“Neither political party is clean when it comes to tactics that divide our people.” - Roy Barnes
In the wake of the 2016 election, when Democrats voted Republican, Republicans voted Democrat and some voted for no one at all, there has never before been such concern for the inevitable demise of the two-party system. According to some, the Republican Party has been on its deathbed for years now, failing to appeal to minorities, women and young people. Yet the Democrats were the ones on the outside staring in when the dust had settled. With both parties in turmoil, what is the future for each party and will there be an opportunity for a third party to become a legitimate player at the presidential election table?
Even though the Republicans are the governing party right now, they are not functioning as a united body. Controlling the House, the Senate and the presidency has not led to any legislative victories. In fact, it has divided an already fragile body even further. The House Freedom Caucus leads the far right Tea Party faction, which advocates for pure ideological conservatism. However, there is a growing gap between this body and the moderate Republicans, who are more socially liberal and focus on economic conservatism. The divide between these two groups has prevented a replacement bill for Obamacare from getting passed and could lead to a government shutdown in the near future. Despite its victory, the Republican Party’s mistake is that it has failed definitively determine which of these two groups it will identify with. Instead it has, with limited success, tried to shoehorn both groups into the picture.
The Democratic Party has had to deal with a major divide of its own, exposed by the 2016 Democratic primaries. The dual candidacies of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton forced the Democrats to deal with the rift between the progressive and neoliberal wings of their party. The far left continually pushed back against the center left and was a main reason for the lack of party unity that hurt Secretary Clinton in the general election. Even in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, when it ostensibly should be easiest for Democrats to unite, the Bernie/Hillary divide still plagues the party. Like the Republican party, the Democratic party needs to choose a side to coalesce around instead of pretending like it can cater to both wings and satisfy neither of them.
The turmoil of the two-party system has led to questions of whether a third party can be a contender in elections. In the last election, the Libertarian Party made itself known as the highest profile alternative to the two main parties. However, a combination of poor funding, low media attention and some ill-timed gaffes prevented Gary Johnson from progressing in the race. Because of Trump’s election, libertarians may now have a following among the socially liberal and economically conservative, but it will be hard to sustain the money flow needed for campaign success. The critical requirement that was missing in the 2016 election is that any third party candidate must have the adequate funding and name recognition necessary to succeed. However, the disarray in the two major parties has cracked the door open on an opportunity for any third party that is willing to take it.
