Viewpoint: Is parliamentary democracy a better fit?
David Daniels
The American two-party political system appears broken. Our current system cannot pass a budget, protect its citizens, or provide leadership necessary in this ever-changing world. Our political parties have been co-opted by billionaires and dark-money PACs. It’s time to look at alternatives such as parliamentary systems common in Europe or Japan.
Under a parliamentary system, multiple political parties would compete to form blocs and governing coalitions. No single party gains absolute power and the ability to abuse it. It would be beneficial if Americans could take pride in their political parties but the two current options, republican or democrat, are uniformly unattractive.
The democratic brand needs help. Seth Bodnar hides from the label. Tester conceded. And republicans now control all branches of Montana government, our federal government, and the most corrupt Supreme Court in history.
On the national level, democrats commissioned a post mortem analysis of their election losses but now refuse to publicly release their report, similar to the Trump administration violating the law by continuing to withhold Epstein files. But in this case, the democrats are not violating the law. They are simply protecting pro-Zionist donors from confronting claims about genocide against Palestinians. Neither democrat nor republican parties are willing to stop the insane slaughter of innocent Palestinians.
Republicans have become even more alienated from everyday Americans. A reasonable observer might think everything would be rosy for republicans who hold political power. But this is not the case.
It’s mind-blowing that the GOP is suing the state of Montana over a law recently passed by the republican legislature. The signature accomplishment of this legislative session was property tax reform signed by our republican governor. It appears that wealthy property owners along Flathead Lake and other prime locations are now balking at paying higher taxes on vacation homes and cabins, hence the lawsuit over a law that they themselves authored.
Montana republicans have declared it preferable to have chaos rather than work together with democrats. Rejecting an opposition party simply because it’s an opposition party is self-defeating. We see the results in dysfunctional government and general decline. Why can’t our two-party system build consensus around common concerns like public lands and reproductive freedom?
Speaking of dysfunction, our governor has also gone full-tilt into indoctrination of young Montanans by promoting the racist and homophobic hyperbole of Charlie Kirk. Kirk himself was assassinated by a right-leaning fanatic despite claims by Fox-aligned media claiming otherwise. Gianforte wants Turning Point chapters in all high schools and colleges, just as Hitler mandated Hitler Youth Clubs throughout Nazi Germany.
Charlie Kirk extolled values of white culture and Christian nationalism. I can understand how insecure or economically challenged Americans might fall for this brand of populism. But even proponents such as Gianforte cannot effectively white-wash such hate-mongering. Their aversion to diversity and multi-culturalism is most appropriately labelled “white fragility.”
White fragility is the flip-side of white privilege. It allows white men who hold power to ignore discussing topics that cause discomfort or possibly insinuate their own behaviors. White fragility is predicated on the assumption of victimhood and manifests itself through abuses of power. For example, attempting to define sex and gender as binary using weaponized political rhetoric rather than scientific or medical expertise smacks of white fragility.
Banning books, drag shows, discussions about racism, eliminating public comment on environmental degradation, firing people with technical expertise, terrorizing non-citizens and citizens alike, and prohibiting scientists from even mentioning climate change, all reflect a fascist mindset aligned with white fragility.
Moving beyond this white fragility, Montana’s GOP representatives in congress have given carte blanche approval for our Pedophile-in-Chief to wage an illegal and unjust war against Iran. No checks or balances for a deranged and deteriorating chief executive. Americans are paying a price for this malfeasance through higher gas prices and food costs, declining access to health care, and housing shortages.
A while back, republicans complained about the national debt under Obama and Biden. Under Trump, the national debt has ballooned to an astronomical $39Trillion, fueled by reckless tax breaks for billionaires and spending on I.C.E. through the Big Beautiful Bill. Republicans don’t even have a plan on how to reduce this crushing deficit and they sure won’t talk about it. Estimates for the deficit don’t even count the costs of war in Iran ($1B+/day) or tariff refunds to American businesses. These events will expand the deficit even more.
Then there’s this matter about J.D. Vance lecturing the Pope about Catholic theology, how embarrassing. Is this the product of America’s two-party system?
The late syndicated columnist Sydney J. Harris wrote that European political systems have openly recognized fascist political parties without cloaking this philosophy behind terms like “conservatism”, in contrast to American politics. Harris wrote that fascism “has no business masquerading as “Americanism” or “conservatism” or “patriotism,” when its whole philosophy of man is based on a hate-filled exclusiveness that would shock and affront the conservative American patriots who founded this country.”
It might be time for America to reorganize itself around political parties that adhere to concepts like environmentalism, free-market conservatism, aristocracy, Zionism, social justice, or fascism (MAGA) instead of big tent political parties.
Under a parliamentary system, political parties could lend their support to governing coalitions or withdraw their support when necessary. It’s factionalism that was eschewed by America’s founding fathers. But this approach seems like an attractive and logical alternative to the dysfunctional cash-centric, winner-takes-all, system we have today.