Let me start right off by stating this post is not to endorse any candidate or discuss my personal beliefs! My intent is to offer some observations as to the state of our Country right now, and how we came to be in this position.
I have seen news articles that indicate up to 60% of our Country has not been happy with the Republican or Democrat nominee this time around. That is a phenomenal amount, and bears some reflection.
The Constitution does not mention political parties. They are just something that evolved rather quickly as our government is "of the people, by the people, for the people" (Gettysburg Address). It was a simple thing for like minded individuals to get together and form parties.
One of the shortcomings of this however, is there have really been only two viable parties, democrats and republicans, which severely limits the playing field.
The Federalist party started in the 1790's and believed in a strong federal government. The Democrat-Republican party started in the early 1800's and believed in a smaller federal footprint.
The Democrat-Republican party became the Democrat party we have today, and believes in a strong federal government, and strong federal control among a host of other beliefs. The Federalist party died around 1816, and the Republican party we know today started in 1854. Its core belief is a limited federal government and local control. Mind you, these two descriptions are horribly simplified for the sake of keeping this writing to a reasonable length!
Scott Conroy of Real Clear Politics wrote in 2013, "For as long as the United States has maintained its two-party system of government, reformers have dreamed of upending the status quo." He continues, "From Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party of 1912 to Ross Perot's 1992 independent run for the White House, a smattering of real contenders in the last century pieced together personality-driven campaigns that threatened to change everything."
Unfortunately, those candidates fell short, and this has never changed. It is a catch-22 situation. Mr. Conroy believes a lot of people like third parties, but don't believe they can win, so end up voting Republican or Democrat. It may be a simplistic answer, but explains very well their lack of success.
So here is a quick review of where we stand:
1) Democrats: They will always get a certain number of electorates based on their big government and progressive agendas. I will not go any further than this as I promised no personal beliefs!
2) Republicans: The leadership has lost their conservative roots after being given the Senate, House, and a majority of the governorships. They have completely turned their backs on those who elected them.
3) Because the Republican leadership disenfranchised their own base, Trump, who has never been a conservative or a Republican to my knowledge ran on the Republican ticket and beat all of their best! I believe this happened because the Republicans, as well as the entire country, is completely fed up with career politicians. I get that!
In summary:
For the Democrats, their party has been fairly consistent in their pursuit of an ever expanding and larger government.
For the Republicans: Their party has fallen apart. I believe there are still a majority of conservatives in the Country, but since the leadership is no longer conservative, there are two questions that must be answered.
1) If Trump wins, will he govern conservatively? Only time will tell. If he does, perhaps the Republican party can be finally fix itself from within and rebuild.
1) If Trump does not govern conservatively, can a third party realistically become a major player for the conservatives to endorse?
Whatever happens, I believe this will be the most pivotal election in our Nation's history. I sure hope we get it right! As my wife said, "Our politics is a reflection of who we are as a people."
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