The dance of the elephant and donkey goes around and around.  They dance around the voting public in hopes to win and keep their precious majority.  While the Republican and Democratic parties are ideologically different, there are a few key issues they can agree upon. 

The most important issue the two parties agree on is the one issue no one is talking about.  That is that they do not want a third party to exist under any circumstances.  A third party would likely represent a middle ground between the two, this would be a consensus.  Neither the Republicans, not the Democrats want a consensus.  Both parties realize that it is much easier to fight one opponent than two. 

The second issue both parties agree on is that their ideas for ruling the country are absolute and finite.  There can be no middle ground.  If you do not think like they do and follow party line completely, then you are the opposition.  It’s very much like Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies used to say, “You’re either fer me or agin me.” 

Each party says they want to bring an era of bi-partisanship and cooperation to Washington.  The problem is that they have been saying this for decades, and the American public has yet to see any real bi-partisanship from anyone in Washington.  When is the last time you heard Joe Republican refer to Jean Democrat’s bill as a good idea or vice versa? The fear is that if they agree on too much, then there will be no need for two parties. 

Power is the golden ring both parties are trying to grab and control.  The democrats want power by controlling your behavior.  They believe that they can run your life better than you can.  They want to create a dependant society.  The democratic leadership believes in a two class society, them and everyone else.  They would love to do away with all other societal classes.  They want to control every aspect of your lives.  Everything from health care to how big, or fast, a car you can own is fair game for the democrats.

Republicans are no better.  They believe that no government is better government.  Republicans believe that the free market and unrestricted competition is the ultimate system.  For them, big business is good business, and bigger business is even better business.  Competition creates ideas.  Ideas bring forth action.  Action yields change.  Whoever has the best ideas and can implement then gets the prize.  It all sounds great doesn’t it? 

The problem is that republicans have no problem with stepping on the necks of those below them to get what they want.  They are fierce individualist.  Anything that restricts business and industry is oppressive to the republicans.  All natural resources are up for grabs until they are exhausted.  Then they will find something else to exploit in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Both parties have successfully pitted the American public against each other.  They have made us choose either republican or democrat.  They have even made us choose a party in order to vote in our political primary elections.  The piece of legislation that made this possible was undoubtedly bi-partisan.  

The two parties have used classic civil warfare tactics against the voting public in order to divide us into two, and only two, parties.  The leadership from each side pounds their respective pulpits.  They make us believe that every election will decide nothing short than the very survival of this country.  They scare us, and then blame the other side for fear mongering.   If it wouldn’t be so serious, it would be comical. 

 The extremist from both sides led us to believe that their view is the only view.  There can be no compromise.  They use words like bi-partisanship to remind us that there are only two parties.  You will do well to notice that you have never heard the words tri-partisanship or multi-partisanship. 

The moderate leadership in Washington is marginalized.  They walk around with giant bull’s-eyes on their backs.  The extremist from both sized ridicule moderates.  They say that moderates can’t make a decision, they have no spine, they lack the intestinal fortitude to take a stand, or that they are afraid to hurt someone’s feelings.  A more dishonest view cannot be imagined. 

Moderate voices cannot be heard because the media controls the microphone, and the media has selected their side.  The media decides to turn the microphone on or off depending on who’s speaking.  Whether the media leans to the right or left, they offer no equal time to anyone in the middle. 

Where does all of this leave the people in the middle?  Mostly it leaves them confused to the point of being uninterested.  Reasonable people believe that there is no perfect ideology.  Reasonable people believe that taking the best ideas from both sides and then looking for more input is the best course of action.  But they are constantly told that is not so.  They are told that they have to choose sides.  The result is a voting public that ends up voting not for the best candidate, but rather for the less of two evils. 

Until America creates a viable third party or soundly rejects both the republican and democratic extremist, the political song will remain the same.  You know the song don’t you?  It’s playing right now.  It’s the one that the elephant and donkey are dancing to.