this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2024
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As a non-american just watching the democratic shitshow I can't believe why on earth there are only two parties. If the parties are fucked up, build a new one. That's what democracy is made for.
Macrons party in France was fresh up from the ground at his first election.
PS. I'm aware that France is a bad example actually, but the fact about his party is still true.
In a lot of cases, there's only one real functioning party. Smaller states and gerrymandered districts tend to have a single dominant party and a secondary dissident party, with the dominant party controlling all the statewide offices and most of the legislative seats, while the dissident party controls some number of municipal seats where they have a local majority.
Macron spun En Marche out of the collapsed ruin of Hollande's Socialist Party (*) (for whom he was deputy secretary general until Hollande's ouster). He was more akin to Lincoln's Republicans (who emerged from the wrecked carcass of the American Whig Party) or Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party (which might as well have been Republicans For Roosevelt Party, given how badly Wilson rocked both him and Taft).
(*) don't get too existed. they were pretty thin on actual socialism.
Le Penn's National Front has a real foundation (of French fascists) that existed before she started mobilizing the party and will stick around after she's gone. Similarly the New Popular Front (not to be confused with The People's Front of Judea rimshot) has a broad coalition of support that transcends any one leader. Both are more in line with a traditional American party.
Looks like I know shit about French politics, thanks, TIL.
Btw. maybe it needs a strong movement to create a real third party. A workers union for example, there is a lot of potential if they unite. BLM, too. America had strong movements in the past but none of them went into a political party, sadly.
Americans are near universally convinced that third-parties are a dead end, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. I've never understood it and I would've thought having two obviously non-viable candidates would challenge that assumption, but it doesn't seem like anything will. The classic Simpsons bit where both candidates get replaced by evil space aliens but still get elected because "what are you going to do, vote third party?" was not an exaggeration in the slightest. Americans just accept anything.