Third Party, Please

There is nothing in the Constitution that says we should only have two parties, the Democrats and Republicans; the present bi-party system just evolved  - or I guess 'devolved' may be the most currently-apt expression, from the primordial political soup. Although two may be the status quo, three or more is not out of the question, and might be useful these days.

Third parties have given it a try from time to time.  Most not very seriously, but every now and then they pick up an interesting (if quirky) leader and get some traction.  Think Ross Perot.  Ultimately, these efforts fail because for whatever reason these parties tend to pick up fringe and very vocal adherents. These folks drive the party platform to the extreme and so turn off potential recruits to their cause.  They just don't end up seeming like serious, grown-up parties.

But we just might need them (or at least one of them) now, whether behaving maturely or not.

You see, our government is locked in what can't be called anything other than a stalemate.  The House, controlled by the Republicans, passes bills that the Senate, controlled by the Democrats, can't accept; and the bills the Senate sends to the House hit a brick wall of denial.  Same goes for just about every aspect of government, except defense, where at least some level of practical agreement is usually reached. (Is it that much easier to agree to military action than it is to come to agreement on health care?)

So what we might now need is a tie-breaking force.  Opportunities for coalitions and alliances that can find the votes to break the stalemate.

Of course we'd have to hope that we only get one, or at most two, additional parties that are successful enough to be attractive as coalition partners.  Any more than that and you could end up with very shaky coalitions with governments forming, failing, and reforming ad nauseum.

At this point, I think the Nation could stand a little third party craziness and whatever upset stomach that may potentially cause, just to get the government off the dime and doing something.  

Slight of Hand

Misdirection is the key to the illusionist's art.  It's a nifty addition to the politician's toolbox, too.

And, for politicos, so is the outright, bald-faced, 'flip-flop'.

When is a coup not a coup?  When it suits our purposes, that's when.

Our government has decided that the military overthrow of a democratically-elected leader in Egypt is not a coup.  If it was a 'coup' then we'd need to stop throwing money at Egypt as a bribe to maintain the peace with Israel.  Then what would happen?  Nobody wants that answer, so there is no coup, just a coup-like 'course correction' to reset the Egyptian road to democracy.  No matter that it looks and smells just like a military dictatorship, same as it always was.

When is the actual use of a weapon of mass destruction not as bad as the suspicion of having one?  When it suits our purposes, of course.

President Obama and UK PM David Cameron are having trouble convincing their respective legislatures that military action is needed in the wake of (both men say) incontrovertible evidence the Syrian government used Sarin gas on their citizens.  This could be a case of 'fool me once ...', with the 'where did they go' WMDs in Iraq featuring in people's minds.  It could also be understandable reluctance to get involved - again - with groups of people who's mindsets we can't seem to fathom completely, and who's ideas of democracy and freedom seem stuck in a parallel universe outside of reality, and with a very short half-life.  It could also be Russia's (Mr. Putin's really) reluctance to give up on his sidekick Assad that's holding things up.  Whatever the reason, failing to do something here, not unlike our failing to do something when Iraq used chemical weapons against its people after the first Gulf War, can only lead to worse situations ahead.  Chemical Bashir, anyone?

It would be a refreshing change of pace if we the people were told exactly the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  And that timely and humane actions took place exactly when needed. But in the absence of that openness and altruism, we should all be taking notes and studying them carefully before the next elections.