Yesterday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries invited the newly winning NY Democratic Socialists into the Democratic Party, just as Democrats have included Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders in their Congressional caucus, even though most in the Democrats' House caucus do not share the anti-capitalist and one-class-of-workers rhetoric and ideology of the Democratic Socialists. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/jeffries-welcomes-democratic-socialists-fold-194230441.html How did that happen ? Does it mean the Democratic Party embraces socialism, hook, line, and sinker? No. It has to do with reality: strength in numbers is a necessity, and a big ten strategy that dominates both parties. What Democrats and Social Democrats do share are the issues of "affordability" and anti-oligarchy.
As Democrats now wrestle with the growing strength of the Democratic Socialist wing's rise in New York and the GOP barely disguises its White Christian Nationlist fascist like wing, voters are more and more divided into warring two political parties with each claiming the other has been taken over by wings to be feared. The reality is that there has already been a two-party system in the US that forces compromise, exclusion, and inclusion within the US politics. It is reflected in both elections and the makeup of caucus structures in Congress and state legislatures. Independents, or those who identify with Democratic Socialism on the left and libertarians on the right, pick the caucus of one of the two major parties in Congress that most closely represents their ideology or issue positions, even though only a fraction of their preferences are accepted. The result is what we see now: the term "socialist," which used to scare more establishment Democrats and most voters, is no longer freaking out most New York voters, though that might not be true in the rest of the country. What happened in NY could stay in NY, but probably not, because of a growing revolt against the GOP being the party of oligarchs and big business who care little about the kitchen table needs of working people and even the middle class.
The GOP is grappling with a wannabe autocrat who seems not to care a whit about their lower-class voters and who relishes branding the other party and their constituents as undesirables. Trump is still in power and governs by whipping self-identified members into loyal occupants of his Trumpist tent. He does it by threats of being primaried if they are not loyal 100% on every issue their leading MAGA faction leader demands. On the other side of the aisle, the old joke is still applicable: "I do not belong to an organized party. I am a Democrat."...but since numbers of votes count as a measure of strength and the road to power, they too invite all they can into their big tent, even if they have to hold their noses at the word socialist. What has happened is that the traditional Democratic Party leaders now realize these socialists were onto a winning message: affordability. The result is yesterday, as the Democratic House minority leader invited Democratic Socialists into their caucus, even though most already there do not embrace the anti-capitalist rhetoric or ideology of the Democratic Socialists.
Our founders did not plan it that way and, in fact, viewed political parties as a threat to the system they envisioned in the Constitution they were constructing. Political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, but arose as liberals and conservatives consolidated their power with organizations and names, under the banner and protection of the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and the freedom to gather to air their grievances.
Two parties have dominated throughout our history, but they have frequently changed names and even reversed political ideology, even changing places, particularly in the wake of the Civil War. Their institutionalization can be found in the politics of individual states, protected by their own statutes and issues of gerrymandering, and the details of when and where and who qualifies to be on a ballot. Most voters like it simple and, if not very engaged in political news, check the box for the party's choice in general elections. Splinter parties, third parties, have a difficulty of even gathering enough votes to be a part of the power structure and how to influence the direction of the country, or enven getting parts of their platform enacted into law, with the only route to be heard and to convince one or other party, Democrat or Republican, so they battle it out within the parties, and during the primary season, and political conventions..
There are no party membership cards; it is a matter of self-identification and of whether the party's leaders reach out to include them. There is a matter of reality, that in close partisan elections, every vote counts, and even the leadership has to welcome them as they hold their noses. The result is the big tent: the bottom line in Congress and in primaries and general elections is which party gets the most votes. In short, there is strength in numbers in a democracy. It is a necessity. Fractions can only find their voice by joining a major party and making their case within it. From the perspective of the major party, the pressure is to be as big a tent as possible to win and gain the power to govern, even though not all in it are on the same page on every issue.
The result is what we see now: the term socialist that used to scare the more establishment Democrats and voters themselves is now right out there in the open and winning localized elections. The GOP is grappling with a wannabe autocrat who seems not to care a whit about the voters and who relishes branding the other party and their constituents as undesirables, while whipping their members into loyal occupants of their tent by threats of being primaried and finding themselves excommunicated if they are not loyal 100% on every issue their leading MAGA faction demands. On the other side of the aisle, the old joke is still applicable: "I do not belong to an organized party. I am a Democrat." However, the reality and necessity persist: strength in numbers.
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