A Four Party System

We Americans have often looking down our noses at countries with multiple party systems such as France; we also look down our noses at countries with one party, the old USSR. Like Goldilocks, we conclude that a two party system is just right. But do we have that? That is aside from the occasional third party who is always doomed to defeat but provides some comic relief and an occasional good idea.

In last Sunday’s This Week led by George Stephanopoulos one of the commentators said something like which Republican Party?, and then on to enumerate 3 of them. I’m not sure I have the same three here but it was something like this: 1. The Ideological party (Romney?), 2. The theological party (Santorum?) and 3. The no government party (Tea Party?). I think there is just a whole lot of truth in that which contributes to a very bitter struggle for the nomination; they are just not on the same page. In my opinion, none of these reflect the Republican Party as I understand it and have written about before, which is a more historical understanding of the party, the Republican Party before Reagan and After Lincoln who was a liberal. The closest of these is Romney but he has of necessity must cater to the extremes we find in the party. Commentators talk about the Republican base, but I don’t think there is one.

I understand there is always a continuum on the left and right. Some left are more or less left that others on the left and some more or less right that others on the right. But this feels different. There is a huge difference among folk who claim to be on the right and yet want to force their religious views on the public; that is not conservative at all. And the no government people sound like anarchists. The problem the Republican party of today is that it has lost its historical ideological base. With the advent of Reagan Republicanism the base values of limited government spending, limited government influence and the like went by the wayside. Thus just spent, even more than those they called spenders/Democrats, just in different areas and created the huge national debt we have, primarily through wars and military expenditures that we borrowed money to fund. The limited government value increased the government size as it limited restrictions for its buddies thus causing the huge redistribution of wealth to the upper upper upper class.

Once more I would encourage conservatives and liberals alike to read William Greider’s ”Come Home, America…” It is a huge read, fortunately it’s on my Kindle, and the real book must weigh a ton. But his understanding of the Republican Party and Republican values is phenomenal. With more Republicans endorsing his ideas, inter party cooperation could resume, deadlock would end and the country could start making progress at a time when it is lagging behind the rest of the developed countries.

With all the interparty and intraparty named calling and demonizing our country suffers. Small minded politics make us lose sight of the major issues, national and international. I fear for oncoming generations who will be the recipients of the fallout of all the bickering that takes place today.

There are solutions to our problems but the win lose mentality we have today will not find these solutions. We need more win win, synergistic solutions that look for the common good and which builds better lives for everyone.