Third Way: The Millennial Political Party Division
Bill Clark/Tom Williams
As former Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry once said, “there is too much at stake for us to surrender to the politics of polarization”, as the divisiveness of polarized parties prevents good government. However, our current government, both in the House as well as the Senate, unfortunately, appears to be surrendering to these very politics of polarization that Gov. Henry warned against. While many of the older representatives and those who have been in office for several years still toe a more moderate line, many of the newest elected representatives, most of which are millennials, are at the extreme ends of either party. This has led to division within Congress as it is hard to reach an agreement on bills and legislation when some of the loudest voices refuse to compromise.
The Democratic Party Split
Currently, the Democratic party is facing a split between two wings of the party – the more moderate party and the “new left”, or the progressives. The moderate Democratic wing can best be described as one that aligns with the theory of participatory democracy. This theory holds that the public and private spheres should be closely intertwined, as the public should be able to greatly participate in society and the government. There is also an emphasis on a greater scope of the government under this theory, as opposed to the theory of conservatism. Participatory democracy believes that it is better to have a larger government than a small government in order to better provide welfare and support to those who need it. Thus, based on this theory, the moderate Democratic wing believes in helping those who are facing inequalities and injustices due to their class, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation through government programs. They also see big government as especially helpful in resolving certain structural and systemic issues in the country. However, they still believe in the minimization of certain aspects of bureaucracy, as private citizens should still be able to regulate the government to keep it from becoming too powerful.
In contrast, the new left – which typically fits into democratic theories of either neopluralism or deep pluralism – believes that this theory is not strong enough. Both of these theories place a greater emphasis on social inequalities and marginalized and oppressed groups. While these beliefs seem good in their theories, as there is noticeable social inequality within races and classes in America. Those on the progressive side of the democratic party tend to place blame on corporations and capitalism as the reason for these inequalities and thus want to dismantle the entire economic system. The new left continues to stray further away from any form of democracy by taking on a more socialist standpoint and, at times, following what could only be described as a Marxist viewpoint in regards to means of production, the economy, and the working-class. Under this wing on the left, there is little to no regulation of the government and bureaucratic power. The state, therefore, has almost all the power and the citizens are entirely in the hands of the government.
Thus, the main tension between the moderate left and the progressive movement is the idea of socialism versus capitalism. The progressive wing consists of politicians who campaign under the Democratic party but would be better off in a Socialist party; as stated by AOC, “In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are.” Pushing platforms such as universal healthcare, free college, and completely ending homelessness requires higher taxes and more government intervention in the history of American democracy.
The Republican Party Split
The current split of the Republican party can be seen as developing as recently as the 2016 election when Trump took power. In this election, Trump was running against over 15 different Republican candidates who all had varying views and policies. However, almost all of them were much more moderate than he was and most of them came from political or legal backgrounds as opposed to entertainment and business. Although it was trending towards this before the 2016 election, the main split of the Republican party occurred within and directly Trump’s presidency, as he brought with him a whole host of ideas that did not fit the traditional Republican mindset. This forced the party to split into two groups – those who supported Trump and those who did not.
The ramifications of this split are still evident in Congress, even after Trump is no longer the president. Liz Cheney, former third-highest ranking Republican in Congress, was recently removed from her position in House leadership because she is a more moderate party member and was considered a thorn in the side of Trump’s new and extreme right-wing party. After she spoke out repeatedly against Trump’s comments regarding the election being stolen and his role in the January 6th riot, other party members removed her from her position in leadership. This is ironic, given that the Republican party has always been the constitutionalist and originalist party – the party that wants to follow the Constitution and the rule of law exactly as written. Yet, by some of the elected politicians standing by Trump and his repeated claim that the election was stolen, amongst other things, this far-right wing of the Republican party has never been more anti-democratic.
Millennial Politicians
Recent studies have shown that the millennial generation is more polarized than Boomers or those in GenX. This aligns with recently elected Congressional representatives such as AOC, Madison Cawthorn, and Lauren Boebert, who are all millennials at the extreme ends of their respective parties.
There are several issues with this trend. First, when politicians are farther left or right-leaning, it is hard to find a compromise to pass much-needed legislation. This was the case with AOC’s Green New Deal in 2019 as the provisions in it were too progressive for widespread Congressional support. Because she and other supporters would not compromise, some of the vital qualities of the Green New Deal have yet to see the light of day. Second, some of these extreme millennial politicians do not necessarily use their power for good. Madison Cawthorn encouraged the insurrection of the Capitol on January 6th and has also made several statements regarding Trump’s stolen election. This is detrimental to democracy as those millennials or other generations who support Madison Cawthorn will then support some of his more polarized ideologies.
Both of the parties are currently facing extremely decisive splits within the parties, of which the frontrunners are millennials who have been in Congress for less than five years. While it is always good to have fresh faces in Congress, these politicians also do not have experience moderating and compromising between the two parties in order to reach an agreement that would hopefully benefit everyone. Some newly elected millennials are too polarized, albeit representative of their generation. Nevertheless, it is almost impossible for compromises to be reached within Congress, especially if the House is overturned to the Republicans after the next election.
