A Third Party? Divided We Fall by J.E. Dean

Last week was a doozy that reminded us that the world is not in a good place. Half the country believes we are in a “golden age,” led by “THE most consequential President in history,” while the other half is marching in the street, decrying fascism. The debate is spirited, but unproductive.

Amidst this debate, some suggest that the problem is not Donald Trump or the Democrats, but both. The theory, and that’s all it is, suggests that both sides are to blame. Both existing political parties, they claim, sow division by vilifying the other with name-calling and an unwillingness to compromise. The solution offered is the creation of a third party, one that is presumed to eschew division and commit itself to finding common ground.

I’m not buying it. As I wrote last week, I find Donald Trump wrong on just about everything. To me and many others, there is no common ground on civil rights. You either believe in equality or you don’t. 

There is also no common ground on providing due process to deportees, thousands of whom have been arrested but not charged with a crime. I reject any “compromise” that gives due process to some people but not others. 

Everyone—no exceptions, no labels—deserves the right to be heard before being herded onto a military aircraft and sent to a brutal prison in El Salvador for the crime of being in the United States. 

I also doubt that those of us who call ourselves independents are ready to join a party that advocates positions on some issues, but not others. For example, the third party may embrace what it calls a middle ground on tariffs, but not the need for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity programs. That will be a non-starter for many independents. They will reject all three parties and remain independent.

I am also amused at the concept that there is a middle ground on a sufficient number of issues for a political party to find one. God, for example, was not looking for the common ground when promulgating the Ten Commandments. Imagine if the Sixth commandment said it is okay to kill someone if they covet your spouse.

And then there is the issue of leadership. What type of leader wants to head a third party dedicated to compromise? A “leader” who has no clear vision of the future other than quelling fierce political debate. No thanks.

Put more simply, authentic leaders may not want to compromise on transgender rights, racial equity, and inclusion, and the most fundamental of all American issues, democracy.

Can you imagine a third party that wants to embrace part of President Trump’s aggressive grab of executive power? The rationale would be that there is a middle ground between “excessive red tape” and things like protecting the environment. I live on the Eastern Shore. I reject compromises on climate change. 

I also don’t want to find common ground on the war in Ukraine. Putin started the war and is a war criminal. Full stop. There is no common ground. I want nothing to do with a party that is ready to “move past” Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in the name of “ending the divide over the war.” 

A few final thoughts. How does a third party guarantee that it will not lose its way and become as divisive as some advocates for a new party describe today’s Democrats and Republicans? It can’t. Humans are fallible. Whatever has led to the rottenness of the existing parties will, I guarantee you, eventually infect the third party.

And let’s look at the people who are described as likely to embrace a third party. They are people who lack strongly held beliefs on many issues. I call these people “lukewarm,” the type of people who may be slightly troubled by Trump’s mass due-process-free deportations but not troubled enough to protest them or speak out. I don’t want “lukewarm” people to be setting the nation’s policies. America must move forward, or it will move backwards.

So, if you are an advocate for a third party, please reconsider. 

A viable third-party movement will accomplish one thing: strengthen the current cult-like Republican party. If you want 20 years of Trumpism and MAGA, quit the Democratic party and guarantee Republican majorities for the foreseeable future.

If, like me, you are unhappy with today’s politics, consider working to fix what you see as wrong in your current party. Or, if you are an independent, join one of the parties and work to reform it.

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.