Is now the time for a third political party in US?

By DALIA AL-AQIDI

With the beginning of the new year, members of the Republican and Democratic political parties have begun sharpening their swords in preparation for the US’ 2022 midterm elections. The November vote is considered the most crucial step for both parties as they aim to prove that the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was either the right or the wrong choice for democracy.

History has shown that the party that lost the presidential election has an advantage in the midterms, as its supporters are more motivated to hit the polls, while this year’s elections will also reflect how Americans are responding to President Joe Biden’s leadership and the progressive agenda that has been failing on the ground for the past year.

American and international media outlets view the US as a deeply divided country and believe that its democracy is at a crossroads, especially with the remarkable rise in crime rates mainly in states governed by Democrats, such as New York, California, Oregon, Minnesota and Illinois. Crimes like targeting the police, thefts, assaults on public and private property, and murders have become a daily occurrence.

Last September, it was reported that 41 percent of Biden voters and 52 percent of Donald Trump voters support the idea of dividing the country in two, based on a study published by the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, emphasizing that, since 1945, the number of nations in the world has nearly tripled.

Canadian novelist Stephen Marche, author of the “Next Civil War,” last week told CNN that it is time for the left to think about secession. The US is a textbook case of a country headed for civil war. A recent poll showed that only 20 percent of Americans have faith in their electoral system and another showed that about 34 percent think violence against the government can be justified. So, in such conditions, where the threat of violence is real and growing and the threats against members of Congress increased 107 percent last year, separation becomes a real option, according to Marche.

“The storming of the US Congress and the riots that led to the burning of cities and properties should be a real wake-up call”

However, it is extremely dangerous to promote the idea of dividing America based on political affiliations, since the very core of this country is based on diversity and inclusivity. Instead of putting options on the table that will empower global totalitarian states and dictatorships such as China, one should examine the problem and promote real solutions.

When President Biden took office a year ago, he made promises to the American people that he has failed to fulfill, which weakened his political party, as shown in recent approval rating polls. He has realized that uniting the country is not as easy as he thought, given the fact that the Democratic Party has never been divided the way it is today. This could be applied to the Republican Party too.

The divisions within the two leading political parties caused by the respective narratives of the far left and far right play a vital role in shaping the future of the country. This highlights the urgent need for more moderate voices on both sides that will put the country’s interests ahead of the political interests of the parties.

In 2021, for a brief period, the progressives with their socialist attitude became a heavy burden on the Democratic Party. They were offset by the dominance in the Republican Party of the extreme right-wing groups that insist on rejecting the results of the 2020 presidential election and promoting conspiracy theories.

The storming of the US Congress on Jan. 6, 2020, and the riots that led to the burning of cities and properties should be a real wake-up call for the politicians to step back and look at the big picture.

The two parties must unite their ranks and get rid of all kinds of extremism before even thinking of leading the people of a country that is on the brink of a civil war, as several experts are projecting.

If this step seems far-fetched, then maybe it is time for a third political party to emerge that could combine the moderate voices of both sides and fight the new radical movements that threaten the destruction of the biggest superpower of the 21st century.

That being said, the outcome of the November midterms will likely shape the future of America for many years to come.

• Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

First published in Arab News on Sunday 9 January, 2022.