How Donald Trump exposed America’s one party system

The mainstream narrative of American politics speaks of a duel between two opposing parties. The Republican Party represents conservatism and the Democratic Party represents liberalism. With that classification, politics almost seems simple. How do third parties even exist at that point?

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But this summary of the political system is a lie. There are two political parties in the Democrats and Republicans, but they essentially exist as one. Issues like the surveillance state, endless spending, and perpetual war illustrate this. Former President George W. Bush took advantage of the 9/11 terrorist attack to significantly expand the surveillance state, something that President Barack Obama did not scale back at all. In terms of spending, the Democrats’ love for throwing dollars away is well-documented, but even the Republicans have problems with limited spending and government in general.

What about war? Bush marched us into Iraq under his vague War on Terror proposal, something that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton previously voted for.

Despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize and campaigning to end war, President Barack Obama has been a pro-war President that has maintained occupations and increased drone strikes. This occurred with the support of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Clinton has consistently stated she would continue the President’s legacy, something he has also noted as well.

But Democrats are Democrats, and Republicans are Republicans, right?

We’ve long been led to believe in America that the two major parties are two separate teams. While elections can drag on principled debates for months, when we vote, we should do so pragmatically. After all, who wants the greater evil to have power?

When looking at the big picture and big issues like war, bailouts and the surveillance state, the two parties actually appear to be one. This year, unlike many before, this is actually being shown.

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Since Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination, many prominent party leaders and neoconservative warhawks have defected. To the surprise of some, they have even joined up with the left and announced support for Clinton.

In terms of principles, Trump is an uncomfortable candidate for many. Whether it be his principles and views or his demeanor, concerns have been voiced by conservatives, liberals and even libertarians alike. But in terms of his campaign, he has exposed a great flaw in the American political system.

The Republican Party has long been dominated by hawkish big government neoconservatives under the Bush family and their associates. When Trump came rolling in, he did so attacking former President George W. Bush and denouncing the Iraq War. Right or wrong, he has been a wrecking ball to the Republican establishment.

The result has been prominent neoconservatives abandoning the Republican brand and embracing Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump has absolutely been an anti-establishment wrecking ball to the Republican establishment. By uniting the warmongering neoconservatives from the Republican Party with the Democrats, the real nature of the American political system has finally been shown.

We have one major party and any implication otherwise is simply an illusion.

Chris Dixon is a liberty activist and writer from Maine. In addition to being Managing Editor for the Liberty Conservative, he also writes the Bangor Daily News blog "Undercover Porcupine" and for sports website Cleatgeeks.

2 Comments

  1. Although I would agree the differences between the major parties in only on the edges, I would not agree the Trump is some anti-establishment wrecking ball. In fact on the very issued discussed in the article such as war, Trump’s rhetoric is just as inconsistent as Hillary’s.

    As Judge Napolitano just wrote, “What if the most remarkable aspect of this presidential election is not how much the two principal candidates disagree with each other but how much they actually agree?” Their no “if’s” about it they agree on most of the major issues, and the only differences are on the edges.

    As I have said in the past, Trump and Clinton are just two sides of the same statists coin.

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