Support for the
two major political parties in America is
hemorrhaging. It’s not hard to see why.
The politerati
point to the 1992 presidential campaign as the
last time public dissatisfaction with the
political environment was so pervasive that a
disruption to the status quo was even possible.
Third-party independent candidate Ross Perot
briefly led incumbent President George H.W. Bush
and challenger Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. If he
had maintained credibility, Perot might well
have won.
But discontent
today is far deeper. In 1992, just 39 percent of
the public was dissatisfied with government.
Today, a record high 81 percent is dissatisfied.
Satisfaction has plummeted from 59 percent to
just 19 percent. We are in uncharted waters.
If we were ripe
for disruption in 1992, today most Americans
must be damn close to grabbing their pitchforks
and storming the barricades of the nation’s
capital. King George was more beloved.
This thirst for
dramatic change isn’t just Republican voters
unhappy with the Obama administration’s
policies. Democratic guru James Carville told
CNN’s Erin Burnett last week: “There is a real
yearning for something different in this
country. It is going to produce something, I
have no idea what, but something is coming here,
I promise you.”
What accounts for
this dramatic shift? Obviously, there is deep
concern about a terrible economy and long,
costly foreign conflicts. But there is something
more dangerous: a fundamental breakdown in trust
in government.
We send our
representatives to Washington to fix problems.
Yet every day offers examples of opportunities
lost. We’ve gone from statesmanship to
brinksmanship. Compromise means victory for the
opposing party. Consensus means the loss of
political leverage. And scoring political points
seems more important than progress on policy.
Americans now
have largely negative views of both parties. The
public sees little difference between the
effectiveness of either party when it comes to
tackling the economy. And only 9 percent of
likely voters rate Congress’ performance as good
or excellent.
Republicans in
Congress refuse tax increases, labeling them
job-killing. (It’s hard to negotiate when you’ve
signed a pledge, as most Republicans and a few
Democrats have, binding you to no new taxes and
linking subsidy elimination to rate decreases.)
Democrats refuse spending cuts, also labeling
them job-killing.
Yet, by a
2-to-1 margin, Americans support doing both,
increasing taxes and cutting spending.
[ BF emphasis added ]
Unable to
negotiate the policy changes necessary to avert
the next financial crisis, Congress has deferred
responsibility to a supercommittee. If an
agreement is not reached there, automatic and
dramatic across-the-board cuts kick in. The
public is not hopeful: 74 percent think the
committee will not reach agreement.
Voters feel
increasingly disenfranchised. No party
represents them. Fringe groups with microphones
dominate the conversation. Super PACs with
unlimited funding exert unlimited influence.
Powerful political advocacy groups skirt
disclosure rules.
I helped co-found
No Labels to fight back against the
hyper-partisanship and special interests now
holding the system hostage. What we hear from
voters is they want members of Congress to put
their labels aside — and work together.
Often
it’s not policy outcomes that are problematic
— the very nature of the debate is
contributing to the loss of confidence.
[ BF emphasis added ]
The debt-ceiling
debate caused the consumer confidence index to
collapse to its fourth lowest level since first
measured in 1952, according to the pollster Bill
McInturf,. The index today sits at 55. That’s
more than 20 points below the average when a
sitting president loses reelection.
The debt-ceiling
debate was just one in the seemingly
never-ending examples of the parties’ inability
to forge consensus on anything — from
contentious stimulus spending and health care
reforms, to simple continuing budget
resolutions. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-Nev.), by triggering the “nuclear option” in
the Senate this week to block GOP amendments,
only escalated the party standoff.
If the
Republicans and Democrats in Washington cannot
set aside their party loyalty, then the people
are most likely to declare their independence
again. Almost a third of voters today do not
affiliate with either party, and 55 percent of
Americans say a third party is needed.
Skeptics cite all
the usual reasons why a third-party or
alternative nominating process won’t work. But
it’s mostly just pattern recognition. It’s the
same reason they said we’d never elect an
African-American president. Because we hadn’t,
they said we wouldn’t.
These are
different times. I don’t know how it’s going to
happen. It could be the Americans Elect
platform, or it could be in a self-funded
independent candidacy, or a tea party candidate.
But, I’m with
Carville on this one: Something is coming.
Mark
McKinnon, a co-founder of No Labels, a
trans-partisan organization, is a Republican
strategist who served as chief media adviser
for George W. Bush and John McCain.
