The Washington Post has this interesting article by Philip Bump, imaging the U.S. Congress if it contained four parties.
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Philip Bump in Washington Post Imagines a U.S. Congress with Four Political Parties — 7 Comments
Would be great if such ever happened. While I don’t necessarily agree that the two extra parties would be named “Liberal” and “Conservative,” I think such the two extra parties would need to adapt a more generic name to have broader appeal.
For example, the Greens are really a “progressive” party and I don’t know why they don’t use the name of Progressive rather than Green. Too many people think of the Greens as “tree huggers” and defending the right of certain members of the animal kingdom to live to the disadvantage of people, however “Progressive” is a broader-based term which the present agenda of the Greens would fit into and could work under that label.
The Democrats could split between the ultra extreme liberals who want a godless secular society, and the more moderate Democrats who believe in a god of some type, though not necessarily the God of Jesus Christ. So we could have 5 parties rather than 4.
The Libertarians I believe will eventually become strong enough to be one of these 4 or 5 major parties. The conservatives in the GOP will eventually run the libertarians out of the GOP, and the Libertarians then will have the chance to build on this realignment.
Just wish I wasn’t 70 years old, and could live to see this happen. Assuming the United States doesn’t become a banana republic first, Philip Bump’s theory has a chance in the next 50 years for this to become a reality.
Should have mentioned the Moderates as a party.
Perhaps the D and R parties by that time could be Moderate Parties with a possible unity ticket letter on. Think of England’s Liberal and Social Democrat Parties becoming the Liberal Democrats.
My typo. Make that “later on”.
David:
I don’t think there is such a thing as a “moderate.” While one can be all Liberal or all Conservative, others, like myself, take “liberal” positions on some issues and “conservative” issues on others. Does this make me a “moderate?” How do you measure a “moderate?”
John McCain would be a good example of a Moderate. Moderates support more government and government spending, but still claim to be conservatives. There is a big difference between Justin Amash and John McCain.
I thought a “moderate” was someone who wasn’t supposed to be to extreme either way. The problem comes when you attempt to identify the definition of “extreme.” What might be extreme to you, might not be to me.
Would be great if such ever happened. While I don’t necessarily agree that the two extra parties would be named “Liberal” and “Conservative,” I think such the two extra parties would need to adapt a more generic name to have broader appeal.
For example, the Greens are really a “progressive” party and I don’t know why they don’t use the name of Progressive rather than Green. Too many people think of the Greens as “tree huggers” and defending the right of certain members of the animal kingdom to live to the disadvantage of people, however “Progressive” is a broader-based term which the present agenda of the Greens would fit into and could work under that label.
The Democrats could split between the ultra extreme liberals who want a godless secular society, and the more moderate Democrats who believe in a god of some type, though not necessarily the God of Jesus Christ. So we could have 5 parties rather than 4.
The Libertarians I believe will eventually become strong enough to be one of these 4 or 5 major parties. The conservatives in the GOP will eventually run the libertarians out of the GOP, and the Libertarians then will have the chance to build on this realignment.
Just wish I wasn’t 70 years old, and could live to see this happen. Assuming the United States doesn’t become a banana republic first, Philip Bump’s theory has a chance in the next 50 years for this to become a reality.
Should have mentioned the Moderates as a party.
Perhaps the D and R parties by that time could be Moderate Parties with a possible unity ticket letter on. Think of England’s Liberal and Social Democrat Parties becoming the Liberal Democrats.
My typo. Make that “later on”.
David:
I don’t think there is such a thing as a “moderate.” While one can be all Liberal or all Conservative, others, like myself, take “liberal” positions on some issues and “conservative” issues on others. Does this make me a “moderate?” How do you measure a “moderate?”
John McCain would be a good example of a Moderate. Moderates support more government and government spending, but still claim to be conservatives. There is a big difference between Justin Amash and John McCain.
I thought a “moderate” was someone who wasn’t supposed to be to extreme either way. The problem comes when you attempt to identify the definition of “extreme.” What might be extreme to you, might not be to me.