I'm just thinking that here in Canada, we have basically three parties. A more progressive party, left of center, New Democratic Party. The more third way neo-liberal Liberal party, who are almost the same as the modern DLC Democrats.. and the die hard Conservative party. Right now the Cons rule mostly because the Liberals got too full of themselves and people tired of them. Otherwise the Liberals have been the dominate party in the past, and I suspect in the near future as the son of one of our more admired PMs Trudeau, is running for the Liberal party next election. What traditionally happens is the Liberals skate into office because of Liberal party faithful, combined with moderate left and moderate right voters, support them and its a shoe in. I'd much rather have an NDP government, but I'm starting to come to the conclusion that perhaps the Liberals are the best we can do.
And so the same would be in the US. If you had a third populist more left party, who FOX and the rest of the corporate news media could pile on as the devil incarnate, and with the Republicans sinking lower and lower into tea bagger crazyville, and their eggs all in the 1% basket, the Democratic Party would be the winners. Sure, as in Canada, once in awhile the Cons will get in, but for the most part the Democrats will win most times. Of course the corporate pleasing blue dogs and third-wayers will still be a part, at least there is some kind of balance and catering to the actual 99%. But maybe thats the best we can hope for. I don't see Hillary as the beacon of progressive enlightenment, but compared to the alternative...
Having only two parties makes it too dangerous to be defined by the press as all one way or all the other. Its so much easier to create that kind of narrative. As black or white, as terrorist fighters or appeasers, as economic geniuses, or destroyers etc..
Then again, there'd be a lot of years of growing pains. It hasn't worked out too well for Nader. But maybe the mistake was in not pushing forward with that party after 2001. Being more aggressive afterwards despite the hand wringing from some on the left.
Its just so frustrating when there is no left criticism from any official political party on a third-way Democrat's plans. The only criticism is from a Republican who then will define some pro-corporate boondoggle (like the ACA) as some kind of socialist takeover.
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