Rebranding the Donkeys and the Elephants!

De: Stoddard Farnsworth

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

There are two major political parties in the US, the Democrats and the Republicans, which are also known in American visual culture through Nast's depictions of them as donkeys and elephants, and this bipartisan relationship has dominated American politics since the mid-nineteenth century. Despite each having quite different origins from how they are depicted today, meaning that most would be surprised to find out that the Democrats, the oldest political party on the planet, were divided over slavery issues less than two centuries ago and that the Republicans started as an anti-slavery, capitalistic party, both political entities are facing similar issues today. In their current form, like political parties worldwide, there is a necessary urgency to rebrand themselves to connect with constituents, i.e., with young voters, the working class, and new Americans. Throughout the twentieth century, the Democratic Party, which is considered to be left-leaning or liberal in the US, has appealed to voters that were minority groups and the working class. On the other hand, the Republican Party's supporters have tended to be more upper middle class, professionals that favored big business, libertarian ideals, and less government. The Democratic Party is presently suffering a power vacuum as they lack leadership and support within their own party for the policies that recent nominees have touted to entice votes as they have ranged from being unconstitutional to being not well thought out and forward-thinking. The Republicans currently have the majority of the power in the US as the incoming president and the majority of Congress are representatives of this party, but as we saw in 2020, when the same scenario played out, the party was a bit fragmented and was unable to reach a consensus on many issues as the president-elect is and was considered a populous leader, gaining the majority of votes from working-class Americans who are looking for opportunities and wealth, while the Republican Congressional leadership are very conservative in that their policies typically favor only large corporations, military spending, and reductions of entitlements provided by the government. The main issue facing voters in the US during the most recent presidential cycle was the economy, and this is something that will continue to be a significant factor moving forward as each subsequent government has greatly increased the national deficit over the last three decades. The Federal Reserve has been forced to debase the dollar to stop major economic depressions, and Congress has been unable to reach consensuses on government spending for the past 15 elections. Moving forward, both political parties in the US will face challenges in gaining support as they need to rebrand themselves to appeal to working-class voters, minority groups, and new Americans. The nation needs to become more liberal about legal immigration and workers rights in the US that don't require the bureaucracy of unions as well as introducing serious budget cuts to unnecessary government programs while simultaneously financing key industries to create future economies that offer opportunities and surpluses for American citizens and future governments!

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." -James Madison