A government of the party, by the party, for the party
“There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.” - Alexis de Tocqueville
The Gettysburg Address is, in my opinion, the greatest two minutes in oratory history. That crescendo through the final paragraph—comparing what the soldiers fought for to what we the living must resolve to do—that ends with the mantra: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Iconic.
Unfortunately, Mr. Lincoln, that government has perished. What remains a government of the party, by the party, for the party.
“Of the party”
Elections are synonymous with political parties. It’s probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “election”: Republicans vs. Democrats. Although the Founders certainly didn’t intend to create political parties, a two-party system is the inevitable result of our electoral structure. And since our choice of candidates are filtered through political parties, not only do elections screen out candidates we could all agree on, but it enables extremists to seize control.
Elections ensure the dominance of political parties in forming our government. Candidates are nominated through the primary system, leaving as options in the general election only candidates that are party approved. How often are independents, which make up the biggest segment of the population, forced to choose between the lesser of two evils?
Even those who belong to a party occasionally feel they must plug their nose and vote for the party-approved candidate. In fact, a recent survey by FiveThirtyEight reveals that Americans don’t want either party to govern. Only 31% of Americans (and 69% of Democrats!) believe the Democrats should govern the next two years, while only 28% of Americans (and only 67% of Republicans!) believe the same for Republicans.
The end result is a winner that appeals to a portion of a particular party rather than the general public, and a legislative body that looks nothing like the population. That same FiveThirtyEight survey shows that only 15% of voters believe they have many good options this midterm, and nearly half say they have few good options.
That hardly amounts to a government “of the people.”
Even more concerning than screening out good candidates is the ability of parties to elevate bad ones. Political extremism is a rising concern—second only to inflation. The source of that extremism? You guessed it. Elections empower extremists. Through elections, a small, extreme minority of the population can take control. With a political party making up only 30% of the population, a mere 15% forms a majority of the party—and most candidates need even less than that to secure the nomination.
What a terrifying thought. Think of the damage that an extremist group, comprising of roughly 10% of the population, could inflict when it gains power. Elections are one of the few tools that could get them there—and perhaps the only one that does not require the use of force. Lest we forget: many dictators throughout history were elected.
If we can have elections without democracy, perhaps it’s time we try democracy without elections.
A government of the party, by the party, for the party
Ya, the two party system does have some unfortunate side affects as you describe here. There are some other governments that have a multi-party system. I worked in the Scottish parliament while I was in college and got to experience that first hand. It definitely gives people some
More variety at the polls, for example you can vote for the conservative, liberal, lib dems, green and nationalist parties. But it still has the issue of making people pick someone that the party has vetted and approved as best promoting their platform.
One thing about a two party system that I like is that the parties are forced to figure out how they are going to handle the right and left wings by adopting some of their policies… thinking of the tea party and of the Ron Paul libertarians that mostly vote with the republicans in the US. So practically, you go to the polls and probably vote republican of you support their causes. So ya, it dilutes the representation in congress of those folks, but it also makes it easier to vote, because let’s be honest, even when I do read and study the candidates before I go to the polls, it’s hard to cut through the crap and separate candidate from party platform. Most voters don’t take the time to do that so voting along left lines does make it possible to keep the government running when the populace is disengaged and disenchanted from politics.