Two party politics in America, sustainable or not

Where have all the American Conservatives gone and who cares

This is part two of a mini series looking at the two-party system in the USA. Part one can be found here

Future of the two-party system

In a 2013 article in the “National Journal,” Dartmouth government Assistant Professor Brendan Nyhan chides media pundits for predicting the rise and/or popularity of third-party political candidates in which Ron Fournier responded to Nyhan saying, “[He] accused me last week of issuing ‘hyperbolic warnings’ about how social change and disillusioned voters threaten the two-party system. I plead guilty.”

Rather than proving Nyhan’s point, Fournier writes, that no threat to the two-party system exists; however, insurgent campaigns like Ross Perot and Pat Buchanon were indications that the political establishment had been in jeopardy for years.

Furthermore, Nicco Mele, a Harvard Kennedy School professor who worked for Howard Dean during his short run and on Barack Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign, said the president advanced the case against institutional politics when he defeated Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic nomination. “Obama's win was just the beginning. Changes in the accessibility of information and the ability to quickly organized people to solve complex problems are leading to shifts in the distribution of power.”  

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If President Obama’s victory was the harbinger of change, shifts toward a new message representing the American people are being continued by Democrats with Sen. Bernie Sanders leading the charge leaving the Republican Party fractured and grappling to retain an archaic social and political platform rejected by many Americans.

The “medium is the message”

Marshall McLuhan wrote in “Understanding Media” that the “medium” is defined in a broad sense. A newspaper, television, radio etc. have a social effect by creating a space for debate illuminating darkness; moreover, a medium without challenging content and space is stagnant, but “a light bulb creates an environment by its mere presence.”   

This premise can also be applied to political parties as Democrats create “space” for change and debate challenging the stagnation of conservatism for everything thing from discounting trickle-down economics, enlightened views on immigration, and embracing marriage equality.

Changes that occur over time tend to be discounted like the incremental political pulse of the nation rising out of the ashes of Reaganomics to become increasingly liberal and progressive, which some at their peril ignore as insignificant or episodic.  Forward thinking individuals know change in society and culture represents a new message is being spread on the ground—sometimes hidden in plain sight. Sen. Bernie Sanders--among other liberals--is the embodiment of an authentic, populist message reflecting an emerging cultural pivot to tolerance, compassion for the least advantaged, and genuine concern for the working classes.

McLuhan said, “Control over change would seem to consist in moving not with it but ahead of it. Anticipation gives the power to deflect and control force.”

“Moving ahead of change” is the guiding political principle for the future. Reactionary conservatism exemplified by the tea party will eventually fade away as archaic and not a viable political or social construct responsive to the ideals for the majority of Americans. If the Republican Party continues to rely on a conservative message, Americans will stop listening.    

Additional Resources
National Journal
US History
http://www.people-press.org/files/legacy-pdf/06-21-12%20Voter%20Attitudes.pdf
http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthemessage.htm