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THE VIEW FROM HERE - One thing each individual can do to reduce our nations’ polarization is de-registering from the GOP and Dem parties. Also, do not re-register with another political party. Here’s why.
Each party is dominated by an extremist faction, MAGA or Wokeism. Although extremist MAGA and Wokeism are about 15%, each is ruthless in running roughshod over the rest of the party. Even non-extreme senior members of each party know that he/she will be culture cancelled, i.e., Primaried, if they offend MAGA or Wokeism. Only one thing is stronger than MAGA and Wokeism – the voters.
People Vote for the Party with Which They Are Registered
In the 2024 Presidential election, over 90% of voters voted for their party of registration. In the 2022, mid-term elections, only 6% cross party lines. Thus, when setting policy, MAGA and Wokers count on your voting for them. In their minds, anyone who is registered GOP supports MAGA and anyone who is registered Dem supports Wokeism. MAGA and Wokeism are reasonable to assume that 90% plus of their registered voters will support them in the next election. That is why both think their best chance to win the election is to work harder and harder to sell the party line. When elected, candidates believe they better follow MAGA and Woke. Look at how all the moderate GOP Senators who wanted to vote against Pete Hegseth and RFK, Jr were forced to vote against their conscience.
The only thing which has any chance to sway the policies of MAGA or Wokeism is de-registration. When a voter de-registers, even true believer extremists recognize that their chances to win the next election has diminished. All non-Affiliated voters are up for grabs.
Re-registering with the Other Party Is Counter-productive
Although extremists are hard core true believers, their desire to win the next election forces them to pay attention to the Centrists. Trump won in November 2024, because the Centrists hated Wokeism and enough Centrists voted against Wokeism. Had Kamala Harris dropped the Woke party line, she probably would have won. When push comes to shove, the extremists have no choice but to stick with their party. Threats to withhold their votes from their own party is a politically threat, which reveals an abusive controlling personality.
The different dynamics between de-registering, on the one hand, and threatening to harm your party, on the other hand, are significant. When voters leave, they are excising their constitutional right of free association; they are not abusively trying to force others to adopt their view point. Hopefully, when a small faction threatens to harm one’s own party, the party leadership is smart enough to let that faction leave.
No Politician has offered a Way to Reduce Polarization
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, no politician has a recommendation how to reduce the violence which comes from polarization. Politicians think in terms of how to get more power and each solution is designed to enhance their power. Donald Trump thinks vicious attacks on the Woke will increase his power. Right now, it appears that Trump’s and Kirk’s existential dehumanization of the Transcommunity was the motive for Tyler Robinson to shoot Charlie Kirk. Many on the far Left are likely to argue that Kirk’s death was an opening salvo. Inane and insipid calls to tone down the rhetoric solve nothing when both MAGA and Woke see themselves as at war with evil.
Polarization Leads to Violence, Mass Murder, and Genocide
When polarization, aka dichotomization, is not stopped, it leads to violence, then mass murder, and finally genocide. See Dangers of Dichotomization The Inquisition, the Crusades, the hundreds of years of religious European religious wars, Nazism, Soviet Marxism, Rwandan Genocide in 1994, ISIS against Yazidis and Christians in Iraq and Syria, Hamas’ goal to exterminate the Jews (BTW, Hamas has always rejected the Two State Solution) . . . .
Let’s remember, that the party who starts the war brings upon everyone tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of deaths. If Hamas had not tried to exterminate the Jews in southern Israel, Gaza would not be in ruins. If the American South had not fired on Fort Sumter in 1861, 620,000 to 750,000 Americans would not have died.
Everyone Has Rights and Duties
In addition to our inalienable rights, we have non-delegable duties, one of which is to police ourselves and the groups to which we belong. Each person has to examine himself and his group, GOP or Dem, and decide what beliefs and/or behaviors of his political party contribute to the present division. Anyone who thinks that reasonable persuasion will soften their party’s dichotomization needs to recognize that intra-party battles have been fought and lost. After polarization has taken hold, the only way for a vast number of individual voters to have influence is to de-register from their party. Both the GOP and the Dems have more non-extreme, reasonable members than MAGA or Wokeism have ardent supporters.
Carpe Diem, Just Do It!
Election day is far too late for any policy changes. De-registering now, however, provides each party an opportunity to moderate its behavior and hopefully field reasonable candidates. The party which sticks with the extreme MAGA or Woker candidates is likely to lose and that will be a good thing. How to De-register
(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles-based attorney, author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected].)
