Emmanuel Macron, who was recently elected the President of France, had never run for office. A year ago his political party did not exist, but it recently won 350 of the 577 seats in the French legislature.
A threatening question: can we learn from the French? Let’s review our recent political history. The Democrats were successful under Bill Clinton, because he was able to build bridges with Republicans on economic policies.
Barack Obama represented too much of a shift to the left for many Americans, not necessarily because he was too far left, but because he was portrayed as such. In foreign policy, despite his efforts to become a bridge between differences religiously, culturally and politically in the nations of the world, he was perceived of as more of an idealist than a realist, with the result that he became powerless. Like Jimmy Carter, having the right values does not always provide the best results.
Hillary Clinton campaigned in the dark shadows of her husband, Benghazi, questionable financial dealings and an email server controversy. The right successfully portrayed her as the Wicked Witch. Her efforts to shift to the right caused concern with the left and made her seem outdated.
Republicans under the House of Bush were faced with issues they did not create internationally and were forced to bend to liberal causes at home. Under their leadership, while both Bush men were personally liked, and dad revered as a human being, they were often unpopular with their own party (“no new taxes,” and an ever-expanding federal government).
The Tea Party, meanwhile, erupted in the face of these traditional Republicans, demanding the kinds of results that the Grand Old Party had been talking about for years. Mitt Romney, a quintessential good man and moderate Republican, was the first major victim of the Tea Party.
Then came Donald Trump. He was able to capitalize on several things: First, his celebrity status. That gave him an immediate sliver of the popularity – all it took to be at the top of the list. Then, as other of the 17 candidates began to drop out, Trump was able to maintain his position at or near the top, increasingly appearing to be a real and legitimate candidate. Anyone who was mad about almost anything saw him as the one who kicked butt and took names.
And so, here we are - but where are we? Let me digress to point out an interesting irony:In France, there are more than 15 different political parties, but religiously, virtually all Christians are either Protestant or Catholic. On the other hand, in the United States (which is over 80 percent Christian) there are God-knows-how-many brands of protestant Christianity, but only two major political parties!
The President of France rejected the traditional major parties of his country, creating a new party and winning. Since both the Republican and the Democratic parties are somewhat (or completely) at sea, it may be time to take a lesson from the French.
Two parties are ready to bloom. First, of course, is the party of Trump. They are really not Republicans, as Republicans all know. They are the party of Trump and a legitimate force. Like Macron, Trump needs to declare a new party and then encourage candidates to run under his banner. It will be the America First party, and what that means, and how that plays out, has yet to be determined.
But, there’s also the opportunity to further Macronize America. France was tired of the same old words from the same old parties, and ready for something new. But is the party of Trump the answer?
Macron is a financial conservative and a social liberal. So is the majority of this country. On the major issues, most Republicans have enough gay friends to have shifted their thinking on this and other social issues (think Mitt and health care in Massachusetts), just as most Democrats do not really believe in budgets that spend more than they take in.
Republicans and Democrats have both tried to portray themselves as “big tent” parties, accepting those who are pro-life or pro-choice, and those who are pro-business or pro-union. Therein lies the problem: the tents are so big that if you are a Democrat you can be accused of being a “socialist” along with Sanders/Warren; and if you are a Republican, your party now begins with Donald Trump, includes the Tea Party and the alt-right.
But the new, Macron party – let’s call it the National American Party – would not include any of these extreme wings, only the broad, middle-of-the-road, willing-to-compromise majority. It would be the only party with no extremists in its ranks.
So, Michael Bloomberg, Angus King, Joe Lieberman, are you listening? Centrists from both parties are calling. The National American Party: it’s time.
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