Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr
With less than 100 days until the November elections, the Republican and Democratic Parties have ramped up their attacks against the other side in hopes of gaining some political advantage – but the tactics in the 2024 cycle have been unorthodox to say the least.
On one side, former President Donald Trump has labeled presumptive Democratic nominee and Vice President, Kamala Harris, as “incompetent” and “not very smart.” On the other side, Democrats have adopted a strategy of depicting Trump and his running mate as “weird.”
There is little focus on substance or policy – and while that is nothing new in partisan politics, the struggle between the two major parties to make the other side look like the “worst option” rather than focus on why they are the “best option” this time around seems so… juvenile.
Meanwhile, longshot independent presidential candidate Rober F Kennedy Jr is taking a different approach.
Last week, Kennedy announced his platform for a unity government that he has called #AmericaStrong. He first pitched the idea at FreedomFest in Las Vegas on July 12 – one day before Trump was shot at a Pennsylvania rally.
There was an immediate call from Republicans and Democrats after the shooting to “tone down the rhetoric” and focus on unity. However, it didn’t take long before both sides went back to partisan mudslinging and hyperbolic rhetoric.
On July 22, Kennedy officially announced his #AmericaStrong platform – a name he chose because people have a tendency to unify in times of crisis and right now the US is facing a serious crisis of political division.
“We’ve given the Democrats a chance to fix this country. We’ve given Republicans a chance,” Kennedy said.
“What has not had a chance is a unity government, headed by an independent president beholden to no party, free from corporate influence, owing no favors to the Washington establishment, and ready to recruit the best ideas from both parties and from all those who have been left out.”
Kennedy promises that under his America Strong platform his cabinet will be composed of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, and people who are not members of any political party.
He further states that he will look into criminal charges made against former presidents and members of their families and if he finds any political motivation behind them, he will issue a pardon.
He said this will extend to private citizens as well, including NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, and he will “forbid the weaponization of the Justice Department, the IRS, or any other government agency to surveil or undermine political opponents or their supporters.”
Kennedy also promises to push direct democracy initiatives that would give voters an opportunity to be more directly involved in the legislative and budgetary processes through AI, blockchain, and other technologies.
“I know people are ready for it because everywhere I go people say they are sick and tired of the division and they’re sick of the hatred,” he remarked. “They want mature leadership that isn’t about ‘us vs them.’”
Kennedy is unlikely to win the presidential election. As of now, his ticket is on the ballot in 13 states – Alaska, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
He is polling at around 10 percent in national polls – which suggests that even though his chances of winning are slim, he will still have an impact in key areas around the country when voters go to the polls.
Kennedy’s low odds of winning, however, do not take away from the fact that he is correct about the public perception on hyper-polarization and division. People get exhausted just thinking about American politics
And as a result, people’s faith in elections and the country’s government institutions is shaken (to put it lightly) because neither Democrats nor Republicans have offered any hope that things can change under their leadership.
Policy takes a backseat to partisanship. Solutions are neglected for scoring political points. What makes us different is treated as more important than what unites us and can bring us together.
Is it really any wonder why nearly two-thirds of Americans say the US needs a third major political party? Is it any wonder why more and more Americans say we need more choice and competition in elections?