The Party Pirates

Those heading up national and state political parties have to be wondering how outsiders have managed to come in and hijack their operations.  Both the Republican and Democratic parties are dealing with subversive attacks that threaten to derail their political directions--and alienate some of their largest support bases.

This clearly started with the 2016 Presidential primaries.  On the Republican side, a man who never declared himself a Republican at any time in his life--and who supported Democrats for years--used a coalition of extremists and those from the lunatic fringe to capture the nomination--and ultimately the Presidency.

On the Democratic side, an avowed Socialist--who had never run as a Democrat in any political race--came from out of nowhere to nearly usurp the nomination from a woman deeply-entrenched in the party and more politically connected than anyone that had run in the last 50-years.  Fortunately for the Democrats, they had firewalls in place to prevent outsiders from actually having a chance to win their nomination--unlike the Republican Party.

And now the trend continues into the 2018 election right here in Wisconsin.  On the Republican side you have a Senate candidate that readily admits he was a die-hard Democrat--even addressing the national convention one year--that now wants to be the GOP nominee.  And this week, a long-time critic of the Democratic Party and its big-money political practices and back-room dealings decided he was going to run for Governor as a Democrat.

It was just a matter of time before those pushed the exterior of the political process figured out a way to breach the walls of the powerful two-party system.  When more control and power are concentrated among smaller groups of elites that demand "political purity" from any candidate that dare seek the nomination, voters look for those that may be more like themselves--than just the guys that write big checks to fund campaigns.  It also doesn't help when you keep trotting out terrible candidates that nobody can support wholeheartedly--turning elections into the "lesser of two evils" from the majority of voters.

We shall see if the era of "Party Pirates" is just a one or two election cycle trend--or if those that think they control the political course of this country and state will be made to walk the plank.