Also, I am a mind-reader!
What if the Democratic Party abandoned the whole "us vs. them" calculus?
Obviously, the Republicans would have to follow suit pretty quickly, but okay--what if either party abandoned the "us vs. them" calculus?
I imagine something like this:
"The Democratic Party pledges itself to the well-being of all Americans, of every color and creed. We recognize no barriers between fellow citizens. We dedicate our party to working together with all Americans. Nobody will be turned away. We approach our task, given to us by our countrymen, in a spirit of cooperation and optimism. Where we believe the Republicans are wrong, we will work as hard as ever to correct their views and bring them into agreement with us. And where we believe they are right, we will work to support their policies for the good of the nation. We approach the opposition party in good faith, and in high hopes that they will welcome us in the same spirit of cooperation. We expect to have differences of opinion. But we also expect that, meeting in good will, Republicans and Democrats can work together to strengthen the good in each party for the good of all Americans."
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Democrats? What the hell? It's the Republicans who need to stop being such incredibly vicious fucking assholes, and start cooperating with us!"
Such thoughts are fine. Just replace "Democrat" with "Republican", and you''re set!
And I know what you're thinking, too. Yeah, you. You're thinking that I'm wrong, and that I don't know what you're thinking at all. But it is you who are wrong, my friend! I know exactly what you are thinking.
I also know what else you're thinking. You're thinking, "but what if the opposition doesn't reciprocate? What if one side starts playing nice, and the other side keeps up the dirty tricks, pandering, etc?" (Only you spell it "et cetera".) It's a good point. If the other side doesn't reciprocate, then they immediately become the party of mean-spirited jerks, lose the moderates, and never win another election again.
And for those of you thinking it'll never happen because the Democrats are convinced that the Republicans are never right, I have only one thing to say:
A man can dream, can't he?