America has been in the throes of a partisan political war for at least two decades. Over the last ten years, since the first ascension of Donald Trump to the throne in Washington, the partisanship and the disdain for political opponents has grown even worse. With MAGA and America First mantras, chanting and gear, the division between left and right has sharpened even further. And the progressive movement on the left led by AOC, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders has only amplified the divisions and heightened partisanship.
Though the majority of Americans appear to be centrist and moderate, perhaps leaning to the left or right, they have little political power with the two parties dominated by extremists. The recent elections of Democratic Socialist Katie Wilson as Mayor of Seattle and Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York reinforces the strength of the far left in the Democratic Party as does Trump’s dominance on the far right of the GOP. Where is the home for the centrists and moderates in America?
Trump was elected in spite of the riots of January 6, 2021, that he instigated and his rule during his first term. January 6 was an attempt at a coup by Trump asking his VP Mike Pence, who was head of the Senate, to count the Electoral College votes in Trump’s favor. He also asked officials in Georgia and several other states to find votes for him that would put him over the top and make him president again. But they all refused to go against the Constitution.
Because of Biden’s dementia and unwillingness to leave the 2024 presidential race, the Democrats had no time for a primary to pick a candidate and Kamala Harris was sort of anointed by the Democratic National Committee to fill the role. She was a weak candidate and many people voted for Trump as the lesser of two evils in spite of his sparking the riots and trying to steal the previous election. Now they’re finding out that Trump might not have been the lesser of two evils. And the Republicans control all the branches of government, the presidency, the Supreme Court, and both Houses of Congress.
During the election campaign, Trump emphasized the danger of criminal immigrants in the U.S. and the surge of crime in general. Actually, crime statistics were already down, and on a per capita basis, immigrants were less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. However, the Republican Party was better organized than the Democrats and more adept at the use of social media, which was a big factor in the 2024 election. And Trump was better at delivering a strong message at rallies and in advertisements describing the way he was going to make America stronger, tame inflation and bring jobs back to the country. But he has not been successful yet, alienating our allies and failing domestically. Though Trump and the Republican approval rates have been falling, there are still many Americans who believe Trump’s rants and see him as Americas’ savior.
A centrist political party (The American Party?) with smart young people dispensing its message could change the political landscape dramatically and in a positive direction. Past attempts at third parties have been unsuccessful in attaining power on several occasions. But America has a new situation that has not existed in the past. First of all, with social media, a new party would have no difficulty getting its message out to the majority of the population. If the party could attain sponsorship from one or two wealthy people plus the grassroots, it would be able to compete with the current extremist parties on a financial basis and in terms of messaging. Americans would be told the unvarnished facts with the reasons why a centrist party is needed to refloat the American ship of state. Politicians and government officials who were believed honest and forthright would be invited to join the new party along with the millions of Americans who feel dispossessed.
We need to have a constrained capitalist democracy with limits placed on accumulated wealth through sensible graduated taxes to pay off our national debt. We need candidates who are not controlled by big money or technology and are open-minded. We want centrist pragmatists who are not wedded to a particular ideology, but able to adapt when necessary. If this bold step forward is to be taken, it should be done soon, while the extreme left and right are still in power and not temporarily replaced by a shadow government.
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Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020