pay attention more to what our individual representatives and senators are doing and talk to our neighbors about it. I know that’s something I need to do more.
If we spend hours pouring over product reviews on Amazon, we should be willing to do the same about our elected officials. And let’s not forget that each election is the window of time we can exercise the return policy.
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Tremendous commentary on what is leaving Americans with terrible political choices, bookended on one side by dogma and the other by spinelessness.