What the rest of the world thinks of the republican party

surf cat

Rabbitt Bartholomew status
Jan 14, 2002
7,943
97
48
It is a sad situation that, for the most part, Americans are completely ignorant of two terms used pejoratively to describe the opposing sides of the American political spectrum. It is true that most Americans understand that Republicans are conservatives and inherently terrified of, and violently resistant to change to maintain the power structure favoring the privileged few, and that Democrats are liberals and promote progress to advance the general welfare of all Americans.
Political pundits often go a bit farther and use “big confusing” words like “fascists” and “socialists” to describe each political extreme, but very few Americans comprehend those words’ meanings. In their most basic sense, socialism is when government owns and operates all businesses, financial institutions and property with no input of private individuals, and fascism is when corporations own, operate, and control all facets of a nation’s government without any input from the people.
Conservatives are infatuated with criticizing everything unrelated to corporatism and extremism as “socialism” because it resonates with their base’s inherent stupidity and horror due to having no idea what socialism entails. If conservatives understood what socialism is, they would understand that the United States military is the only socialistic entity in America. Conversely, the left often criticizes conservatives and the policies championed by Republicans as being fascist. Unlike the ‘socialist’ label, fascist is an apt description of Republican tactics and policies and an ideology that their clueless base ardently supports and falls victim to.
Regardless of what any American thinks of Donald Trump, he has performed a valuable service to America if for no other reason than highlighting, in grand fashion, his own fascist inclination that drives the Republican Party’s policies, practices, and allegiance to the rich and corporations . More than just his policies, Trump is unafraid to publicly practice fascist tactics and is having a great measure of success due to the past six years of Republicans’ conditioning their base.
It is no coincidence that the fascist zeal of today’s Republican Party and its racist, religious extremist base, is precisely the same as the fervent fascism of the early and mid-20th century; and Donald Trump has exposed the GOP as a fascist movement. In a recent article worth reading, Jeffrey Tucker argued brilliantly that Donald Trump is as much a fascist as Mussolini and Hitler for inciting conservatives “with race baiting, traditionalism, and ‘ugly American’ strongman tough talk; typically Republican.
It is true that Trump is not saying anything Republicans and their base do not ardently believe and support; he is just unafraid to say it loudly and it informs his growing popularity among conservative. As Tucker explains, Trump’s success is founded on saying exactly what conservatives believe and desperately want a conservative hero to say. Tucker argues that “Trump has tapped into it, absorbing unto his own political ambitions every conceivable conservative resentment; race, class, sex, religion, and economics. And he promises a new order of things under his mighty hand.” It is what every Republican candidate for president promises, except Trump is unafraid to say it in any venue.


Everything about Trump’s style, the blatant race baiting, xenophobia, and confrontational nationalism is not unique to Trump by any means; he is simply the most blatant and vocal about it. Republicans, on the other hand, reserve their fascist tactics for private fundraisers, town hall speeches, and special interests’ conference meetings. The only reason Trump is leading in some GOP polls is because he says what the base believes. For example, the conservative base is furious that immigrants are in “their country,” are violently angry that homosexuals are destroying Christian’s tradition of marriage, and that America not at war is a sign of weakness. In fact, in the same way that fascism reacted to modernity in the early 20th century, right-wingers are reacting angrily to social progress of the new century.
Today’s Republican Party, like its base of support, is twisted sick with dangerously unwavering and dogmatic traditionalism, religious extremism, and blatant intolerance of anything they define as “other.” In fact, except for the people twice electing an African American man as President, Republicans and their conservative base are reacting violently to the “social progress” the nation has experienced over the past twenty years. Like the early 20th Century fascists’ violently reacted to modernity and people’s flirtation with democratic values, Republicans have tapped into the religious and conservative negative reaction to America’s 21st Century modernity, or as it is called “social progress” and tolerance.
As any American who has been conscious over the past six years can attest, Republicans preach, promote, and practice intolerance, xenophobia, passion over reason, racial and religious purity, and nationalism, and they openly crusade against democratic values.An example is Republicans’ dangerous and successful denial of climate change and science that originates with “the corrupt alliance of anti-intellectual traditionalism, religious fundamentalism, and corporate influence; the ultimate expression of fascism pushed and paid for by the Koch brothers.

For a prescient comparison between today’s GOP and 20th Century fascism, it is worth considering Benito Mussolini’s ghostwriter and “philosopher of fascism,” Giovanni Gentile’s definition of fascism. Gentile writes that,“Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.” If that one statement does not accurately describe the Republican Party, and all its iterations, then the Sun rises in the West. It is nearing the point that although large corporations do not yet have ultimate control and power over government, republicans have brought the nation precariously close to government by corporation and achieved their fascist goals by closely following 20th Century fascist tactics of spewing hateful and religious intolerant ideology based on “traditional values;” values they claim the left have destroyed.
:hah: Those traditional values of guns, god, and racial purity predominate the official GOP platform that corporate interests fund to elect conservatives to serve those corporate interests; not the people. :roflmao: There is a reason the Republican establishment, or the Koch brothers, have not yet brought their considerable power to bear on Donald Trump to end to his campaign; he is conditioning the base for a “kinder gentler” Republican fascist to appeal to more mainstream voters. It is why fascists like Scott Walker, Rand Paul, and Jeb Bush are being labeled “moderate” when they are just as vicious, just as fascist, and just as much a Koch-Republican as Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is a predatory businessman who, like Koch Republicans, wants to run America like his personal corporation. He, like Koch Republicans, fully understands that the voters, including the Republican base, would not be amenable to living under a government run by a corporation, so he appeals to the base’s intolerance, xenophobia, passion over reason, racial and religious purity, nationalism and the idea that America’s 236 year-old liberal democracy is why conservatives are losing their precious traditions. Most Americans likely have no real idea what fascism is, but if they listen to Donald Trump and peruse conservatives’ agenda, they will realize that officially, Koch Republicans are fascists.



Donald Trump Exposes Koch Republicans As Glaring Fascists was written by Rmuse for PoliticusUSA.
 

GWS

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
42,605
22
0
done
FecalFace said:
GWS said:
Actually you are missing my point.

Simply put, Europe is swinging right. It's undeniable. Yes, they will retain their health care. Did you read the 2015 manifesto for the Conservative Party? The items I listed follow the GOP pretty darn closely. And then some. What's happening with the anti immigration movement is frankly racist/xenophobic in the extreme. You can rationalize that with 'it's relative' but that does nothing to change the reality.

Considering all the rants from you re racism and xenophobia in this country I'm a little surprised at your cavalier attitude toward far worse examples in Europe.

Oh well.
Uh no, no, no, not cavalier towards any xenophobia. Never said such thing.
You are comparing apples and oranges though.
There's way more institutional racism and xenophobia here, in personal experience and as a matter of fact.
The fact that they have less racism and xenophobia doesn't make it any less wrong, just less.
That's all I'm saying, you can't really compare the right wing here and in Europe, no way. At least Jesus, evolution denial, climate change denial, universal care denial, abortion denial and love of guns are not in the picture in Europe.
Really?

Where was it that they had 25 THOUSAND people in the street protesting against people of color? Hint, it wasn't the United States. You are either in denial or you aren't keeping up. Educate yourself.

LINK

LINK

LINK

Among the many articles documenting racism in Europe in the last link, you will find a list of the 8 most dangerous countries for people of color to travel in. 4 of them are European. There are warnings about certain areas in which you 'may not make it out alive' if you are black.

Wake up.
 

Kento

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
69,342
21,867
113
The Bar
GWS said:
FecalFace said:
GWS said:
Actually you are missing my point.

Simply put, Europe is swinging right. It's undeniable. Yes, they will retain their health care. Did you read the 2015 manifesto for the Conservative Party? The items I listed follow the GOP pretty darn closely. And then some. What's happening with the anti immigration movement is frankly racist/xenophobic in the extreme. You can rationalize that with 'it's relative' but that does nothing to change the reality.

Considering all the rants from you re racism and xenophobia in this country I'm a little surprised at your cavalier attitude toward far worse examples in Europe.

Oh well.
Uh no, no, no, not cavalier towards any xenophobia. Never said such thing.
You are comparing apples and oranges though.
There's way more institutional racism and xenophobia here, in personal experience and as a matter of fact.
The fact that they have less racism and xenophobia doesn't make it any less wrong, just less.
That's all I'm saying, you can't really compare the right wing here and in Europe, no way. At least Jesus, evolution denial, climate change denial, universal care denial, abortion denial and love of guns are not in the picture in Europe.
Really?

Where was it that they had 25 THOUSAND people in the street protesting against people of color? Hint, it wasn't the United States. You are either in denial or you aren't keeping up. Educate yourself.

LINK

LINK

LINK

Among the many articles documenting racism in Europe in the last link, you will find a list of the 8 most dangerous countries for people of color to travel in. 4 of them are European. There are warnings about certain areas in which you 'may not make it out alive' if you are black.

Wake up.
You make it sound like they went so far as to commit genocide. That could never happen. :cookin:
 

FecalFace

Duke status
Nov 21, 2008
42,338
2,105
113
The Californias
GWS said:
FecalFace said:
GWS said:
Actually you are missing my point.

Simply put, Europe is swinging right. It's undeniable. Yes, they will retain their health care. Did you read the 2015 manifesto for the Conservative Party? The items I listed follow the GOP pretty darn closely. And then some. What's happening with the anti immigration movement is frankly racist/xenophobic in the extreme. You can rationalize that with 'it's relative' but that does nothing to change the reality.

Considering all the rants from you re racism and xenophobia in this country I'm a little surprised at your cavalier attitude toward far worse examples in Europe.

Oh well.
Uh no, no, no, not cavalier towards any xenophobia. Never said such thing.
You are comparing apples and oranges though.
There's way more institutional racism and xenophobia here, in personal experience and as a matter of fact.
The fact that they have less racism and xenophobia doesn't make it any less wrong, just less.
That's all I'm saying, you can't really compare the right wing here and in Europe, no way. At least Jesus, evolution denial, climate change denial, universal care denial, abortion denial and love of guns are not in the picture in Europe.
Really?

Where was it that they had 25 THOUSAND people in the street protesting against people of color? Hint, it wasn't the United States. You are either in denial or you aren't keeping up. Educate yourself.

LINK

LINK

LINK

Among the many articles documenting racism in Europe in the last link, you will find a list of the 8 most dangerous countries for people of color to travel in. 4 of them are European. There are warnings about certain areas in which you 'may not make it out alive' if you are black.

Wake up.
You need to get out of the house a little more and stop reading the nonsense on the internetz. If you believe that racism in Europe is a serious problem, you should also believe that if you live in Los Angeles you will die within 5 minutes. I'm sure there are radical right-wing groups everywhere but you should not judge the entire political atmosphere as such.

I've never heard the (right wing) UK prime minister say the things that comes out of the mouths of the Republican presidential candidates.
I've never seen or experienced institutionalised racism that I experienced here.
I've never see the disproportionate incarceration of the minorities as well as disproportionate police shootings of the same in Europe.

They have their issues, but we win on racism and xenophobia every time.
 

test_article

Kelly Slater status
Sep 25, 2009
9,440
507
113
Body of Christ, Texas
I would feel better about Trump for President if he hadn't had multiple life partners and didn't promote gambling.

...oh yeah, and if he displayed an understanding of the difference between a public servant and a ruthless plutocrat.

He's just not Presidential quality.
 

Ifallalot

Duke status
Dec 17, 2008
89,399
18,379
113
test_article said:
I would feel better about Trump for President if he hadn't had multiple life partners and didn't promote gambling.

...oh yeah, and if he displayed an understanding of the difference between a public servant and a ruthless plutocrat.

He's just not Presidential quality.
He's not qualified for life. He's a son of a rich man who conned his way into Thievery School (Harvard Business) and then sucked on the corporate welfare teat in order to make himself rich.

He bankrupted a casino for godsakes.

The only thing he did is birth a hot piece of ass. Otherwise he's more useful to me as a steak for a starving person
 

GWS

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
42,605
22
0
done
FecalFace said:
GWS said:
FecalFace said:
GWS said:
Actually you are missing my point.

Simply put, Europe is swinging right. It's undeniable. Yes, they will retain their health care. Did you read the 2015 manifesto for the Conservative Party? The items I listed follow the GOP pretty darn closely. And then some. What's happening with the anti immigration movement is frankly racist/xenophobic in the extreme. You can rationalize that with 'it's relative' but that does nothing to change the reality.

Considering all the rants from you re racism and xenophobia in this country I'm a little surprised at your cavalier attitude toward far worse examples in Europe.

Oh well.
Uh no, no, no, not cavalier towards any xenophobia. Never said such thing.
You are comparing apples and oranges though.
There's way more institutional racism and xenophobia here, in personal experience and as a matter of fact.
The fact that they have less racism and xenophobia doesn't make it any less wrong, just less.
That's all I'm saying, you can't really compare the right wing here and in Europe, no way. At least Jesus, evolution denial, climate change denial, universal care denial, abortion denial and love of guns are not in the picture in Europe.
Really?

Where was it that they had 25 THOUSAND people in the street protesting against people of color? Hint, it wasn't the United States. You are either in denial or you aren't keeping up. Educate yourself.

LINK

LINK

LINK

Among the many articles documenting racism in Europe in the last link, you will find a list of the 8 most dangerous countries for people of color to travel in. 4 of them are European. There are warnings about certain areas in which you 'may not make it out alive' if you are black.

Wake up.
You need to get out of the house a little more and stop reading the nonsense on the internetz. If you believe that racism in Europe is a serious problem, you should also believe that if you live in Los Angeles you will die within 5 minutes. I'm sure there are radical right-wing groups everywhere but you should not judge the entire political atmosphere as such.

I've never heard the (right wing) UK prime minister say the things that comes out of the mouths of the Republican presidential candidates.
I've never seen or experienced institutionalised racism that I experienced here.
I've never see the disproportionate incarceration of the minorities as well as disproportionate police shootings of the same in Europe.

They have their issues, but we win on racism and xenophobia every time.
So you didn't read the links.

Not surprising. You've never been one to let facts get in the way of your emotional beliefs.

Did you hear NPR do a special on racism/immigration in Europe a couple of days ago?

You have proven over and over again that will you will disavow facts and reality to maintain your held illusions. So this is a waste of time for both of us.

Did you ever come to grips with those anti immigration walls in Europe?

That's a myth too right?

:dancing:


 

SmackDaddy

Duke status
Feb 12, 2002
18,919
0
0
San Diego, CA
ifallalot said:
test_article said:
I would feel better about Trump for President if he hadn't had multiple life partners and didn't promote gambling.

...oh yeah, and if he displayed an understanding of the difference between a public servant and a ruthless plutocrat.

He's just not Presidential quality.
He's not qualified for life. He's a son of a rich man who conned his way into Thievery School (Harvard Business) and then sucked on the corporate welfare teat in order to make himself rich.

He bankrupted a casino for godsakes.

The only thing he did is birth a hot piece of ass. Otherwise he's more useful to me as a steak for a starving person
There was a good op-ed piece that showed if Trump had just taken the $40 mil he inherited and invested it into the S&P 500 he would be richer today doing nothing all his life then he is now. #notimpressed
 

SmackDaddy

Duke status
Feb 12, 2002
18,919
0
0
San Diego, CA
GDaddy said:
All evolution is progress. Our evolution has just been different from some of the others.

I think it highly misleading and downright dishonest to label liberalism as being progressive. Stalinism and it's centrally command economy was plenty liberal but I wouldn't have called it at all progressive. "People's Democratic Republic" is a label, too; but it's hardly an accurate description of what's usually going on in the nations that call themselves that.

America got founded in the first place by people fleeing the effects of big government and big taxes, so to speak; and the big fight even back then was between establishing the new monarchy with the new ruling elite and the big federal rights (big government) vs states rights (more local government) . That fight persists to today, even as the interests of the larger and growing urban population centers continue to dominate by sheer numbers the smaller populations.

Your problem isn't with the GOP as such; it's with all the Americans whose world view differs from yours'. The GOP's platform is the effect of those different perspectives, not the cause of them.
It's remarkable how people have forgotten how the GOP have arrived at their quagmire of a voting base. I'll give you a little refresher:

Nixon disgraced from office
Ford stumbles through remaining term
Carter gets mired in Iran hostage situation and doesn't survive politically
Reagan sweeps election because he was a popular Hollywood actor talking tough
Bolstered by GOP victory Gingrich starts campaign to establish 100-year GOP rule (Contract with America - or as I call it, Contract ON America).

However, Gingrich knows that the GOP is considered the party of the rich and of the corporations. Up until Reagan (after the disastrous perception of Carte's administration) you'd be hard pressed to find a blue collar worker, farmer, person of color, etc. to vote for the GOP. The GOP knew this and without shame they went after the Democrat's base of blue collar and lower income population. While the Dems had cultivated this voting block with decades of supporting labor unions, social services, education, subsidies to farms, etc. The GOP went after it with fear tactics, emotional plays, and playing to the lowest common denominators - otherwise known as Guns God and Gays. By playing on the fears and ignorance of the lessor educated of us, the were very successful in getting these voting blocks to vote against their own economic interests.

With these tactics they were able to get Bush Senior into office but by proving their own theorem that Government doesn't work, they got trampled by Clinton, twice. However, instead of getting smarter about attracting voters they doubled-down on Guns God and Gays and only through a GOP majority of the Supreme Court did they get Bush Jr into office. Remember he lost the popular vote. How Bush Jr got a second term is not something I or the cosmos can explain. However the rebound to that mistake was the election (twice) of an actual black man to the big show. An insult the GOP still cannot swallow after 6 years.

Meanwhile, the GOP's constant catering to the uneducated has resulted in the creation of the Tea Party and they have become such a force within the GOP that every candidate is forced to cater to them in order to win the party's nomination. However, by the time they become the candidate of choice they've said so much stupid sh!t that it will be near impossible for them to win.

Now let's talk about your comment about the urbanites. You are on to something there but you didn't go far enough. All these things I've described above have left the GOP with a voting base that is primarily rural and lacking in terms of higher education. The red states are primarily rural and agricultural based. Every county Bush Jr won in Florida was redneck country. Every county Gore won had the major cities and educational (colleges) centers. This holds true today. The urban centers are growing at a much greater pace than the populations of the rural communities. This will not change anytime soon. Our economy is based on brain power not manual labor and that will not change anytime soon. Since educational institutions go hand in hand with urban centers, they are also the hotbeds of liberalism (and yes, today's liberalism is the progressive voice - comparing it Stalinism and communism is just childish and idiotic, you can do better than that). It's from the urban centers that we get tolerance for differences in race, culture, sexuality because people are forced to live with lots of other people that are different from them. In small town 'merica, people are isolated, ignorant, and fear outsiders. Which perspective do you favor for future policy making?

The GOP's strategies are, in the long run, hopeless. Even if they win this election, they will continue to lose ground. The old rednecks will die.
 

GDaddy

Duke status
Jan 17, 2006
29,238
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Carlsbad
[shrugs] I judge political trends by what the electorate actually does, not based on partisan talking points from the talking heads for either side.

Newt thought the GOP had a embarked on the 100yr dynasty only to find themselves completely out of power by 2008. At that point the Dems (and apparently you) thought they had power on lockdown only to be proved completely wrong by 2012.


It appears that our electorate is a little resistant to being told what to do by their betters.


Our system of government basically ensures that the electorate will be divided essentially down the middle, that dividing line being a moving target at any given time. That's how a presidential election where Obama beats McCain by 7% is considered a spectacular landslide.

Our society (and especially acadamia) has done much of the work in pimping the benefits of the 10 Planks of the Communist Manifesto and accomplishing those objectives. But we're not quite there just yet. You might have to wait a few more years before you get your happy dance on.

List of short-term demands, also known as the ten planks:
1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralisation of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.[1]

 

Ifallalot

Duke status
Dec 17, 2008
89,399
18,379
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GDaddy said:
Our system of government basically ensures that the electorate will be divided essentially down the middle, that dividing line being a moving target at any given time. That's how a presidential election where Obama beats McCain by 7% is considered a spectacular landslide.
This is one of the main reasons why we need to blow out our current system in favor of a plurality system like the Parliamentary countries have. More ideas, less oligarchy
 

GDaddy

Duke status
Jan 17, 2006
29,238
2,056
113
Carlsbad
^^ I think it would result in a healthier system if for no other reason than fostering more collaboration and compromise; but I also think it would have a much greater impact on the current DNC than on the current GOP.

I also think it would be more difficult for the low-information voters to navigate. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
 

FecalFace

Duke status
Nov 21, 2008
42,338
2,105
113
The Californias
GDaddy said:
Our society (and especially acadamia) has done much of the work in pimping the benefits of the 10 Planks of the Communist Manifesto and accomplishing those objectives. But we're not quite there just yet. You might have to wait a few more years before you get your happy dance on.

List of short-term demands, also known as the ten planks:
1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralisation of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.[1]
It's still early but I'm pretty sure that this is the stupidest thing I'm going to hear today.
 

Mike_Jones

Tom Curren status
Mar 5, 2009
11,639
2,390
113
ifallalot said:
.....we need to blow out our current system in favor of a plurality system like the Parliamentary countries have. More ideas, less oligarchy
Finally, something you said makes sense. "Checks and balances" in the American system mean we try to head different directions at the same time. Consequently we go nowhere. Parties get away with radicalism because they are able to blame negative outcomes on their opposition .....and the public accepts the lies. The British system of one party running the government means that the party in power must temper its actions based on results. Failure to do so means the public blames the party for negative outcomes. This results in a change in leadership.

Wanna turn this into a welfare state? Go ahead. When the riots start burning down our cities we'll see where that gets you.
 

Mike_Jones

Tom Curren status
Mar 5, 2009
11,639
2,390
113
Autoprax said:
Where do you get welfare state?

We don't even have socialized medicine, which is a no brainer.
Blame. That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Call the cause whatever the fuk you want. The party in power is responsible. If, as in recent America, the welfare rolls more than double, and riots break out, then we know who to blame.
..
 

SmackDaddy

Duke status
Feb 12, 2002
18,919
0
0
San Diego, CA
squidley said:
Autoprax said:
Where do you get welfare state?

We don't even have socialized medicine, which is a no brainer.
Blame. That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Call the cause whatever the fuk you want. The party in power is responsible. If, as in recent America, the welfare rolls more than double, and riots break out, then we know who to blame.
..
Wow. Oversimplified bullshiit of the highest order. First of all, one party is rarely in total control. To do that they'd have to have super majorities in the house and senate and have the White House. When was the last time that happened. This constant blame to one side or the other never depicts reality.

Welfare state? Try a government that constantly favors the rich and corporations resulting in the biggest disparity of income since the Victorian age and you blame those trying to give the poor a leg up. The tax rate on the rich is the lowest it's ever been. Even Trump wants to change that.
 

SmackDaddy

Duke status
Feb 12, 2002
18,919
0
0
San Diego, CA
GDaddy said:
^^ I think it would result in a healthier system if for no other reason than fostering more collaboration and compromise; but I also think it would have a much greater impact on the current DNC than on the current GOP.

I also think it would be more difficult for the low-information voters to navigate. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
I've been saying we need an equal third party for years. Had some vague hope for the Green Party a while back but knew it would never succeed and had hoped for progressive third party to emerge since the Dems are even right of center these days but it's more likely that the Tea Party splits from the GOP or vice versa. Actually heard some describe one possibility this year: Trump gets close to obtaining enough delegates to win the nomination, the Kock Brothers and others step make the GOP split away and form a 3rd party and nominate someone else. These days I see a disintegration of the GOP as the most likely outcome but what emerges may be worse.

But 3 relatively equal parties would force politicians to form coalitions and then maybe shiit would get done, but we'd really need left, right, and centric parties to make it work well.