On Political Independence and the Dictatorship of the Democratic-Republican Two-Party State

One of the most curious paradoxes in American politics is the disconnect between public dissatisfaction with the congress as a whole and the public's dissatisfaction with their congressional representatives in particular. Consider the findings from a recent poll commissioned by CNN:

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, released Tuesday, indicates that only 34 percent feel that current federal lawmakers deserve re-election, with 63 percent saying no. According to the survey, 51 percent feel their own member of Congress should be re-elected -- also an all-time low in CNN polling -- while 44 percent say their representative doesn't deserve to be returned to office in November.

So, to recap: 63% say federal lawmakers should not be re-elected, but 51% say their own representative should be re-elected. What this disparity represents is the unwillingness or inability of the American voter, in the aggregate, to admit responsibility for the reproduction of the problem that is the Democratic-Republican two-party state and duopoly system of government: it is always someone else's representative who is the representative of the problem. But the reality is exactly the opposite. If you are dissatisfied with the federal legislature, and you continue to vote for Republicans or Democrats, you are the problem.

The political apparatus of the Republican and Democratic Parties, bolstered by the ideology of the two-party state, is dedicated to making you complicit in the reproduction of the problem that is the dictatorship of the Democratic-Republican two-party state. There is no lack of examples in this regard. The Progressive Professor, for instance, argues that third party and independent activism is futile:

This concept going around that an “Independent” or third party can somehow win over enough support and revolutionize the party system we have had since 1854, when the Republican party was created, is a fallacy, as our political system has never allowed for such a concept, certainly not for the White House, and only very rarely for a seat in Congress or a Governorship.

Apparently, it is progressive to profess reactionary support for the two-party state on the basis of the assertion that the two-party state "will not allow" even the "concept" of third party or independent opposition to the Democratic-Republican duopoly system of government. However, the Professor immediately goes on to admit that there are currently two independents in the US Senate and that three independent or third party governors have been elected in just the last twenty years. So it is impossible to elect third party and independent candidates for office, but it is not impossible to elect third party and independent candidates for office. The professor falls prey to one of the most common mystifications of duopoly ideology.

Ironically, in calling upon independents to declare their political co-dependency with the Democratic and Republican Parties, the so-called Progressive Professor's position is virtually indistinguishable from that of Republican duopolist ideologue Sarah Palin. CBS reports the former Vice Presidential candidate's remarks on the independence of the tea party movement:

"Now the smart thing will be for independents who are such a part of this Tea Party movement to, I guess, kind of start picking a party," Palin said. "Which party reflects how that smaller, smarter government steps to be taken? Which party will best fit you? And then because the Tea Party movement is not a party, and we have a two-party system, they’re going to have to pick a party and run one or the other: ‘R’ or ‘D’."

Perhaps the only people who are more deluded than conservatives who believe the Republican Party stands for small government and the principle of freedom are progressives who believe the Democratic Party stands for civil rights and the principle of justice. In their common demand that independents declare their dependency on the Democratic or Republican Party, the "progressive" professor and the "conservative" commentator demonstrate that the ideology undergirding the Democratic-Republican two-party state is neither progressive nor conservative, but rather reactionary and dictatorial.