Parties over? Republicans, Democrats, and the Howard Schultz challenge

America’s two-party system is broken. That’s what former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says, anyway. The self-described centrist and possible candidate for president has made criticism of the Republican and Democratic Parties the central theme of his as-yet unofficial campaign.

“Both parties today on the far left and the far right are more interested in partisan politics, revenge politics,” said Mr. Schultz in a CNN town hall broadcast on Feb. 12. “I think we could be doing much better.”

On that point, many voters might agree. They’re tired of the bickering and gridlock and policy problems left unsolved. Americans’ trust in the parties as institutions is quite low, down there with phone companies, Congress, and the media. The percentage of citizens who register as “independent,” rather than “Democrat” or “Republican,” is at an all-time high. 

But what if the parties are the solution, as much as the cause, for the nation’s malfunctioning political system? After all, political scientists and other experts view them as the indispensable organizers of democracy.

In this view, the parties’ real problem is weakness, not strength. Electoral reforms have hurt their organizational cohesion, outside money has weakened their hold on elected officials, and partisan media has diluted their ability to define their own policies and positions. 

At the same time, the parties as ideas are as strong as ever. Decades of ideological sorting have produced clear left/right, blue/red teams. Like rival teams everywhere, the members are ready to fight – no matter what their nominal party leaders want to do.

In US politics, the defining characteristic of our age is that the parties are weak, but partisanship is strong, according to Julia Azari, a political

Not part of the planA permanent duopoly?Gatekeepers no moreLegitimate opposition