No one wants to save the Republican Party. Or the Democratic Party. Stop trying!
We've turned our attention to the Republican nominating process. One analysis of the situation from the Washington Post this morning summarizes the situation thusly:
Recall that we've had Trump- and Sanders-like candidates in every election campaign since the 50's and Adlai Stevenson (and smart, principled Norman Thomas ran in six consecutive presidential elections as a socialist beginning in 1928). None of them resonated or received more than 10% support. Now Sanders is winning close to 50% of the actual votes, and Trump against a crowded field has 37%. Strong showing guys (though, sorry, if Norman Thomas were still alive and running, he'd clobber Bernie and Donald because he was better at it than they are).
So why are Trump and Sanders the real winners? Both of them have managed to not get sucked down the waste disposal system of party politics, at least compared to 100% of their peers (recall that over 30% of our sitting US senators have never once voted outside of party lines. U.S. senators are not smart people. They're spam in a can, to paraphrase Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff.)
Bernie and Donald are winning because no one wants our stupid political parties. Save them? Don't make me laugh. How about disbanding them now, please. Dump the primary system, the cronyism, etc. Let's elect some one who thinks for themselves. How thrilling would that be. Sorry Hillary and Ted. You two are not on this list.
All of this should be very worrisome for Republicans still hoping to win the White House in November. If you follow the Trump logic, there are only two options: (1) He wins on the first ballot and is the party's nominee, or (2) he loses on the first ballot and does everything he can to cast the process as fixed and non-democratic. Option 1 is a problem because Trump runs badly behind Hillary Clinton not only in the head-to-head polling matchups but also among key subgroups such as married women. Option 2 may be an even bigger problem because it opens the door to some sort of third-party bid for Trump. Even if Trump doesn't or can't mount a serious independent bid, he would almost certainly be an unhelpful agitator against the Republican nominee (presumably Cruz).I don't disagree with the analysis here, but like comments from the RNC, the Cruz campaign, and others, it misses the point as to why Trump and Sanders are even contenders now.
Recall that we've had Trump- and Sanders-like candidates in every election campaign since the 50's and Adlai Stevenson (and smart, principled Norman Thomas ran in six consecutive presidential elections as a socialist beginning in 1928). None of them resonated or received more than 10% support. Now Sanders is winning close to 50% of the actual votes, and Trump against a crowded field has 37%. Strong showing guys (though, sorry, if Norman Thomas were still alive and running, he'd clobber Bernie and Donald because he was better at it than they are).
So why are Trump and Sanders the real winners? Both of them have managed to not get sucked down the waste disposal system of party politics, at least compared to 100% of their peers (recall that over 30% of our sitting US senators have never once voted outside of party lines. U.S. senators are not smart people. They're spam in a can, to paraphrase Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff.)
Bernie and Donald are winning because no one wants our stupid political parties. Save them? Don't make me laugh. How about disbanding them now, please. Dump the primary system, the cronyism, etc. Let's elect some one who thinks for themselves. How thrilling would that be. Sorry Hillary and Ted. You two are not on this list.
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