American politics have always been a messy, throw-it-all-in-the-pot sort of business. <\/p>\n
Because we generally conduct our civic business under the banners of two big parties, those banners come with a lot of baggage.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the Democrats have been burdened by some major creepiness, from the Jim Crow-supporting southern Democrats of the 1950s to the militant-coddling left wing of the party in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Republicans, meanwhile, have been nervous fellow-travelers with racists (David Duke), intolerant religious leaders (Ted Haggard) and wild-eyed conspiracy theorists (Glenn Beck).<\/p>\n
No wonder people yearn for third-party options. <\/p>\n
Not only would more parties give us more options; they would also allow the folks on the fringe to build their own tents.<\/p>\n
But until we evolve into a true, multi-party democracy, this is the game we’re stuck with. Which is why it’s so fascinating to watch the current struggles within both parties.<\/p>\n
You can read a lot about the state of the Republican and Democratic movements by the rebellions both parties are struggling to tamp down. <\/p>\n
The Democratic rebellion is the sort of upheaval common during a time of ascendancy, when the tent has gotten so big that it’s a little hard to know what the party stands for anymore.<\/p>\n
Is this the party of women? Of Blue Dog moderates? Of working class Roman Catholics? What?<\/p>\n
The fault lines are fairly familiar: abortion, taxes, deficits, government regulation, jobs, health care, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. <\/p>\n
The question is whether three utterly different leaders (Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama) can steer the leviathan toward meaningful accomplishment. <\/p>\n
This is why Democrats see accomplishing something — almost anything — on health care reform as an imperative. <\/p>\n
There’s a fear that the whole ponderous coalition could grind to a halt. <\/p>\n
But it’s important to point out that, because of the Democrats’ massive power, the party is accomplishing a lot under the radar, dismantling or rejiggering a decade of Republican control in less than a year.<\/p>\n
Even clumsy power is powerful.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, you have the Republican Party’s tent-match. There, the question isn’t, Who do we allow in? Or, How do we share power among our factions?<\/p>\n
The question for Republicans is, Can a stripped-down, conservative banner carry the day?<\/p>\n
Activists are testing this theory from northern New York to Florida to South Carolina and Utah, where ultra-conservatives are challenging old-fashioned mainstream conservatives.<\/p>\n
National leaders — foremost being Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh — are aggressively rebuking GOP leaders for making too many compromises.<\/p>\n
This month, grassroots leaders in South Carolina voted to censure their veteran Republican Senator Lindsey Graham for cooperating on bipartisan legislation with Democrats.<\/p>\n
“U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham — in the name of bipartisanship — continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
While the Democratic turmoil is a pretty traditional dust-up in American politics, conservative infighting represents a far more dangerous experiment for the GOP.<\/p>\n
It’s possible, of course, that Republicans will emerge as a lean, disciplined and united party, poised to capitalize on Democratic blunders.<\/p>\n
Conservatives are once again testing their conviction that a ‘silent majority’ is waiting eagerly for a true and unambiguous right-of-center message. <\/p>\n
But it’s also possible that the GOP is drifting deeper into the kind of morass that swallowed Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who won only 39% of the vote in 1968.<\/p>\n
A true conservative, Goldwater was trounced and humiliated by that muddled, big-tent moderate Lyndon Johnson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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