The politics of the United States is a divisive subject that holds society hostage, due to the country's status in the imperial core and its historic track record of interfering with foreign countries through regime change or organizations that conveniently support imperialist interests.¹⁾

It tends to be a black hole of misery with citizens feeling angry, exhausted, frustrated, or worried²⁾ as officials rarely reflect their interests.³⁾ This is made worse by a boomer-led gerontocracy,⁴⁾⁵⁾ who aren't even helping their own,⁶⁾⁷⁾ and the whole rise of political polarization.

Politics is normally complex and diverse, but the United States has been stuck with this two-party system whose parties run a ratchet-like corporate duopoly. The so-called opposition, even with control of both chambers, will conveniently have internal gridlock to ensure that the corporations always have the final say. Some describe this issue as a managed democracy or inverted totalitarianism.

The Democratic Party is a center-right neoliberal party with an identity crisis that doesn't instill confidence as officials flip-flop to centrism and typically find themselves beholden to corporate interests. For those optimistic, the party composition (i.e. lack of progressives) seems to be their main issue, but mass corporate lobbying for these centrist “do nothing” candidates isn't doing them any favors.

The Republican Party, also called the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a far-right party that confidently attracts libertarians, neoconservatives, paleoconservatives, and neofascists. Unlike their other half, they're very open about their relationship with corporations, since their voter base don't really care about the ugly details from bumfuck nowhere unless you bring the issue to them, and by then, it's far too late.

While several minor parties exist, the odds are usually stacked against them due to significantly less funds, and the inherent flaws of first-past-the-post voting (e.g. spoiler effect, vote splitting) creates this need for alternatives like ranked-choice voting. A road map for a third party president exists, but let's talk 5% for matching funds before⁸⁾ we talk about 15% to debate.⁹⁾

Furthermore, several surveys have shown that there is a significant desire for additional political parties,¹⁰⁾¹¹⁾ despite what two-party partians say with their false dichotomy as they prefer to blame minor parties or political apathy, rather than look at the electoral–popular vote issue. These parties routinely appear on the presidential ballot and pull in a small chunk of voters for a reason. Time will only tell.

“Erm, you used the wrong bar colors here, you should've used red and blue instead! ☝🤓”

When it comes to Statesian politics, the 'Democratic' and 'Republican' labels are virtually useless and do not reflect their usual definitions. Instead, one should observe certain congressional caucuses for a clearer vision on the party's exact composition, though some officials may choose to be in multiple caucuses or avoid these specific caucuses for whatever reason. A crude visual is provided below.

Hopefully, this should clear up confusion on why the two parties are often given a hornet's colors, instead of the tacky red–blue dichotomy, and allow for deeper analysis and criticisms of the two. For example, the DNC chair in the 2016 primaries was an NDC-affiliated official, who only stepped down as the primaries concluded and the infamous DNC email leak exposed a massive bias against Sanders.

There are several factors to consider when asking why the United States has an aggressive foreign policy, starting with lobbying and iron triangles. From here, one may find the military–industrial complex, enabling war profiteering as always, or interest groups like AIPAC. As it stands, both major parties are oddly willing to plunge the nation into war, regardless of how the nation feels.

For crude generalizations: the Republican Party is anti-China, less anti-Russia,¹²⁾ and pro-Israel,¹³⁾¹⁴⁾ while the Democratic Party is anti-Russia, less anti-China,¹⁵⁾ and is divided on Israel¹⁶⁾¹⁷⁾ despite the youth's sympathy for Palestine.¹⁸⁾ This last bit does signal progressive gains, but they lack the numbers and funding to actually stand up against significant foreign interference through the Zionist lobby.^19)20)21)22)

An optimist may hope that progressive-led entryism into the Democratic Party will empower the left, like a long march through the institutions, but they must maintain this resolve as incremental change²³⁾ often takes generations,²⁴⁾ except you'd have to block out bourgeois democracy's flaws and foreign policy, while hoping no collapse, purge, or gridlock occurs. Alternatively, get organized.

Meanwhile, a pessimist might either: dismiss reform attempts through electoralism in a bourgeois democracy as fruitless endeavors believing candidates inevitably resume the interests of capital, grow impatient with lesser evilism and flawed rhetoric, or feel resigned or politically apathetic with how things are, that they typically believe that it really isn't that serious²⁵⁾ or they fall into the trap of doomerism.

On the other hand, a conservative is more interested in short-sighted solutions that might 'fix' their issues,²⁶⁾ but their definition of an issue ranges from a misguided idea of the economy²⁷⁾ to arbitrary issues that get raised by fear-mongering commercials and national media outlets.²⁸⁾ You know what really matters right now? Not that, but the fluctuating cost of lettuce and eggs.

• Congress has two legislative chambers: the Senate (upper chamber) holds 100 members, while the House of Representatives (lower chamber) holds 425 members. Senators serve six-year terms, while members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms.
• Before we dive into modern politics, let's pause to discuss what the conservatives do:
  • A conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, routinely publishes an agenda, known as Mandate for Leadership, which hopes to guide conservative presidents after they had much influence on the Reagan administration. The books have existed since 1981, but their latest edition has recently went viral under the name, Project 2025, and brought the agenda to light.
  • The American Conservative Union is an organization that gives conservative ratings, but they are mainly known for the Conservative Political Action Conference and their straw polls.
  • Of course, there is something to be said about conservatives having 30 think tanks. It really makes you wonder where the opposition has been, and if an equivalent even exists at all.
• Presidential candidates usually select a vice president that draws in more voters to balance out their ticket, like yin and yang, but don't let brand recognition or nostalgia blind you into assuming that a former vice president shares the ideas of the president they served under. I mean, Biden, really? The moderate counter to Obama's perceived progressivism in 2008?²⁹⁾ What was the plan?³⁰⁾
• If you managed to read all of this: Congratulations! However, please do not ask about this word vomit because I'd rather forget that I even wrote it. This article isn't meant to be advice, just a collection of things for political newcomers from the perspective of an old fuck who been through the cycles before, perhaps as a way to leave an impact and ward off the cynicism or doomerism.
• At one point, I thought about doing a Shii-style article about the presidential primaries and elections, under the condition that both parties must actually field candidates, since there's no tension if the incumbent is presumptive and I can't turn a blind eye to the strategic voting or party raiding that may occur. However, this has been delayed so far³¹⁾ that it doesn't seem so fun in my 30s.

• Dealing with Lesser Candidates - Some personal thoughts on electoralism.
• List of party-affiliated socialist newspapers in the United States
• 'State-affiliated media' label