On Sunday, July 21, 2024, a few months before perhaps one of the most crucial elections in U.S. history, presumptive Democratic nominee and current President Joe Biden made a shocking announcement. He would abdicate his spot for the upcoming election and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
The Washington Post argue that Biden made a hard but necessary decision and other publications were still lost in the fantasy for an- other Biden-Harris candidacy, but I think most would agree that Biden is not the most inspiring, galvanizing leader to run for the Democrats. Most would also agree Donald Trump is not the most beloved politician to run under the tent of the Republican party. It was an election where the choice lay between a withered old man with probable dementia and another old man, this one an arrogant, convicted felon, for the title of the leader of the free world.
What has happened to the United States of America, the nation that for decades was internationally regarded as the greatest power in the world?
To dissect this tangled mess, one must refer to the foundations of this country, the immutable constitution. This constitution brought forth an inflexible democracy susceptible to manipulation in numerous ways. One of problem that’s seldom addressed but core to the problem: bipartisanship.
The United States’ democratic procedures and systems heavily favor a bipartisan system through single choice voting. Given only one choice, if voters vote for a minority third party, it’s effectively a vote for the majority party they least support.
The result of this faulty system is a false dichotomy. More and more voters proclaim a third party is needed in the election, rising from 40% in 2003 to 63% in 2023, according Gallup, a multinational analytics and advisory company. The elections become a decision of the lesser of the two evils, bringing politics from constructive to destructive. Destructive politics emphasizes the scandals of a candidate instead of focusing on constructive visions. Presidential debates and campaigns are now oriented towards overarching attacks against the dispositions and histories of candidates.
If a third party is present, weak candidacy will be answered by more desirable ones. Trumps’ mediocre policies and controversial ideas should not overshadow strong and unrelenting liberal presence years before. Conservatives then turned to Trump because they see him as an authoritarian figure, someone politically poignant in a desperate time, as argued by Vox. Meanwhile, if a third party was present which offered compromises and moderate solutions, voters would turn to them for more agreeable takes on politics. There simply would be no space for either party.
Enacting a multi-party system requires some quick references to European counterparts. Europe has seen relative success in the applications of multi-partisan systems. Germany’s parliament is dominated mostly by five different political parties across the ideological spectrum, allowing for the possibility of different coalitions between these parties. France recently just saw a combined effort between the left and centrist parties to push down the extremist rightwing party. Multi-partisan politics in Europe is proof that a pluarity of parties is possible in functioning democracies.
Multi-partisanship in Europe relies on the system of checks and balances between the head executive power and the parliamentary legislative branch. A common theme surrounding these countries is proportional representation, where a share of votes earns a proportional share of seats in the parliament, as opposed to the U.S- based spoils system. The president or head executive power is then chosen from either the majority party or a separate election system. This system ensures a party’s liability to their beliefs. In the U.S., party ideologies conform to individual leaderships, often shifting with each new candidate, but in Europe, with parties representing distinct philosophies, parties have an obligation to work towards the continual pursuit of their policies. Society can simply choose the combination of parties that will work in the given moment in time through democratic election.
When the founding fathers had set the corner stones for this nation, there was a lot they had not known about democracy, much of which wouldn’t arise until after democratic governments and evolved across the world. Our democracy is much too inflexible to withstand modern problems, and until the day the two parties come into coalition, each sacrificing a bit of their own to make the necessary changes, this democracy will only face more challenges. They would have to amend the constitution, a feat almost impossible; if they do so successfully, the United States will have passed the litmus test of democracy, if not, people will remember a brief time of equality, justice, democracy, and freedom, much like the way they remember the Athenians.
As president Biden said in his stepping-down speech, “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambitions.”
Let’s make sure this quote ages well.