October 25, 2008

  • Party Reform?

    The election is one week away.  In the past, I haven't been a voter, but this year, I can not just sit on the sidelines.  I've put in a lot of time looking at news, articles, interviews, and to tell you the truth it's actually fun.  Whether I vote Republican or Democrat is no concern to anyone else but myself, but I see an interesting development that I think is exciting.

    For a long time, two parties have dominated the political arena in the US, but if we look at history a bit, they actually came from the same party.  The Democratic-Republican party gave rise to both, and back then opposed the Federalist party.  In the proceedings of the current election, Republicans seem to be facing an identity crisis amidst the wave of Democratic sentiment.  With such a disparity between registered Democrats and Republicans, I'm actually somewhat surprised that Republicans are able to win anything, and if the trend for an increase in number of Democrats continue, the Republicans will find themselves in a quandary....

    ...Except, that appears to be what they are facing now.  It's not like a "realignment" of the Republican party has been anything new since it has been proposed in the past, but with the current state of the economy weighing heavily on peoples minds, and the widely unpopular Bush presidency, it appears the Republican party has no choice but to remake its image.  The problem is that it comes at a bad time, and that there is considerable resistance.

    Is it possible that the Democratic-Republican party be resurrected?  Probably not, but hard questions will be asked by Republicans once this election ends, in particular the future direction of the party.  And that's what I find exciting.  Maybe.....just maybe....what will happen is a political refresh that falls more "in-line" with Centrist thinking than either Democrat or Republican policy.  Because right now, it's clear to me that in an age of Democratic ideology, pushing toward the Center is better than sitting on the Right.