Justin asks the question “Are you satisfied?”, linking to polls that may or may not indicate an electoral base which can serve as a foundation for a third party effort. The question resonates for me, and was one I tried to answer in an older but relevant post:

I have been voting since 1970. I have cast my vote idealistically, practically, out of loyalty, and I have, upon occasion, thrown my vote away. I have walked out of a voting booth feeling euphoric, I have walked out of a voting booth feeling I have wasted 30 minutes of my life, and I have walked out of a voting booth feeling soiled and in need of a shower. Among the voting rationales I have employed: Voting straight ticket for the major party that most closely matches my views; Voting for ideologues in the hope they will pull the government a few degrees in their partisan direction; Voting for the ‘Best Man” in any given race regardless of party or ideology; Voting for 3rd party candidates that more closely match my views, and; Voting for the “lesser of two evils”. In some races, I have not voted (including a write-in vote for “None of the Above”). None of these stratagems have been particularly satisfying.

A third party movement can change elections. Problem being, third parties affect elections in a negative way, by draining partisan support primarily from one party or another. If they drain evenly, they are irrelevant (see “Libertarian Party”). So Clinton beats Bush(41) because Perot siphons votes from Republicans, and Bush(43) beats Gore, because Nader siphons votes from Democrats. Which is why voting for a third party is also not a satisfying experience - If you vote for a moderately successful 3rd party, the person you probably deem the greater of two evils wins the election.

I’d like to think there is a more satisfying way to vote.

Here is the proposition. What if the “invisible hand” in the electorate that prefers divided government becomes visible? What if the “collective unconscious” that prefers divided government, starts making that decision consciously? The effect would be like a third party. Lets call it the “Dividican” Party (or “Dividists” or “Dividocrats” if you prefer - the 2nd “i” is pronounced “eye” - “Div-eye-dicans”). It could change elections in the same way 3rd parties do, by siphoning partisan support but siphoning positively to achieve a desired objective. The beauty of this idea is that this party needs no candidates, no leaders, no platform, no conventions, really none of the trappings of a political party. Dividican party members are voting by objective, not by platform and not out of party loyalty. Party members vote based on what politicians actually do (see earlier post: “Thesis: Divided Government is Better Government”) as opposed to what politicians say. How to vote, as a Dividican, in any given federal election, is either obvious or there is no Dividican party vote. You are simply voting for Divided Government and the documented benefits of a Divided Government. In 2006, that meant you voted a straight Democratic ticket for Congress. Since it looks like the Democrats will maintain control in 2008, you will vote for the Republican candidate for President in 2008. Simple. Easy. Satisfying.

Of course, this voting strategy only works if we are in a political environment that is highly polarized and evenly split.

So, no problem.

In fact, a nuance of Dividican party membership is recognition that a polarized, partisan, evenly divided electorate is a positive good thing and should be encouraged. This means, that when a Dividican party member is not voting, he/she should be actively working to stir the pot by antagonizing partisans of either (or both) sides. This is good sport, and it permits the Dividican to vent their personal partisan spleen throughout the campaign, knowing they are helping the Divdican party maintain its delicate leverage, by maximizing the size and stability of the “Partisan Dead Weight” vote. This venting of the partisan spleen, is also therapeutic and will leave a clear thinking Dividican in the voting booth to make that logical decision to vote for the positive good of divided government.

So, How do you join the Dividican Party?

Just repeat after me: “I am going to vote for divided federal government.”

Congratulations and welcome aboard!

Now go antagonize some partisans. Just remember where your loyalty lies come November, 2008.

More at “Divided We Stand United We Fall”