The problem with the two-party system is that you have to keep the bath water in order to save the baby. And of course, the dirty water ends up harming the baby in the long run. One wonders whether it would be possible for blacks to really get what they need at this stage — jobs and economic empowerment — without sacrificing too much in the way of Democrats’ overregulation and overspending, both of which have had a stifling effect on job creation and American competitiveness.
If blacks or any other group broke away from the Democratic Party and formed an activist pressure group like the tea party, the question is whether they would push the party to the left or to the right. The calculus may not be so simple. Sure, the Democratic Party has had significant victories on social issues — ranging from same-sex marriage to equal treatment in the military. But where it counts on economic issues such as wage growth, job creation and pension reform, Democrats have failed to deliver. The business community has been largely successful in doing an end run around organized labor to convince workers that their jobs depend upon the profitability of the company, not on union power. The extent to which a splinter group would be likely to break left is therefore somewhat questionable.
The bottom line is that we are a country of and for the people. We are not state, we are not parties, and we are not districts. Those can be convenient organizing tools, but at the end of the day the power is invested in the people to change themselves.
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