Dowd Looks at the Bright Side

At the Wall Street Journal Matthew Dowd assesses the record-breaking negatives of the presidential campaign—mainly that neither major party candidate is liked or trusted—and concludes:

This election will, though, accelerate the United States toward more political disruption. And that is likely to contribute to the search for independent candidates locally and at the state level who can speak to Americans’ hopes and dreams and get the job done. After Election Day, leaders who put country over party and integrity over service of self will have a great opportunity to grasp the levers of office.

I find that incredibly optimistic. Duverger’s Law, the rule of thumb that suggests that winner take all systems like ours tend to evolve into systems with two major parties that oppose each other rather than a number of smaller parties, suggests otherwise. The Democrats and the Republicans have a stranglehold on the electoral process that they are unlikely to release.

Indeed, I think it’s more likely that Americans will continue the process that has been going on for some time now, realizing that the political process is incapable of producing good, trustworthy candidates who are willing to address the many problems facing us in ways that help anyone other than their donors and themselves. That won’t result in a search for “independent candidates” but will further de-legitimize government and, probably, the law.