Oct. 18, 2017
Lee Drutman's arguments for third parties was referenced by Francis Fukuyama on The American Interest.
The normal functioning of our check-and-balance system has been dependent on some degree of cooperation between the parties. It has seized up in recent years as the parties have become more polarized and ideological. There may be institutional remedies for this, like moving to an alternative vote or some other electoral system more friendly to third parties as Lee Drutman and Larry Diamond have been advocating. But in the absence of such large structural reforms, the only way to make the government work is to fashion a centrist coalition that cuts across party lines. If Donald Trump could accomplish this, he would lay the groundwork for an important presidency. Whether he is temperamentally capable of such a turn and savvy enough to see the opportunity in front of him is another question.