The Two Party System
“There is nothing I dread so much as the division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our constitution.” John Adams, 1780
When I was speaking with some close friends about running for office, many of them told me to run as a Democrat or a Republican. They knew my beliefs, my values and nearly all of them agreed with my platform. But when it came to running as a third party candidate, they disagreed.
“Don’t you want to win?”one of my friends asked.
Of course I want to win.
“If your goal is to change the way government works then you need to run as a Democrat or a Republican,”another friend told me. “Third parties don’t win. And if you don’t win then you can’t change anything”
While my friends all made excellent points, I still respectfully disagreed with them. At the end of the day, I’m not a Democrat and I’m not a Republican. I think both parties have some great ideas and both parties have had some inspirational leaders that I admire for all kinds of reasons – even if I disagree with their political ideology.
While the two party system may have worked for a time, what it has grown into is gridlocked mess. Each side has the wonderful excuse of blaming the other side for any shortcomings or failures. This mindset has actually trickled all the way down to the voters! We are now fighting amongst ourselves and we are doing so to justify corrupt politicians who no longer vote on the principles that they were elected on.
Elections have become a race to discredit the other side. Politicians are tearing each other down to prove “I’m not as bad as the other guy!” There is no more accountability in government. Politicians can do as they please as long as their party is in power.
Every so often a Republican candidate gets replaced with a Democratic candidate, or vice versa. As long as the people keep fighting, the power of the government keeps expanding and the rights of the people keep eroding.
I don’t pretend to know the answer to all our problems. But I do know the answer to the two-party system is to start voting for third party candidates. I find they are often the most genuine and well intentioned candidates. Most are running with very limited funding with the majority of donations coming from friends and family. Meanwhile, the two powerful parties are backed by lobbyists, mega donors or any number of outside interest groups.
It is time to start the healing in Missouri. We have the potential to grow into a state that others will look to as an example of what they should do. It’s time we let go of the two-party system and start holding individual politicians accountable for their actions or inaction – regardless of what party they belong to.
The news always makes a big deal about when a seat flips from one major party to the other. They talk about the message it sends to that party. If Missouri were to elect a third party candidate, think of the message it would send to the entire establishment.