Three-headed party, coalition government

It is said that the United States is a two-party system, and that for years all third-party candidates have failed to break that dual lock on national government.

I contend that we actually have a four-party system of national government.

Aside from GOP and Dems, the third political party to emerge was the Tea Party (now called Freedom Caucus), which gathered steam in 2009 shortly after the election of our first black president. They run for election on the Republican ticket but rarely agree with the mainline GOP on issues. Rather, they have shown an ability to threaten sitting Congressmen with primary defeats and seem to have more power in Congress than their numbers would indicate.

The fourth party has only one national figure but it is the most important. Donald Trump claims to control over half the nation's votes, but most polls now indicate his base is down to around 35 percent. He is neither GOP, for Democratic, nor Tea Party. He is out there on an island, making mischief with his tweeting habit and his penchant to rule by decree.

So, there you have it - a coalition government headed by a three-headed Republican party, none of which get along with the others.

Dave Volkman

Naperville