Do we have a have huge split in this party too now?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

24. There is a huge split in the American political left, but it's not necessarily new.

The Democratic party does have some issues, but much of the anger at the party is from progressive independents.

Think about the history of the past 30 years: in 2000, many independent progressives voted Green (Nader) in the GE. ore, they argued, was too corporatist and not a huge improvement over Bush. That seems laughable now, but put it in the context of the time: Bush ran as a moderate; touted his great relationship with Dems in Texas; and was a "uniter not a divider." Then 9-11 happens; then we invade Afghanistan; then we are sold the notion that the war in Iraq is necessary. By 2004, the war in Iraq is getting unpopular, and John Kerry barely loses to Bush -- a sitting President in time of war. By 2006, independent progressives and Democrats are largely on the same side in their shared opposition to the Iraq war and George W. Bush. The Dems win the 2006 midterms big. In 2008, we are still united in our opposition to the war and any continuation of Bush policies. Many Democrats support Hillary Clinton, but many other Dems and progressive independents support Barack Obama. For the most part, Democrats have bee happy with Barack Obama, but many progressive independents felt he didn't end the war in Iraq fast enough; didn't make a better effort to break up the banks; didn't do enough to get single payer or public option; and didn't appreciate Robert Gibbs' references to "the Professional Left." We're at the end of an eight-year Democratic administration, and (just as in 2008), progressive independents do not feel that the mainstream Democratic party is progressive enough.

Will the Dems split? No. However, this may finally inspire independent progressives to a) actually join the Democratic party and encourage change from within or b) join the Greens and actually start forcing that party to organize in a tangible way.

The Republicans may be a different topic. If they lose this election, I suspect that the loosely affiliated group of ultra conservatives that identify as "the Tea Party" will split, and my guess is that, at least initially, they will convince many Congressmen in OK, TX, MS, AL, GA, SC and possibly others to switch to the new party.