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Time to shake up the political system

By Tom Allon

Now that the drama of the campaigns and the post-election analysis is finally sinking in, it seems our country — and our state — are at a crucial crossroads, a “tipping point” perhaps.

I think the political rancor and polarization that first started two decades ago in Washington with the “Gingrich revolution” has now reached a tipping point. The red state vs. blue state mentality has divided us in ways this country has not been divided since the Civil War.

The Democratic and Republican parties are at fault for perpetuating this self-defeating blood rivalry. In a “zero sum” game in Congress and in-state legislatures around the country, we have witnessed the debasement of civil discourse and lost sight of the fact that public servants should be reaching across party lines for the betterment of society.

Our two-party system, for so long a tidy way to pigeonhole people together despite their likely disagreement on a number of issues, is an archaic device that should be banished in an age where nuance and a diversity of views and interests are flourishing.

As soon as someone identifies themselves as a Democrat or a Republican, most people quickly typecast them as “liberal” or “conservative” and makes assumptions about all the beliefs held by that person based on the extreme elements of their party. But aren’t there Democrats who believe in fiscal conservatism and aren’t there pro-choice Republicans? There are, but our system doesn’t account for “Purple People.”

Encouraging the rise of a strong third and even fourth party might ease the gridlock and make for a more informed and well-rounded electorate.

But our country has had a spotty history with third parties. Third-party presidential candidates such as Theodore Roosevelt in the early 20th century and Ross Perot in the 1990s have had a marginal impact.

Is the moment right now for the creation of a third party where disaffected Democrats and Republicans can seek a new home and that will have a broad enough appeal to one day be considered a viable alternative to the two major parties?

It will take a lot of hard work, smart organizing, and probably significant fund-raising to make his happen. A third party that could act as a bridge to both Democrats and Republican would have to be committed to new ideas, pragmatic solutions not based on old ideologies, and bipartisan reform. It also would force both major parties to think less about how they can obstruct the other party or how the elected leaders of the two major parties position themselves to win an election.

Speaking of elections, this third party should advocate for sensible reforms of our voting system and of how we select our leaders as part of its effort to make government function again. Eliminating the Electoral College for picking presidents, making early and online voting a priority to increase turnout, increasing the terms of Congress members and state legislators to four years, and increasing campaign finance reforms such as matching funds for small donations are just a few that would go a long way to fixing our built-in dysfunction. How about a small tax credit to every voter each year? That might ensure high turnout.

Imagine if presidential elections were based on pure voting tallies, so that the people that live in the 40 or so “non-swing states” would be motivated to vote for our president? Imagine if instead of spending 40 percent of their time raising funds, our Congress members could focus on listening to their constituents’ needs and actually crafting and passing smart legislation? Imagine if 75 to 80 percent of eligible voters actually voted (online or by snail mail) so that our leaders really had a mandate to lead? Imagine if our leaders did not listen disproportionately to the interests of their large donors and focused on the needs of the many and not the few.