Many experts are calling the election of 2016 a political realignment. When experts call an election a Political realignment, they mean that the people who are voting for a party are shifting. The first documented political realignment was in 1932, but was anticipated in the election of 1928 when Democrat Al smith won parts of New England that usually voted Republican. The election that is going on right now is being classified as a realignment due to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. The Washington post in an article published on March 11th states that even if Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump don't win the presidency, their candidacies have tested their respected parties enough to cause a realignment. The US voters are leaning in a much more conservative and liberal way then they have in the past. In recent elections the two candidates have been either a moderate republican or moderate democrat. People like Donald Trump because he is willing to speak his mind and takes a very radical side on issues that many Americans feel strongly about. And Senator Sanders votes are coming from a younger crowd that like his ideas of lower taxes and reduced to no college tuition. However because it is looking like the November elections are going to be between Hilary and Donald Trump, many long time republican voters are saying that they will not vote in this election. They do not believe in what Donald Trump is saying and they morally can note vote for Hillary because they do not believe in what she stands for. This is another factor that is causing the realignment. There is even some talk as stated by the Huffington post that if Bernie is not the Democratic nominee, he may break away and run as a third party candidate. This would be the same thing that Theodore Roosevelt did in the 1912 election. When Roosevelt did not receive the nomination at the Republican convention he started the progressive party which split the republican vote in two and gave the democratic nominee an easy win. This could be detrimental if Bernie Sanders does do this, not only would he be tearing the democratic party in half he would essentially be handing Donald Trump the presidency.
Sources:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423314/another-impossible-thing-may-happen-change-partisan-alignments-michael-barone
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/after-2016-will-the-political-parties-ever-look-the-same/2016/03/11/07a18da6-e709-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/05/09/the-great-political-realignment
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/superdelegates-third-political-party-bernie-sanders_b_9867194.html
I believe, as do many other places such as Pew and the Washington Post, that the media (particularly the internet) have done much to fuel this rise. On Facebook, Instagram, and on online blogs, you see die-hard Trump and Sanders supporters (along with everyone else's) all revusing to back down. They blindly attack the other side and those who compare policy are often shut out by the sheer loudness of others. Polarization in the United States is increasing, but although everyone likes to talk about it, no one actually does anything about it. Aside from legislation that would limit air/tv times and mandate equal times for all sides (repealed in 1980's), people have to understand both sides of the issue. These are in the minority however as many people may attempt to do this once, and will instantly go back to places that agree with them. The entire world must understand how to navigate these times for this is not just an American trend. Increased communications in Europe and Asia lead to the rise of political extremes and polarization of both sides. I believe, however, that the internet also gives us the greatest chance in literally all of history, to understand millions of people and their point of view in a matter of seconds. We ought to use technology to understand our opposition, and not belittle them or attack them without understanding them first.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is an imminent split in the GOP party due to Donald Trump's radical proposals. The question is, will this splinter be permanent? Will this brief split in political factions be for a single election cycle, or two, or more? I think you also make a good point that a shift in ethnic boundaries and groups of voting demographics could lay the foundation for a party realignment, as this article also reaffirms.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/after-2016-will-the-political-parties-ever-look-the-same/2016/03/11/07a18da6-e709-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html