“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democratic-Republican uniparty so that the people will actually have a VOICE.” (Elon Musk, emphasis his)
A 2023 study in the British Journal of Social Psychology concluded that the political right “diverges widely” in thought, whereas the political left “coalesces around a very narrow set of opinions.” The conclusions of this study are not surprising. The “political right” believes in freedom; the “political left” believes in collectivism, and if you go outside those collective boundaries, you get shot or thrown into the gulag. That’s clear history.
Thus, Elon Musk’s “third party” would hurt Republicans a lot more than it would hurt Democrats. Most Republicans believe, as noted in the study above, in divergence of opinion, while the Democratic Party would continue their coalescing ideology if there were a third, “America Party,” and there would not be as many defections.
Elon’s third party, if it gained any traction, might ensure Democratic Party majorities as far into the future as foreseeable. I don’t really think Elon wants that, but he’s a businessman, he’s not a historian, so, as brilliant as he is in many ways, he is limited in his knowledge, as we all are.
There is another way. It is the way of George Washington and our Constitution, and it is the way that I favor. But sadly, it will never happen. I only write about it so it can be public, because it needs to be said, and perhaps, for nostalgia’s sake. It was, however, what our Founding Fathers intended, subsequent generations of Americans have butchered, and most Americans have no clue at all about it. That’s how much our education system has decimated our nation’s knowledge.
Mr. Washington, in his farewell address to the nation, warned the country against political parties; he did not believe we should even have them. And, let me ask you a question: where are political parties mentioned in our Constitution? Don’t bother looking it up, they aren’t there. Our Founding Fathers did not foresee political parties, did not want them, because they knew political parties were divisive. Thus, they established a federal government, of which the 17 or so powers of Congress are listed in Article 1, Section 8, and those powers were neutral, i.e., they applied to every American equally. Now, the states, which had far more power under the Constitution (read the 10th Amendment) had the freedom to do what they thought best for their citizens. And if you didn’t like what your state was doing, in 1789 you had 12 others to choose to move to (49 now). But that wasn’t how the Founders established the powers of the national government. Where do you go if the feds become tyrannical? Thailand?
Again, congressional powers were to apply equally to every American. And the rationale is simple and we see today what they were trying to prevent. With political parties, one party (“A”) gains power and begins enacting programs benefiting their constituents, programs the constituents of the other party (“B”) are FORCED to pay for. Then, when party “B” comes to power, the situation is reversed—party “A”’s members are FORCED to pay for things they don’t believe in. And, as Thomas Jefferson said, “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” That’s what political parties do. That’s why the Founding Fathers, George Washington, didn’t establish and want them.
But, sadly, they began almost immediately after Washington became president. Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury, wanted a “Bank of the United States.” Jefferson, Secretary of State, said “no! Where is a national bank in the Constitution?” But Hamilton wanted to subsidize and help finance Northern industry. Jefferson, a Southern agrarian, opposed the Bank as helping the North and hurting the South—the federal government no longer being neutral, but benefitting one section of society over another. Hamilton got his Bank. And political parties immediately arose.
And, except for a short period in the early 1800s, they have continued to our very day. The division over the Bank of the United States, the creation of political parties, was actually the first step on the road to America’s War Between the States.
And our current political parties are on the verge of causing another civil war.
You see, folks, most wars in human history are fought over the first principle of economics, i.e., resources are limited. Country A attacks country B because country B has resources—land, food, gold, whatever—that country A wants. That is an economic principle. There just aren’t enough resources on this earth to allow everybody to have everything they want. So, wars are fought to obtain those resources.
That “limited resources” principle is just as true in America as elsewhere. The Republicans and Democrats fight over the resources that do exist, wanting to dish as many out to their constituents as possible, thereby buying votes and remaining in power. And, as a result, our government is $37+ trillion in debt, with another $5 trillion debt ceiling about to be added to it, because our government is trying to give everybody everything they want, rather than have the sense to realize that life doesn’t work that way, that resources are limited, and can NEVER be fairly distributed by government. But, buying votes, staying in power, is ALL politician care about, and thus they shove the problem of debt off to the subsequent generations, hoping that the inevitable fiscal collapse doesn’t happen while they are in office. Our politicians are destroying our country.
So no, Elon, I don’t want a third political party in America. We already have two parties too many.
My substacks are a little unique. Not just current events, but history, our Founding Fathers, what America was meant to be, and Biblical exegesis. Check them out. “Mark It Down! (mklewis929.substack.com), and “Mark It Down! Bible Substack” (mklbibless.substack.com) Both free. Follow me on “X”: @thailandmkl. Read my western novels, Whitewater , River Bend, Return to River Bend, and Allie’s Dilemma all available on Amazon.