Centrist Party: a parliamentary party

[Editor’s note: this is part five in a series of posts re-imagining the United States as a parliamentary government. To see the introduction piece to get a better idea of what this is and why I’m writing it click here. Part one described the new Democratic Party, part two the Republican Party, part three the Conservative Party, and party four America First. Everything included in this post is fictional, including quotes, motives, policies, logos, and strategies. However, I’ve done my best to imagine what could be based on the players involved and the circumstances provided.]

Where do we stand:

The great parliamentary realignment came at the perfect time for the 'moderates' of Congress. The ability to form a new party allowed them to escape the confines of their increasingly more ideologically extreme former parties. The Centrist party hopes to forge a path as the sensible choice for Americans who felt left out of the Republican and Democratic platforms. But they will have to deal with new realities. While many of the party's members came from competitive districts and required a sort of 'bipartisan' appeal, the parliamentary system may not reward a party which refuses to set concrete policy changes. Furthermore, being the only new party to include old Democrats and old Republicans, can that party reconcile their intraparty ideological differences? Whatever path they choose to take, one thing is clear, this party stands as the most powerful group of representatives and senators. No government will be able to function in the short term future without support from the Centrists.

Americans want a Washington that will work together and accomplish great things without causing greater divisions. Our new party will ensure that the American people's desires are listened to.

-Senator Joe Manchin

Seats in the House: 45

Seats in the Senate: 10

Policy

The Centrist Party is a throwback party filled with politicians who would have been more comfortable serving in the 70s and 80s than they are serving in the 2020s. Conservatives and Liberals, this party mixes a wide range of positions but is driven more by the ideology of compromise than anything else. This is a party that likes compromise for compromises' sake. That said, because this party mixes old Republicans and old Democrats its policy positions tend to be more status quo than ground shaking. This party believes in solving big problems through mess, restrained solutions.

Majoritarianism

Above all else, the Centrist Party believes in compromise and negotiation.
Uncomfortable with slim majorities, the Centrist Party wants to craft legislation that can win over large numbers of voting members.
The sign of good policy for the Centrist Party is when all sides are disappointed. This party lives by the classic "half-loaf" governance model, no party should be getting everything they want from legislation but most parties should be getting at least a little of what they want.

Federalism

Because this party operates almost by an anti-power accumulation model, they believe strongly in the power of federalism and devolved power to states and local governments.
The party also believes in supporting the positions of most import to its individual members, this means that the local interests of a singular representative can shape the party platform writ large.
This also means that the party is more wishy-washy when it comes to direct policy positions, preferring to be shaped by the current political moment in individual districts than the political mood in Washington.

Agrarian and Small Business

As a party that longs for the political past, the Centrists also play to popular issue positioning from the past. This party supports agriculture and small business: the backbone of the American economy (or so they'd have you believe).
Because the party is shaped by the individual desires of its members constituencies, this party supports strong agricultural subsidization and any legislation that supports farmers.
Furthermore, small businesses are both important talking pieces as well as useful stages for politicians' campaigning.

Fiscally Conservative

The Centrist party brings with it a desire to manage the nation's debt, therefore a driving principle for the party is to reduce deficit spending.
However, the party is also weary of levying tax increases, keenly aware of how difficult they are to defend politically.
One area the party is willing to spend money in is on bills that provide extra little goodies for states and local districts, what have historically been labeled as "pork barrel" spending.
Infrastructure is therefore an exceptionally popular position in the party and the primary policy position they are willing to highlight.

Immigration

On immigration, the Centrist party has a membership that is finally willing to tackle immigration via compromise. Move over 'Gang of 8' there's a new coalition in town.
The party wants a path to citizenship for "dreamers" while strengthening the border and providing border patrol with greater resources to stop illegal immigration.
They are affirmational in the belief that America is a nation of immigrants and that legal immigration should not be scaled back.

Environment

The Centrist party affirms the existence of climate change and have committed to a 'common sense' approach to combating its worst effects.
While not supportive of the so-called "Green New Deal," the party is persuadable on what would be the actual nuts-and-bolts spending that would accompany any such deal. Any local spending that may increase individual member's districts ability to produce clean energy or transform industries and create more jobs is very much negotiable.

Foreign Policy

This party wants to maintain the status quo of the previous 50 years of America foreign policy thinking.
Very supportive of multilateral free-trade agreements as well as multinational alliances.

The important players

Because the Centrist party is composed of both former Democrats and former Republicans, there are a number of very important members to the new moderate coalition. In the Senate, real life linchpin Joe Manchin (WV) is joined by other moderate former Democrats in Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Jon Tester (MT), Jacky Rosen (NV), and Jeanne Shaheer (NH). Former Republicans Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME), Rob Portman (OH), and Shelley Moore Capito (WV) round out the group. Meanwhile, former independent Angus King (ME) decides now is the right time to adopt party membership and joins the Centrist party.

The House includes an impressive list of swing district members. From the former Republican bench come John Katko (NY), Fred Upton (MI), Chris Smith (NJ), and Dusty Johnson (ND). And from the opposite dugout come significant former Democrats in Seth Moulton (MA), Conor Lamb (PA), Jim Cooper (TN), Abigail Spanberger (VA), and Charlie Crist (FL), himself a former Republican as well.

The party will have difficulty in deciding its leadership as it navigates a divide between former Democrats and former Republicans. Charlie Crist seems like a natural bridge option, considering his former membership in both parties as well as his previous gubernatorial experience. But there is also a sense that the party, for fear of being labeled as a product of a by-gone era, will want to put someone younger or more charismatic at the helm. Both Conor Lamb and Seth Moulton appear primed to be tapped for some form of leadership.

The road ahead

The Centrist party is positioned at an incredibly important spot on the political map entering the 117th Congress. No government can operate without their consent and their inclusion in the next government is nearly assured. Neither the right-wing bloc nor the left-wing bloc have enough members to outright claim a majority without adding the Centrists.

This position brings both promise and peril. The promise is that the Centrists will finally operate in a political system which will allow them to moderate legislation, and actually see it passed into law. Furthermore, they will be able to shape the moment, deciding what sorts of laws can and cannot pass their important party whip. But it also brings some costs. Because the party will be the primary sticking point in any legislation, they risk angering a public that wants to see more (or maybe less) accomplished by their first parliamentary government. Can the Centrist party actually garner electoral support come the next election?

Like all the new parties in this parliamentary system, they have yet to receive a single vote from the public. While all their members were dully elected, none were elected under the banner of the Centrist party. Will voters come out to support their old politicians now that they affirmatively stand for a party that isn't the Democrats or the GOP? Americans, when polled, often say that they want their politicians to be moderates and espouse some form of cooperation, yet they continually vote for the opposite at the ballot box. Could the Centrist party be a manifestation of that tendency, or when given a real option, will Americans vote for the most moderate party? Voters often punish the coalitional partners who stifle bold agendas in parliamentary systems. The Centrists hope that in America they can change that pattern.

Coming up

New week we'll pivot to the most interesting party on the left, not the Democratic Socialists of America, but its competitor progressive party : the Working Class Coalition.

Composed of many of the faces you've come to recognize as progressives within the Democratic party, the Working Class coalition is a party committed to greater progressive reforms for middle and low wage Americans. But how will this party differentiate itself from the Democratic party? Why did its members choose to form a party outside of the DSA? Can a Working Class Coalition, with a name that sounds very much last century, find it's place in the parliamentary system and will voters reward their strategic positioning between the Democrats and the Democratic Socialists?