By Nicholas Contos
There are real benefits to a traditional American two-party political system. When both major parties compete for the majority, they hold one another in check, and they both must stay fairly close to the mainstream public. This helps keep our society together, forces compromise, provides for a healthy competition of ideas.
But in real life politics, we must deal with reality, and the current reality in Idaho is that we simply do not have a functioning two-party dynamic. The reason is because Idaho Democrats – while they may consider themselves mainstream by national standards – absolutely refuse to accept the reality on the ground here in Idaho.
The Overton window is always moving. No one person gets to define what is and isn’t mainstream or radical for the world of Idaho politics. The electorate does that for itself, and in election after election in Idaho, the people have clearly shown that they consider the Democratic Party’s candidates and positions to be too extreme.
Let me say it again: The Democrats – not the Republicans – are the extremists in Idaho.
All of this raises the question: What can or should be done to restore the benefits of a functioning two-party system?
Will the Democrats in Idaho moderate their extremist stances if Republicans come back a little towards the left? Will the infighting and power struggles within the GOP be reduced if the party accepts a wider range of ideology?
No. Obviously not.
As long as the Democrat Party refuses to even attempt making itself appealing or acceptable to a majority of voters in Idaho, their counterpart party will continue to gravitate further and further right… as it should.
If Idaho moderates and independents are sincere about their concern that the GOP is getting too extreme, they should look at the other party, and frankly some of them should jump on board to pull it back towards being competitive with the mainstream here in Idaho.
Nicholas Contos is the former chair of the Bonneville County GOP. He lives with his wife and four children in Idaho Falls.
