I know that there has always been a segment of the American public that can’t seem to back the two main political parties but the amount of dissatisfaction with both the Republican Party and the Democrats has been particularly pronounced this time around. I have been predicting large scale defections from both parties in this presidential contest, but even I am surprised at the number of people that have been voicing their displeasure at the choices that have been presented to them. Even more than the number of people that are dissatisfied, the thing that I find most surprising is how early on they are voicing these opinions. I had expected that it would be closer to November before we would see this, after the people had time to get a closer look at the candidates, and after the constant media attention devoted to the them became too much to bear. This seems to be happening already, and its only April 1st.

This trend can be a very fortunate development. This turn of events could actually be the beginning of the end of the two-party system that has had a stranglehold on the American political scene for the last century. The two party system actually makes no real sense. How can two parties adequately represent three hundred million people?

 The American people have watched the center of political opinion in both parties move to the right. I heard someone remark on my radio show recently, that if Barry Goldwater was to have his speeches and voting record examined by the public today, he would be regarded as slightly left of center. LBJ, who was in his time, considered a “blue dog”, conservative Democrat, would now be considered a liberal/socialist.

It’s not hard to define the period in which we started to drift to the right as a nation. This started at the time Newt Gingrich proposed his “Contract with America”. The public was enamored of the Republican call for smaller government and lower taxes. The Democrats, instead of pushing their own agenda under a strong and popular President that was leading an economic resurgence, chose to imitate the Republican strategy. This eventually led the Democrats to turn their backs on the liberal/progressive wing of the party. This began the slide to the right, a phase that both parties have embraced up until now. Underscoring this situation is the charge that Obama may be “too liberal” for the majority of voters in this country. This is a very ironic situation for the Democrats, as it has always been the Democrats that have embraced liberals and liberal causes. It’s readily apparent that the uncouth lords of loud, such as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage (the self-appointed judge of moral integrity for the GWOT) have made their impression on the American psyche as this is evidenced by the way Americans have come to loath the mere mention of the term “Liberal” as if it were an accusation and not an adjective. In their heart of hearts, I believe the majority of Americans feel guilty for leaving their conscience at the door when they arrive at the polls to vote. Liberalism may not be the political label du jour in America today, but underneath their pragmatic exteriors, many American Democrats still long for the days when principles were more important than political expediency.

One of the most liberal politicians in Washington today, isn’t a Democrat. Senator Bernie Sanders has been, in my opinion, on the winning side of many political battles in Washington. He has become the voice of the blue-collar worker. His exchange with Jim Nussel, OMB’s Director, was an examination into the rape of the American taxpayer. http://liberalpro.blogspot.com/2008/02/government-for-wealthy-without-doubt.html In my mind, this kind of exchange should be the status quo and not the exception. The moral integrity of the Republican neo-cons and their “colleague” Senator Joe Lieberman, was displayed by Vice-President Cheney last week after being asked a question by ABC’s Martha Raddatz;

Raddatz: Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting (the war in Iraq), and they’re looking at the value gain(ed) versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.

Cheney: So? <sinister smirk>

Raddatz: So — you don’t care what the American people think?

Cheney: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn’t had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective.

So?  The question is what Americans should be asking themselves right about now. We have seen what the Republicans have done in the name of “protecting America”. We have seen how the Republicans behave towards Americans that have suffered under a collapsing dollar and higher gas and food prices. They offer a tax rebate “bribe” and tell us to take the money to the mall. Meanwhile they reduce funding for college loan programs and social programs, while bailing out investment banks. This is the result of the decline of “liberalism”.

The Democrats tried to grab a free ride by embracing Republican conservatism. The old adage “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” was seen as an easy way out of their political troubles. Karma is a funny thing; it seems to always pop up at the worst of times. The Republicans have selected a man conservatives within the party have a hard time accepting as their standard-bearer. The Democrats have at their frontlines two of the most corporate, subsidized, junior Senators in their party. The political establishment must realize that the conservative agenda is rapidly coming to a close in Washington. This will undoubtedly become apparent to the Republican side of the corporate political machine first. The Democrats will sign on after they lose a few elections, but they will definitely get the message. Soon it will be a stampede to find the most “liberal” of voices to bring up the rear. This time however, the American people should be very careful. The Democrats seem to have made it standard operating procedure to imitate the Republicans. It might be a good idea for the people that don’t believe in the GOP to find their own voice this time. Maybe its time that “liberals” have a political party of their own, instead of being at the mercy of a political party that has had a hard time finding its own voice.

That’s the way I see it.