“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin displayed confusion regarding American civics when she discussed the U.S. party system on the panel show Monday. Hostin expressed her displeasure with the two-party system in the U.S. and strangely attempted to compare it to countries like Canada and Italy, which have multiple parties.
“We’re a younger country when you look around the world,” Hostin began. “Other countries in the world don’t typically have only two parties. For instance, Canada and Italy both have multi-parties, and that system has worked well for them over time. I think this speaks to the failings of our American experiment to be able to resolve issues without an extreme two-party system. I would love more options.”
Hostin failed to understand the differences between direct and proportional representation and how it affects the way elections are held in the U.S. and Europe. Unlike European countries, U.S. elections follow a system of direct representation, meaning citizens cast one vote per candidate rather than one vote per party. This allows more independent voters, and seven to ten percent of the population are real independents, according to Pew Research. However, the two major parties tend to receive an overwhelming majority of the votes, making it difficult for third parties to gain support and secure the votes needed to elect a candidate.
While a third party is a possibility in U.S. elections, it is unlikely that a third party will be successful due to voter preference directed toward either Democrat or Republican candidates. Hostin should acknowledge that the system in the U.S. has its limits and focus on ways to push for policies that would promote bipartisanship, instead of blaming it on the current system.
“It says more about who we are as a country and the issues that we have failed to resolve in our country than it says more about our system,” Hostin said.
Still, Hostin should recognize her own bias and consider the flaws in the Democratic party, especially with the increasing divide between establishment Democrats and progressive Democrats.
This divide is likely only to get worse, and if hostilities between the two continue to deepen.
Hostin should focus on the fundamental disconnect between liberalism and the American public, which could explain the current issues in the system and the issue of extreme partisanship.