2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Has the seed been planted for a new political Party in this country? [View all]Algernon Moncrieff
(5,790 posts)There is the 2016 election -- and I'd love to have as many Sanders supporters as possible join Hillary supporters in the fight against the GOP. But there is also the future. Right now, the left-of-center side of the political spectrum (by which I mean everyone from moderate Democrats to Socialists) is divided pretty much along the same lines that it cleaved along in 2000. The difference is that neither Trump nor Cruz will be able to credibly sell themselves as a moderate in the manner of George W. Bush in 2000.
I think it's time to admit openly that progressive independents and the far left wing of the Democratic party have many views in common with more centrist Democrats (especially on social issues), but that economically we're on different pages, and that even on problems where we agree, we disagree about solutions.
As I said in a post below, the Green Party seems to be a natural home for Sanders supporters who are unhappy with the direction of the party, and after the election, organizing that party for the 2018 midterms should be a goal of Sanders supporters.
I think we should also be honest about something else: whoever gets elected here is likely a one-termer. Statistically, we have not had three consecutive two-full-term Presidents since Jefferson/Madison/Monroe. Not only is the nation severely divided, but both parties are severely divided. After Madison/Jefferson/Monroe, John Quincy Adams served a term, then Jackson served two full terms, and then we had a string of presidents that failed to serve two-full-terms that lasted until U.S. Grant. I think we are on the verge of entering another such period in American politics, and one solution Americans might well see to breaking political gridlock is introducing new parties to the equation.
JMHO.