Hot Air Asks the Wrong Question

The headline on this HotAir post asks the wrong question:  "McCain once almost left the GOP.  What about now?"

Here's some text:

...a sitting Democratic senator, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of upsetting Schumer on such a sensitive issue, said, “I’m just certain Chuck is already thinking about this – reaching out to McCain and Collins and Murkowski and others and asking if they really want to stand with the GOP....Politico, quoted at HotAir

What you see in the Politico/HotAir piece is a take on politics which is fading fast in the rear-view mirror.  The "R vs. D" simple-math stuff began its fade before Reagan, and one could argue that that division was no longer a useful analytic tool as early as 1960 or so--the year JFK got elected.

Because ever since then, the US has had three--maybe FOUR--political "parties."  There were the mainstream Democrats and Republicans, which are really the Same Party.  Then there were the hard-Left (anarchists, socialists, Communists) who broke through at the 1968 Democrat convention and have taken over a large part of the (D) Party.  Finally, there is the hard-Right (constitutional conservatives, Birchers, "alt-right" of various stripes) who are a growing force in the (R) party and are probably at break-through in the next year or so.

You can say that Reagan was a "hard-right" guy--except he didn't govern that way, either in California, or in Washington.  Granted, he was ham-strung by Congress.  You cannot really say that Bill Clinton was a "hard-Left" guy--and neither is Hillary, really; she dirtballed her hard-Left opponent into submission, but Bernie and Fauxcahontas are within an inch of taking over the Party, and anyone who can't see that is blind.

The Hard-Left/Hard-Right war is happening in Congress and in lots of the several States, right in front of Politico's noses--and they haven't figured it out yet. 

Anyhow, to get back to McPain:  whether he wears the (R) or (D) label is irrelevant--like Manchin, Collins, and a number of other old farts in Congress (including young farts like Paul Ryan), he's a Member in Good Standing of the Uni-Party.  Think Boehner, Cantor, and even Madison's own Tammy.  Ciphers with no agenda other than Mo'D.C.!!  Mo'Gummint!!! Mo'Pension-for-MEEE!!

Want to make it only three parties:  Left, Right, and Center?  Go ahead.  But now the Left and Right have a lot of traction that they never had in the late 20th Century.

Trump?  He's another "Center" party guy but a lot more obnoxious.  Has a few "right" leanings, has a few "left" leanings, and is going to sink his own ship trying to run DC like he runs real-estate development.  What counts, long-term, in that office?

Mike Pence.