Tom Mast, founder Solve American Gridlock
One day long ago when we were little children, my sister and I had a disagreement in the backyard. Our mother quickly arrived. Since I was convinced that my position was just, correct, important, and fit my thinking about how things ought to be, I had no doubt that I would come out ahead. But, she showed very little interest in my rationale – probably didn’t even listen to it. She only said – as long ago as WWII mind you – that it “takes two to make a fight”. By then returning to the house, she effectively ruled this entire vitally important affair as an impasse from which neither party would gain anything.
We have only two parties in the House of Representatives – and generally everywhere else in our country for that matter. They act like I was acting when I was very young. Winning is everything; it is a zero-sum game. And, it does “take two to make a fight”!
Virtually every other important democracy in the world now has more than two effective parties, an average of 3.9, perhaps because many of their citizens had moms like mine. In any case, instead of only two polar perspectives on everything, these countries have additional viewpoints and positions. Their legislators know that they have to get along. The electoral systems in these places attract candidates that are more disposed to be malleable rather than feeling that domination is their goal. Single member (read safe) districts, gerrymandering, non-proportional voting systems, and thus a system of only two parties – eliminating all these is ours for the asking, or shall we say the insistence. Don’t forget that we citizens are the preeminent power in America; we play the role of the “mother” in this parable.
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