Barack Obama and Donald Trump have starkly different political beliefs, but they are similar in one fact — they both rose to popularity and ultimately won the presidency by promising change.
It’s up for debate as to how much change either of those former presidents accomplished, and whether they were good leaders of our country. But people are certainly tired of the same ol’, same ol’.
Numerous polls have shown that many voters don’t want a Trump vs. Joe Biden rematch. Some of the electorate would prefer different candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties, while others are looking beyond the mainstream for answers.
A poll for the week of March 9-14 conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for FiveThirtyEight showed Trump with a 38-34% edge over Biden. Commanding a respectable 12% of support was independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
That’s not an endorsement here of Kennedy, who holds some bizarre beliefs on numerous issues. But support for Kennedy begs the question — is the U.S. turning away from the two-party system?
The current answer is certainly “No.” The U.S. House is comprised of 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats, with three vacancies to be filled. The U.S. Senate has 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans and three independents.
Pennsylvania’s legislature is likewise split with Republicans holding the majority in the Senate and Democrats holding a slim majority in the House. Independents or “other” party members hold little influence over state and even local politics.
But people are questioning the results of a two-party system, especially younger voters.
An October 2023 study by the Pew Research Center found that support for more political parties is higher amongst people under the age of 50.
In September 2023, a Pew survey found that 28% of Americans held an unfavorable view of the Republican and Democratic parties, the highest percentage in the organization’s more than 30 years of polling.
Party loyalty over common sense and good government is a shared trait by Democrats and Republicans. We see it at the local, state and national levels. Politics is power, and it’s rare to find an elected official who will fall on the sword to call out wrongdoing by a member of their own party.
But how does that help the public? It doesn’t.
Are we ready for third-party candidates to take center stage, or are they still more of a threat to shave votes away from Republicans and Democrats than to actually win a race? Without a doubt, the latter remains true.
But if we continue to see lackluster results and party-over-people politics, expect to see louder calls for more choices.
— From Tribune News Service
