Beyond the Polarity of Political Parties

7

Author: Alex Graves

For once, I wish I were from the South—South Carolina, to be exact. Home of the mighty Gamecocks. More importantly, the home of Stephen Colbert, who just this week announced his bid for the White House. After entering the South Carolina primary as a Democrat, he spoke to a crowd of a few hundred at the University of South Carolina, clarifying his position on key issues, such as his pledge to “crush the state of Georgia . . . and maybe Tennessee too, for good measure.”

Whether Colbert manages to make it onto other primary ballots remains to be seen, but I am punching my ticket for the Colbert Bandwagon. Do I know his position on such issues as abortion, the war on terror—or any important issue for that matter? No. Does this deter me, or make me think twice? Absolutely not.

For me, a vote for Colbert represents the ultimate vote of protest to a system that, for lack of a better word, sucks. Our two-party system polarizes voters and politicians. Policies of the two parties are reduced to the opposite of the other party’s platform. Furthermore, with such huge discrepancies in party fundraising, third parties such as the Greens or Libertarians lack the resources to promote their platforms to millions of voters stuck in the middle.

I’m sure many will be quick to point to the fact that Colbert lacks the experience to be president, which is a fair assessment. Hosting a daily “news” show is hardly comparable to being the leader of America. But California has yet to revert to the Dark Ages under Governor Schwarzenegger. The California economy continues to grow. Prior to becoming Governor of Texas, Dubya had been the owner of a professional baseball team. In fact, Bush, who had more (albeit little) experience in politics prior to becoming President, has made such a mess of things that I don’t possibly see how Colbert could make it any worse.

So besides his hostilities towards Georgia and Tennessee, why couldn’t Colbert be a competitive candidate? He can voice his platforms every evening on his show. He is extremely popular with the younger voting groups. He is extremely personable. Hell, if Clinton’s wife weren’t running, I bet Colbert could even convince the former president to endorse him.

Do I honestly believe he will win the election, or even a primary? No, not really. But I believe that his complete mockery of the political process should serve as a wake-up call to America. Our system as it stands polarizes politicians and demands that voters do the same. However, many people in America do not see important issues in such black-and-white terms. It’s long past time that we as a nation adopt a truly multi-party system similar to that of many European nations.

But until that day, I can only wait and hope I have the opportunity to check the box next to “Colbert, Stephen” when the California primary rolls around.

Alex Graves is a junior Politics major. He can be reached at agraves@oxy.edu.

This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.

Loading

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here