Like a lot of Americans, I've often wished we could break loose from the 'two party' paradigm and get some other options. But, since before the start of the 20th Century, we've been stuck with the Democrats and Republicans. Sure... Other parties and Independents run. But they're never taken seriously, and become literal 'also rans'.
But, historically, we actually haven't been stuck with the SAME two parties. The names have been retained, but the parties have been substantially redefined from time to time.
After the War Between the States, the then-upstart Republican Party enjoyed a long period of dominance. Originally socially progressive, and inclined toward centralization of government authority.
A sort of messy consolidation and redefinition of the Democratic Party came in the 1960s. The campaign of Northeastern liberal (by the standards of the time) Yankee Democrat John Kennedy needed the Southern Democrats on-board for the Presidential Election, which was a tough sell with them being almost diametrically opposed to him on social issues. So they put Good Ol' Boy Texas Democrat LBJ on the ticket as VP. He quickly realized that, instead of suppressing the Black vote, as Southern Democrats had been doing since Reconstruction, they should be encouraging it so the Democrats could essentially buy these votes on the cheap.
While Johnson did embrace pandering to the Black vote and championed socialist programs, he was swayed to indulge the Military Industrial Complex in Indochina, and this bit him in the arse. He went from winning a massive landslide in his 1964 Presidential election to having dismal approval numbers by late in his term. He opted not to seek re-election, which lead to a veritable train wreck of a Democratic National Convention. And, ultimately, the election of a Republican President. (Nixon.)
You'd think that the chaos of the '60s would have left the Democrats in tatters... But, having shed some of their more conservative players in the fracas, they emerged as a largely re-imagined entity.
The party of segregation and social conservatism became the home party for Blacks and minorities in general, as well as feminism and homosexual activism.
The party which got the US into WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam somehow became identified with hippies, peace, and love.
The party which had advocated State sovereignty now supported the Federal Government having authority over almost everything.
Basically, they'd co-opted the Republican positions on most issues and become an effective (albeit originally moderate) Marxist power-mongering machine.
The Republicans found themselves in the role of anti-Marxists... But they didn't want to be labelled troglodytes or accused of reviving McCarthyism, so they eventually wound-up being defined as slightly less Marxist than the Democrats, and ultimately just token opposition. RINOs... Republican In Name Only.
This was a comfortable arrangement. The Democrats constantly moved to the Left. First gradually, but accelerating as they went. This endeared them to the radicals, malcontents, and criminals, while scaring conservative Americans into supporting Republicans, who seemed to at least be trying to tap the brakes on the race to Communism.
By the start of the 21st Century, the pretense of the two party system was failing. Democrats and Republicans were virtually indistinguishable from one-another, policy-wise. By 2008, to regain some semblance of relevance, the Democrats went to DEI candidates. The Republicans, terrified of offending anyone, let the first 'Black' Democrat presidential nominee run effectively unopposed to two victories.
The parties were going to continue the same ploy in 2016, with the Republicans taking a dive for the new Democrat DEI nominee. But Americans were getting fed-up by that point. Famous, charismatic, billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump hit the scene as a populist newcomer. He figuratively kicked over the tables of the GOP primary season and became the nominee, much to the Establishment's chagrin. And, despite lack of support from the Republican Party higher-ups, he gloriously won the Presidency.
Funny thing is that Trump, objectively speaking, is a political 'moderate'. Many of his positions are fairly close to those stated by recent Democrat Presidents. But, because he's the straight, White MAN who denied the 'feminists' the coronation of Queen Hillary as the first woman President, the Democrats developed TDS: Trump Derangement Syndrome. Irrationally hating and opposing Trump, even when doing so was self-destructive, became the mission of the Democratic Party. (Assisted by a considerable number of RINOs.)
Despite the blind obstructionism, Trump managed to have three successful years. Shrugging-off idiotic attempts to scandalize and impeach him, he managed to get the economy back on-track, including manufacturing, which his predecessor had declared a lost cause. He got illegal immigration dialed way down. He negotiated peace agreements around the world.
As election year 2020 rolled-in, the TDS Democrats (and RINO allies) were getting desperate. They pulled out all the stops, willing to literally burn a good part of America to the ground to make Trump look bad before the election. Shut down the booming US economy and inflicted misery on Americans wherever they could. All to make it seem plausible that disgruntled Americans would vote-out an incumbent President whose actual popularity had grown considerably since he was elected. (He GAINED over 11 Million votes over his term according to the official count.)
Whether by hook or crook, the TDS Democrats managed to beat Trump in 2020. But that seemed to be the apogee of their capabilities.
The Democrat Administration aggressively pushed their Marxist agenda, oblivious to its harmful effects on the country and most of its people. (Trendy academics and Hollyweirdos were impressed though.)
Even with the Bad Orange Man defeated and fading away, they couldn't move beyond their TDS, even as their blatant lawfare attacks on Trump started backfiring on them.
Meanwhile, the GOP was fragmented. The old guard Neocon RINOs had been exposed as Uniparty shills. The new faction of Republicans espousing Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) philosophy were casting-about for a new front-man...
Then ol' Trump came back. The Democrats didn't seem to understand that the Orange SOB was fueled by TDS venom. They impeached him twice. Threw dozens of bogus civil and criminal charges at him in every jurisdiction Lefty enough to hear the cases with DEI prosecutors dimwitted enough to file them. They tried to sway the GOP primaries against him in favor of a Neocon alternative. They assigned cut-rate security and let him GET SHOT. And he just kept shrugging it off and getting stronger.
Perhaps more importantly, he started building a MAGA coalition. A team of political Superfriends. An all-American, young, sharp-as-a-tack USMC vet with hillbilly cred for VP. A brilliant, young, former Democrat Congresswoman and Presidential candidate with legit military cred. An even younger, and possibly more brilliant business wunderkind of Hindu Indian descent who'd been an early competitor in the 2024 GOP primaries... And, perhaps most stunning of all, former Democrat, then Independent Presidential candidate, heir to the legendary Kennedy political legacy, RFK, Jr. suspended his own campaign to join forces with MAGA. And, as if that weren't enough, super-billionaire (literal richest man on Earth), rocket-man, and destined God-Emperor of Barsoom Elon Musk enthusiastically came on board. All these augmented by first-term Trump allies like Dr. Ben Carson, Kayleigh McEnany, and others...
And here's where the Democrats' TDS blinders and DEI policies derailed them. When circumstances stuck them with an incoherent, shambling, geriatric, White, male mummy as nominee in 2020, they had to offset him with a 'woman of color'. They grabbed the first one handy, without noticing that she was a borderline-retarded psychopath. Too busy figuring out ways to 'fortify' a Trump defeat to worry about developing a strong President/VP ticket on their side.
By 2024, the Weekend At Bernie's skit with Biden had worn thin, and all attempts to torpedo Trump had failed, so they were going to have to actually compete with him for the White House. So, despite Biden having been allowed to sweep the DNC primaries and clench the nomination, a palace coup forced him to step down as Nominee... But the old goat got the last laugh by endorsing his cackling idiot of a VP in his stead.
So it was Trump leading a veritable platoon of positivity against the weakest link of a failed Administration who had nothing but TDS and questionable 'celebrity' endorsements going for her.
Even the Amish, who have built a generations-old lifestyle out of minding their own damned business, came out in droves for Trump.
MAGA has redefined the Republican Party. Pushing-aside the warmongering Neocons and sellout RINOs. (It is interesting watching the smarter and more politically nimble holdovers from the pre-MAGA GOP adjust.) The new version of the GOP is about getting actual results on issues that were formerly just lip-serviced, without cowering and backing-down every time somebody screams false claims of "racism", "misogyny", "homophobia", etc.
Now what becomes of the Democratic Party? Decades of no real opposition from the RINOs left them racing each-other Left until they shot right past rationality without even seeing the sign posts. It appears that, as the older players remaining in the party have been slipping into senility and/or struggling to appear 'with-it' with new generations, the younger ranks have been filled-out by poorly vetted DEI hires who think they win by being the most Woke, rather than actually accomplishing anything.
Once they realize that lopping off their hair and having screaming toddler temper tantrums on Instagram or TikTok isn't going to get them anywhere, perhaps they'll step back and realize that, just maybe, they are the ones who've run off the rails. But that is a lot to expect from people who've rarely been constrained by reality.
To be relevant, the Democrats are going to have to move back toward the center. Which (horror of horrors) means becoming MAGA-light. But that would require political finesse we haven't seen from Democrats since Bill Clinton's days.
But they'll have to come up with something. DEI isn't going to be much of a sell as MAGA is happy to welcome the best and brightest people, including those with all levels of melanin and without regard to gender. Continuing to hire incompetent leftovers because they check the right affirmative action boxes will not build a winning team... And DTS isn't going to be very useful after Trump gets through another term without stuffing anyone into concentration camps or having women shackled barefoot into kitchens, then rides off into the sunset.
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