{"id":616,"date":"2019-07-04T10:06:29","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T14:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjmaclean.com\/wordpress\/?p=616"},"modified":"2019-07-04T18:29:27","modified_gmt":"2019-07-04T22:29:27","slug":"the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-red-blue-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjmaclean.com\/wordpress\/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-red-blue-divide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beginning of the End of the Red-Blue Divide?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Justin Amash (R, Mich) left the Republican party today.\nTellingly, he did not join the Democrats. Amash says he is now an independent,\nno longer affiliated with either of the parties. In doing so, I think he\nexpressed concerns of many Americans. I haven\u2019t voted Republican or Democrat\nsince 1972. I am, like many Americans, weary of the constant hostility between\nthe two parties, which has resulted in a deadlocked system that seems to\nmaintain a status quo geared toward persons with little integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his memo he said, \u201cThe two-party system has evolved into\nan existential threat to American principles and institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s hard to disagree with that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modern politics is trapped in a partisan death spiral, but there is an escape,” he writes. “Most Americans are not rigidly partisan and do not feel well represented by either of the two major parties. In fact, the parties have become more partisan in part because they are catering to fewer people, as Americans are rejecting party affiliation in record numbers.”<\/p>Source: Reason.com, \u201cJustin Amash Declares Independence From Republican Party,\u201d https:\/\/reason.com\/2019\/07\/04\/justin-amash-declares-independence-from-republican-party <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Yup. Amash claims that the two parties represent fewer and fewer voters, as people tire of the constant hatred within the two-party system. He says, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
…independent-minded Americans, however, tend to be less politically engaged than Red Team and Blue Team activists. Many avoid politics to focus on their own lives, while others don’t want to get into the muck with the radical partisans. I’m asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system\u2014and to work toward it. If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it.”<\/p>Ibid<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The President\u2019s response just plays up what Amash said in his memo. It’s a sign of the rigid, inflexible times we live in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
It is clear that our political system has completely broken\ndown. Amash\u2019s breakaway from the Republican Party but his refusal to join the\nDemocrats demonstrates this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I believe that, eventually, moderation will become a trend in politics. In the future, voters are going to look for more compassionate candidates who are willing to work with each other, not against each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hopefully a new trend toward moderation will develop that can build a bridge between the rigid Red-Blue political divide. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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