I lay awake early this morning thinking about what parties would be like if they aligned themselves according to their common beliefs.
My first thought was that we really have three parties: the ridiculous right, the loonie left, and the muddling middle. The extremes set the tone for both Republicans and the Democrats and the pragmatists only get to set the brakes a bit.
The Republicans have come to be dominated by their fringe, and that fringe is alienating more voters. The Democrats are torn between their "conservative" faction and their fringe. The latter asks for the moon and the former almost caters to the Republicans, the old-style corporate interest Republicans.
It would be interesting if the Democrats split in three: the "conservatives", the problem solvers, and the fringe. If that were to happen, would the "conservatives" attract "moderate" and "liberal" Republicans, if any are left? If so, the hard-line Republicans would be marginalized, and we could get back to governance instead of squabbling. It would also solve Obama's bipartisanship problem.
