A prolonged stalemate?
The Disunited States of America
It looks like it may come down to which side will be beaten into submission because I don't see this ending well for anybody--the parties or the voters.
The science is clear: People love fear
If it weren't the case, there would have never been that overreaction to Ebola last year and ISIS's role in last week's Paris attacks. The American public have clearly thrown FDR's famous quote into the trash heap of history. Also, I hope those political scientists from 1950 are happy.
If it weren't the case, there would have never been that overreaction to Ebola last year and ISIS's role in last week's Paris attacks. The American public have clearly thrown FDR's famous quote into the trash heap of history. Also, I hope those political scientists from 1950 are happy.
Americans Are Sick to Death of Both Parties
Can the American public finally start ditching the lesser of two evils talk every other year now? Or at least after next year's elections? We needed a third party like a decade ago!
Democrats are in denial. Their party is actually in deep trouble
The Emerging Republican Advantage
In the age of Trump, there are plenty of people who support presidential candidates that are more than willing to utilize the Sailer Strategy en route to the White House.
Also, what is going to happen if key demographic groups don't show up next fall? Blacks and college students are subject to voting restrictions in Republican and some swing states. Younger voters may have an enthusiasm gap in '16 as opposed to '08, especially if Bernie Sanders doesn't win the Democratic nomination. On the other hand, blacks may stay away if he does win the nomination in Philadelphia. Hispanics are another group to look out for. President Obama has deported more immigrants than anyone else, and as an additional demerit, moderate Senate Democrats squashed the DREAM Act in the summer of 2010. The result is that most Hispanics may sit out the 2016 election because Democrats failed to deliver on their promise when they controlled both houses of Congress and Republicans nominate a candidate who is openly hostile to their interests.
The Democratic Party Keeps Screwing Up
America is long overdue for a political realignment, but it's a matter of which party (or someone else) gains the upper hand. Assuming that the author in Link #5 is proven correct, then, the party of FDR & JFK is in for a very big world of hurt that may see them in the same company as the Federalists and the Whigs at worst and relegated to being a Northeastern party at best. If disillusioned progressives do get into a pattern of backing third parties like the Greens, then, what recently happened in Seattle may prove to be an excellent way of toppling the whole two party diagram.
America Is Ripe For Authoritarianism
This could likely be the ultimate result of that prolonged stalemate mentioned in the first two links. All it would take is another Great Depression as a solution. That, and a second Civil War.
The Big Picture: An overhaul is badly needed in this country because the two party system has failed America. The first step to correcting this mess is to dump the current first past the post/winner take all voting system in favor of some type of proportional representation or an entirely new system that requires a brand new centrist party in order to govern so that the extremists are kept in check.
In a diverse nation of 320 million people, I find it unfathomable that we are still using a system that was intended for a much more homogenous society. If the Republicans do rule for the next couple of decades, then, it will get to the point where the establishment and the Tea Party factions splinter. Once that happens, then the latter group will either join the far-right Constitution Party or form their own party outright.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, it's no secret that Democrats have taken its coalition partners for granted for years if not decades. When it comes to the two biggest minorities--blacks and Hispanics--it is not all that inconceivable if the ushering in of a true multiparty system results in new parties that specifically caters to each community's needs. There could be one party per each race or there could be multiple black and Hispanic parties. Another group that has received lip service from Democrats is the party's progressive wing. If Hillary is nominated (or is that coronated?) next year, these lefties may jump ship to Jill Stein's Green Party and continue doing so in future elections. By then, the breaking point will have happened. After all, the DNC changed the rules to keep Larry Lessig out of the debates because he ran on an electoral reform platform. If the party is willing to keep out someone who had little chance of winning, then, it can continue to feel complacent about its other wings because the business wing thrives on complacency.
