The Major Parties Should Be Worried

The Major Parties should be worried

Voting is not exactly the most popular citizen duty Americans like to-do and when asking around, you may be hard-pressed proving otherwise. Of course it cannot be negated that the last president to be elected in the United States was nothing short of historic, the first of African-American heritage elected to the highest office and turning out a massive amount of new voters. With that said, that was eight years ago and it is now 2016. What do voters think now? One thing is for certain, the two major parties should be worried, because voters have caught onto their game and are turning on them.

Looking at polling, the average turnout for presidential elections remains quite consistent over the last two decades. While it is great to see consistent voter turnout, one may ask, why would voter turnout remain relatively the same if the general population is increasing? Thinking about it deeper, if voting age population (VAP) is gradually increasing, but this is not reflected in voter turnout, could this mean that voters frequently resent the major parties? One thing is for certain: the two major parties should be worried; voters have caught onto their game.

Taking a look at the current presidential cycle is so very telling of the state of the voters mind. What does it say when populist consensus means “Democrats” prefer the only independent-socialist in Bernie Sanders and “Republicans” prefer an unknown quantity in an over-the-top Donald Trump for this presidential cycle? It means that voters are so unimpressed with our lawmakers and party establishments; they are willing to fundamentally change the entire party, even if it has negative results on the incumbents. Voters realize that in order to initiate “real change”; they must elect outsider candidates or risk falling into the never-ending spin-cycle Democrats and Republicans sell to voters. Voters are ready to kick their parties to the curb and vote for whomever they feel like, regardless of ‘what is best for the party’.

What do we think Donald Trump supporters are doing by voting for him as their candidate for office? Some may think it is a joke, but others see it as symbolic, similar to the Bernie Sanders movement. In a nutshell, voters don’t care about voting for the parties any longer, they care about changing the parties to reflect their attitudes and beliefs. The major party establishment should be worried because their seats are not safe for long.

What will the angry Bernie Sanders voters do when they figure out the party leadership at the DNC (Democratic National Convention) has always thought his campaign and voters are a joke and expendable? Will these voters stay home or would they be willing to spite-vote to show their dissatisfaction? Many of the Sanders voters are brand-new voters, similar to Trump supporters, just introduced to voting after being inspired by the respective campaigns. They will be turned off by the idea that a candidate running for the ‘right’ reasons has no chance to win due to status-quo party politics as usual. The major parties better be worried because they are in for a shakeup.

The rhetoric major parties push is that their agenda is best for the people and that they know what is best. The major parties tell their dissenting-base of voters over and over, ‘this candidate has no chance to win, give up and follow us’. Well politicians and political elites, we have caught onto your game and are planning a respectful, but ruthless takeover of the Democratic and Republican parties. This is why the major parties should be worried as the next class of millennial activists are now speaking and demanding their voices be heard. The major parties should be worried as the party structures will be permanently re-aligned in order to allow for growth and real changes the current major party leaders could never allow. Let your party establishment know they should be worried, because voters are pissed off!

Originally written on 14th of June 2016 by Tony Washington

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