Can The Democrats Recover From Their Internal Divide

The short answer is no. America’s two-party system of government has existed since its inception, starting with the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The early thinking was to have two major parties that could debate and compromise to serve the people better. The thought was that having more parties and introducing too many views would be counterproductive, and we have seen how that can disrupt the process when someone like Ross Perot makes a serious run for the Presidency. There is little chance of a successful third-party challenge, but it can significantly cut into the support of one of the major parties and influence the election. The machine built by the Democrat and Republican Parties is far too big to allow a threat from anyone on a third rail. Andrew Wang, who ran for President as a Democrat, is the latest to attempt to form a third party. Even with his money, his chances for success are minuscule.

The two-party system, however, is not cast in stone. The current two parties have been evolving significantly over the last century to the point where they have actually flipped their platforms completely and have little connection to what they stood for fifty or sixty years ago. Thus, the terms “not your father’s Republican Party” and “these are not Kennedy Democrats” came to describe the current landscape. Many will say that Trump has reinvented the Republican Party since 2015 and that Obama reworked the Democrats since 2007. The parties continue to evolve, and the Democrat Party appears to be imploding, and nobody is sure of what will come out of the rubble.

The Radical or Far-Left wing of the Democrats is the product of the Obama years. These are people who grew up under his influence and were indoctrinated by our education system or had come to America from other countries and, rather than assimilate, joined the radical movement. Unfortunately, these people do not have a better or different view of how to make America better. They despise America and its history and want to tear it down. The divide in the Democrat party has been widening, and the battle over the Continuing Resolution this week may have been the final wedge to break them apart and bring the Party down. Both sides are pointing their fingers at Donald Trump as the reason, but they should be looking in the mirror for the cause. The Democrats have lost a unified direction and have no true leader to hold them together. They have become the Party of dissent and noise, relying on protests, demonstrations, and complicit media to push their causes rather than representation and legislation. They are no longer for anything but are against Donald Trump. Unfortunately for them, the majority of people are pulling for Trump and the MAGA version of Republicans to guide us forward. Demographics that were Democrat strongholds, like Blacks, Browns, young men, and women, came out for Trump.

This week, the continuing resolution to keep the government funded for the next six months was a battle between Republicans and Democrats. The question was which party would be responsible for shutting down the government. It did not happen. In a remarkable move that nobody could see coming, especially the rest of his Party, Chuck Schumer announced he would support the CR, setting off a wildfire on the Left. Attacks on Schumer came from Sandy Cortez and Nancy Pelosi, showing the widespread condemnation. Not a soul believes Schumer’s explanation that a shutdown would have given Trump unfettered power and the CR was a lesser of two evils. I don’t think Schumer believes Schumer.

Schumer brought eight other senators with him. Some, like Jeanne Shaheen, are retiring, but party members are now targeting the others. This Party is dead, and until they regroup and learn to communicate with their constituents, they will stay in the minority for the foreseeable future.