In July 2016 the Democratic National Committee will hold its National Convention in Philadelphia, in the appropriately named “Wells Fargo Center.”
Here is what most probably will happen:
1. A political party that represents 29% of the voters will nominate a candidate to run for President.
2. That candidate will run against the nominee from another party that represents 25% of the voters.
4. The Democrats will nominate a candidate with a 46% favourable rating among voters.
5. That candidate will face an opponent who has a 35% favourable rating.
That spread, i.e., 65% unfavourable versus “only” 54% unfavourable, is what the DNC considers a “winning scenario.”
So let’s sum up:
One party, representing 1 in 3 of the nation’s voters, will nominate a candidate that more than half of all voters do not like.
The other party, representing 1 in 4 f the nation’s voters, will nominate a candidate that two-thirds of all voters do not like.
So we have two parties, neither of which represents a majority or even anywhere near half of us, choosing candidates that more than half of us do not want to vote for.
For all my friends out there who were worried about having to choose “The Lesser Of Two Evils” let me tell you the truth:
This year, we will face the Evil of Two Lessers.
The two party system is broken. We need to fix it.
And yes, since 2013 the % of voters identifying as Democrats has dropped from 31% to 29%.
Let us all hope that Bernie Sanders can help revitalise the Democratic Party and make it relevant again by attracting young people and others to the Democratic fold, so that the future DNC will be able to nominate a candidate with a “net positive” approval rating. It is not too much to hope for.
EuroYankee is a dual citizen, US-EU. He travels around Europe, writing on politics, culture and such. He pays his US taxes so he gets to weigh in on what is happening in the States.
