When the public is dissatisfied with both parties, the media and Mike Bloomberg start talking about some “centrist uprising,” or a moderate third party. This talk is always nonsense, and not just because the Democratic and Republican parties are so powerful. It’s silly because centrism is what has everyone so upset.
Ross Douthat put it well last year when he noted that our financial crisis, our foreign follies, Europe’s financial disaster, the revolving door and corruption of our politics, and our outrageous national debt were not caused by the “extremes” or partisanship or fringes, but by “The ‘moderation’ and ‘centrism’ of the Western governing class.”
Michael Needham and Tim Chapman at Heritage Action take this issue head on in an article over at Real Clear Politics. We don’t need a centrist third party. We need someone to take on the Bigs. As conservatives, we need the GOP to take on the Bigs:
The Bigs – Big Wall Street, Big Government, Big Labor, and Big Business – are all protected classes in the American political system. The tax code, regulatory regime, and campaign finance laws are all written by those powerful enough to hire an army of lobbyists to descend on Washington. Labor unions pushed their way ahead of bond holders when the Establishment bailed out Chrysler. Solyndra got venture funding from the middle class taxpayer after spending $1.9 million lobbying the Establishment.
This corrupt nexus is at the heart of the dissatisfaction across the country towards Washington.
Needham and Chapman’s point is that Republican success depends on the conservative base successfully beating the Big establishment.
