The US has a Binary political system but we aren't a Binary Country

[Saboburns]

And it's not a Binary World.

The 2 major poletical parties never cooperate with no other entity. There is no reason to. Never any cooperation or even contemplation of anything other than the party line.

As a result the 2 parties spend most of their time tearing at the other. As I sit here and see it it occurs to me how damaging this is and how it weakens and leads to ruin of our Nation.

If there were various other viable parties Dems and Reps would be forced to concede some ground on some issues. Forced to cooperate with smaller yet viable political parties.

As it stands this nation is in the midst of World War I Trench Warfare. Just two sides who continue to entrench. There is no movement, there is no change, no innovation. Just 2 sides in Siege of each other in a death lock embrace.

I dont know how we get more viable parties, I dont know that it is even feasible.I see European countries each with numerous parties across the political spectrum and I know that these nations political systems are much healthier than our own.

I just know this, being stuck in our current Binary system of just Dems and Reps is not working, wont work long term, and is the cause of so much of our current divide.

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Wholesale un election of incumbents

for at least three or four election cycles is the only way to shake off the lobbyist pimps.

Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, progressive, libertarian are all labels.

Short hand labels for what we consider ourselves or what we use as an epithet for those who disagree with us.

IMHO I believe that people usually have some conservative or liberal or socialist or libertarian views. They are not strictly conservative or liberal...or what we consider that label to mean.

Personally, I think political philosophies, as a creation of fallible humans, and implemented by fallible humans, are always going to be corrupted and sometimes fail.

You can't stand behind liberalism and expect utopia anymore than you can conservatism.

The people who are a real danger to our society are the extremists who think that any political creed can produce anything approaching utopia.

[ck4829]

2. Binaries are false and irrational, but it feels like there is a concerted effort to establish and

Exploit them.

And it goes much further than parties in the US.

Democrat / Republican
Male / Female
Heterosexual / GLBTQ
'Normal' / Deviant
Muslim / Non-Muslim
Black Lives Matter / All Lives Matter

The last I think is the most salient example of this, and it's not the doing of Black Lives Matter.

Who is getting built up while we set up binaries against ourselves?

[Xolodno]

3. It used to work.

In the past both sides would deal with each other, one would support an opposition bill in return for support on their bill. Or add a rider that would cushion the blow a bill would have. etc.

Now, the GOP has royally screwed themselves. If they so much as sneeze in the way of bipartisanship they can get hit with a primary challenge. And that happens because they gerrymandered themselves into that corner.

I wouldn't be surprised if Repubs in the House breathed a collective sigh of relief when the whole repeal and replace crashed and burned.