The Millennial Centrist

“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has finally come.” — Victor Hugo

For a long time, I’ve felt that our political system has needed to be redesigned. Some things have been the way they are for so long that we stop questioning whether they can be any other way. Up until now, the two-party system has served America well — it abolished slavery, defeated the Nazis, put a man on the moon, and led to some of the greatest technological and economic advancements in history. But just because something has worked well in the past does not mean it will continue to work well in the future. One of the great things about the American government is that if something is not working well, we’re allowed to change it.

I believe we are moving into a new era of American politics; a post-partisan era. It’s obvious that our political system doesn’t seem to be working well; it has become wildly unproductive, overly partisan, and too slow to keep up with how fast technology is changing our lives. It’s time we start from scratch and reimagine what a new democracy would look like.

For decades, the notion of a viable third party has been brushed off as unrealistic — and that has mostly been true until now. But what if there was a third party whose political philosophy was perfectly centered in between the left and the right? What if this Centrist party could become a beacon of compromise and negotiation between the forever warring Democrats and Republicans. What if now was the exact moment in history where a third party could emerge to create an equilibrium in our polarized political culture. According to a Pew Research study, “Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines… than at any point in the last two decades.” When the two major parties are as polarized as they are today, very little gets done and the American people suffer for it. I think we need a group of people in the middle to be the voice of reason when opposing views cannot come to terms. I believe that a Centrist party — founded on the principle of bridging the gap between the warring parties and brokering mutually beneficial compromises — could be the cure for what is ailing American politics.

When I imagine a Centrist party, I envision a party that combines the best ideas from each side into one, discarding as much of the nonsense as possible, and creating something completely new. Just like a software update on your iPhone, a Centrist party could be like an innovative political technology within our government. I picture Centrists acting as mediators between the left and right with the sole purpose of bringing the two parties together. Centrists would be committed to striking a balance between being pragmatic — in their approach and application — while having bold and idealistic goals. When I talk to people about politics, I hear a lot of them say, “I’m fiscally responsible and socially liberal.” Sounds like the best of both worlds. Why aren’t we striving for that harder as a society? I believe a legitimate and formidable Centrist party is possible and I believe it can fix our country.

No doubt, political extremes have played an important role in forcing progress throughout history, and they even serve as guideposts for us to identify a middle-ground; but I think we need to recognize that we are at a moment in history where extremes should not be leading. Extremists are inefficient. They are often too stubborn in their ideology that they end up stalling their own progress. I think most Americans know deep down that the right answers lie somewhere in between the two extremes. I believe that only Centrism can move us forward in a meaningful way. If the American experiment is to last well beyond 231 years, Centrists must take the levers of power away from the extremists. According to a Gallup poll, 42% of American voters identify as independents; more than both major political parties. That means that if independents wanted to, they could take control of this country. The problem is, independents have no place to go. But what if they did? What if they had a party that actually represented the beliefs of reasonable Americans?

In my first year of law school, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell agreed that they would try to write a new healthcare bill to repeal Obamacare. I remember watching the news and seeing that the bill was to be written by a group of GOP lawmakers, with absolutely zero input from the Democrats. A debate broke out in my constitutional law class about which party’s principles on healthcare should prevail; the arguments I heard from my classmates, both for and against, seemed reasonable — but very much along partisan lines. Meanwhile all I could think about was “why aren’t they collaborating with each other more? How do we expect to make great policy if the other side is not even in the room when we’re writing the laws?”

New technologies replace old technologies constantly. Why can’t we upgrade our government? I believe Centrism could be that upgrade. As President Kennedy said, “[L]et us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.”

A centrist movement has been brewing for years. The time has come to popularize it so that it becomes part of the national discourse. The word “centrist” will slowly become as widely used as the words “liberal” and “conservative.” More and more Americans will begin to describe their own political philosophy as “centrist.” Once we do this, political sanity will be restored, and Americans will be better off. This country needs a centrist movement.

Let’s start one.

@grazioli_jerome on Twitter