What Now?

So what happens next?

In an ideal world, Hillary Clinton continues her fight for the Democratic presidential nomination all the way through the national convention in August. I can hear the throngs of Democrats now: this is horrible, why would we want a fight in the convention?; to beat John McCain in the fall we need a united Democratic party; why can't Hillary just give up? All of these questions/concerns are legitimate but I want to propose (remember, in an ideal world) a good reason for Clinton to take her fight to the halls of the convention. It is not that I want to see her as the Democratic nominee. I want something bigger. I want something that our friends in Great Britain, France, and to name a few, Canada have:

I want proper representation in local and state governments, U.S. Congress, and in the White House!

In the U.S., two parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, represent a population of over 300 million people. There are a few independent politicians, but definitely not enough to be collectively measured as serious political players. In an ideal world, Obama's camp (representing the so-called liberal Democrats) split from the Hillary camp (representing the so-called centrist Democrats), and we would, as a start, have three political parties representing the U.S.

Look at Great Britain, France and Canada:

The Brits have:

• Radical Party
• Conservative Party
• Liberal Party
• Labour Party
• Social Democratic Party

The French have:

• Socialist Party
• Union for a Popular Movement
• Rally for the Republic
• The Greens

The Canadians have:

• Bloc Quebecois
• Conservative Party of Canada
• Liberal Party of Canada
• New Democratic Party
  

Having more than two political parties will solve a few issues that plague the U.S. electoral process. Voter apathy is the most important (and embarrassing) problem facing the U.S. electoral process. Polls indicate that voter apathy is extremely high in the U.S., and repeatedly voter turnout lingers around 50% (and below). This year's Democratic primaries and caucuses have had record turnouts. The Democrats have two candidates that represent a different image compared to the status quo. Clinton (a female) and Obama (an African American) are vying for a chance to be President of the United States. Having two legitimate and qualified candidates that are not the stereotypical white males has really excited the nation. This excitement results from a connection the voters feel with either Clinton or Obama. For the first time in a long time, voters feel invested and properly represented.

It would be nice to see every election (local, state, and general) have this much excitement. It seems that we wait for "generational" candidates to emerge before we become passionate about politics. The problem with waiting for generational leaders is that they come every forty years, and when they do, they (to use a sports analogy) play ball in the same court as their predecessors. The problem with voter apathy is not the candidates; instead it is the lack of alternative political parties. The two-party system cannot, and I stress cannot, represent 300 million people. The U.S. is not a static country. She is a country comprised of farmers, factory workers, data analysis, engineers, doctors, teachers, students, businessmen & women, black, white, brown, old, young, rich, poor. The U.S. is a diverse country, yet, politicians represent as if the U.S. is uniform. The apathy of voters stems from a lack of voice in government, and too many times, voters vote out of necessity and desperation to see certain candidates not elected (the lesser of two evils argument).

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, this is an ideal situation. Do I think this will happen? Of course not! It would, however, be great to see a debate on the floors of Congress and State Halls between representatives of many different political parties advocating for the farmers, factory workers, data analysis, engineers, doctors, teachers, students, businessmen & women, black, white, brown, old, young, rich, poor. Until that day comes, notes will continue to post from the underground.