Dems are the f*cking worst, part 3
"We need to break up the Democratic Party in order to save it."
My friend Stefan Hankin is back with the last of his three-part series on what the fundamental problems with the Democratic Party are, and how to fix them. In this installment, he makes a modest proposal: break up the party and reverse engineer a coalition government. Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here.
by Stefan Hankin
As the United States and much (if not all) of western Europe continues to struggle with tamping down the fun that is the populist conservative movement, it has become crystal clear that the United States does not have the tools at its disposal to end this insanity. As the white Boomer generation seems hellbent on ending society as we know it on their way out the door, we see the last gasps of a bygone era bubbling up in the form of Brexit, the AfD, Marine LePenn, and yes MAGA. As has been discussed in this newsletter in the past, the GOP has been very adept at using the rules and norms developed by our Founding Fathers to protect the minority view into a system where the minority rules. Our very own American Aparteid has been developing for a while now, and if we do not definitively end this system the US will likely fade into the sunset as an economic and moral world leader.
In just about every western European country, and Canada, the parliamentary system of government creates an opening for a coalition of the non-insane to come together to not only rule the country but do their best to end the madness. The general playbook here is for the center left and center right to come together with a rational left leaning party to create a ruling coalition that can withstand most challenges. This is on display in Germany with the current coalition government (although with a center-left/left/green approach) and in Italy and Canada as well. In France, you get to just start new parties whenever you want and it seems like Macron is going to be rewarded with another term this spring.
If we do not definitively end this system the US will likely fade into the sunset.
This is not to say that a rational coalition brings a quick end to the populist right movements, but it allows countries to keep it in check, and ideally will bring the center-right factions to their senses and understand that the future is not with an ideology that is based on lies, disinformation, and a general desire to not participate in society.
In the United States we are stuck with a two-party system thanks to the outdated Electoral College system (thanks slave states…well done) and with the way we have sorted ourselves in terms of concentrations of liberal and conservative minded citizens. These factors, coupled with how our political boundaries have been drawn, have set the ability to succeed in a Senate or US House race as a third or fourth party candidate at just about zero. Our only real choice for change is to work around the rules in place and back our way into a de facto parliamentary system.
After the 2020 election my hope was that there would be enough Republicans who would recognize the crazy and leave the GOP, caucus with the Democrats, and start moving us down the path of ending the party that feels January 6th was “normal political discourse”. Well egg on my face for thinking that any Republican senator would put country above party. I mean, what the actual fuck Senators Romeny, Murkowski, Toomey? What do you think it going to happen when the GOP takes over the Senate that the Insurrectionists like Howley are going to sit quietly while you try to put a reasonable GOP back together again? As Senator Collins would say…I have concerns.
As former Republican Consultant (and current member of the Lincoln Project) Mike Murphy said, “the Democratic Party is too important to be left to the Democratic Party”. I couldn't agree more. We are the last line of defense between a functioning government and a group of people who seem to take cues on a regular basis from facist dictators of the past (yes we are at the point of book burning and both siding the Holocaust). This is an important task for the Democrats and we have not been up to the task.
Since we know that there will be no help from the few remaining moderate GOP members, and that too many voters are willing to overlook the long term effects for short term potential self gain, we are left with one option: we need to break up the Democratic Party in order to save it and our country. This is a risky approach, but we do not seem to be left with many options given how incapable we are to put the overall good above the individual need for power and attention.
We need to break up the Democratic Party in order to save it.
Similar to the plan for the center right/Democratic coalition discussed in 2020, under this line of thinking we would need to create a multi-party system living within a two-party system. While there are a few iterations of what could happen, the most simplistic is breaking the party into two and forming an immediate coalition similar to the German combination of classic center-left, green, and pro-business progressives. Before the break-up happens an agreement of power share and priorities would need to be decided upon, which could be relatively (emphasis on relative) easy.
For the center-left faction of the Democratic Party, this approach would give them the ability to move forward without having to defend the actions and statements of the more liberal members of the party (think Congressman Ryan running for Senate in Ohio) this party would likely be more regional in the Senate, but much more geographically diverse in the House. This party should NOT take the label “Democrat” allowing the more moderate members to shed a brand that is toxic in too many parts of this country, and also open the door of some of the heads-up-their-ass Republcians in Washington and state capitols to wake the fuck up and leave the party of Trump.
For the liberal faction, an agreement would be needed to meet a few specific and bigger goals. This certainly could include items such as universal health coverage, a tightening wealth gap, and increased economic and physical security. As stated back in November of 2020, the methods used to achieve these goals might not be exactly what the left would like, but if the goals are met, it is tough to argue against. It also frees up liberal candidates to not have to spend as much time defending, or explaining, the actions of Senators Sienema or Manchin and allows the faction to hold more clout in internal negotiations.
Ultimately where this puts us is an agreement around some big, and popular, wins: universal health coverage, re-structuring our social safety net, protecting the environment, committing to an electric vehicle infrastructure, and increasing the ability for US companies to succeed by breaking up tech monopolies, simplifying the tax code, modernizing our patent system, and making the American worker more marketable both domestically and across the globe.
These issues not only are politically expedient but put our country on firmer footing for moving forward in our global economy. We would move the focus away from protecting companies to protecting individuals. This not only would put Americans of all economic levels in a better place (a huge win for the left) but would also make American companies more competitive (a huge win for the center-left), and a definitive movement to a non-combustion engine future (a win for our non-existent Green Party).
More tricky is that in the near term there would have to be agreement that both parties would run only against each other in the primary unless there is an automatic runoff system like in Maine. Since parties get to decide the rules of their own primaries this might be easier than it sounds. The center-left would start a new party, as would the left. The Democratic Party would remain as a vehicle only to hold elections and they change the rules to open their primaries only to members of the two new parties (cue lawyer friends to email me how wrong this is). At the end of the day the key is controlling both chambers of Congress and by running against ourselves it would be impossible to win a majority in either the House or the Senate.
Total pipe dream? Probably.
Next, for the 2024 Presidential election, and likely 2028, the power share would continue with the presidential candidate coming from one faction and the vice president coming from a counterpart. There are two ways this could be done, either both factions running candidates in one primary or an agreement of a power sharing structure where each faction holds their own primary and in 2024 the Presidential candidate comes from one faction and the Vice President from the other. Similar to parliamentary systems there would also be negotiations around cabinet positions. Then in 2028 the leadership would swap with the President becoming the VP and VP President.
Total pipe dream? Probably. But the fact is we are on the back slide of our democracy and big gambles are needed. We are a party that is unable to win in its current form, and we are stuck with a party across the aisle that is either batshit crazy or too scared or too delusional to do anything about taking the party away from the MAGA believers. The Founding Fathers created a system designed for longevity, but that system assumes that the two parties will both agree on the idea that the country comes first. The tools put in place were based on a world that no longer exists and the minority in our government and our nation has used the system to protect their power over the majority. The checks that were put in place: the judicial branch, impeachment, and even electors with the ability to not put an unqualified authoritarian in office have either been co opted or ignored.
Our goal is to move forward together, to put an end to Trumpism, and to position the United States as a world leader for the next century. The GOP has proved themselves unwilling to help save our country, it is up to the Democratic party to change our trajectory. In a new twist to President Lincoln’s statement a house divided might be our last chance.
Stefan Hankin is the Founder and President of Lincoln Park Strategies. Stefan has nearly two decades of experience in market research, data analytics, communications strategy, and public opinion polling and analysis for clients that range from America’s Promise to the City of Los Angeles to Raytheon to the Southern Environmental Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @LPStrategies.
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