For years, those of you who have read my words on these pages know that I am a very vocal proponent of creating a third political party here in the United States. And while there have been whispers about making that a reality along the way, and even a few people trying to dip their toe into the water to check on making it happen, as of yet nobody has been able to make much headway on the idea.

Then out of nowhere last week, Elon Musk made a social media post asking his 220 million followers “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?“

Not surprisingly, over 80% of those who responded said yes. In fact, Musk approved of a follower’s suggestion that it be named the “America party.“

His final post on the topic: “This is fate.”

It doesn’t take a genius like Musk to see that the current arrangement is unsustainable. The parties have become self-fulfilling monsters, only interested in a policy that either benefits them directly or harms the other party. There is little if any public discourse between the two sides. And, any time one of them references the other, it is pretty much in the most negative terms imaginable.

A cursory knowledge of our history clearly shows that when there is some sort of bipartisan effort to try to reach solutions that best fit the country instead of the party, the country benefits. All you have to do is look at the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who as a Republican made a conscious effort to include Democrats in all of his planning, and the presidency of Bill Clinton, who as a Democrat did the same regarding Republicans.

Both of those leaders – with legitimate input from both sides – framed policies that helped the nation under their watch enjoy unprecedented success and stability.

Now, I know that neither one of them was perfect, and the times under their presidencies were imperfect as well. But at least the nation had a clear feeling that its representatives in Washington DC were trying to make a sincere effort to work together to find the best solutions available for everyone involved.

I don’t know about you, but I long for those days. I am sick and tired of the venomous rhetoric spewed by both sides. Both of them can claim all the innocence they want, but the bile emanating from them stirs anxiety, and discord, if not outright anger among their constituents. I have little doubt that rhetoric had much to do to fuel the politically motivated assassination of two politicians in Minnesota last week.

Say what you want to about him, but Elon Musk is no fool. He is arguably one of the most intelligent human beings we have seen on this planet in the last century. He sank himself deep into the swamp of Washington DC to try to make some sense and order Out of holding government entities accountable for the money under their watch. I would think he has seen about as stark a view of the entirety of the situation in that place as anyone could.

And, perhaps more important than anything, as one of the richest people on this planet he has the financial resources to absolutely make his interest in creating a new party very much a reality.

You can slice and dice it any way you want to somehow defend the current options, but there is little doubt that his assessment regarding this particular issue is 100% correct. The overwhelming majority of Americans now do not anchor themselves to either of the political parties and consider themselves more independents than Republican or Democrat.

Because of the dysfunction both of the current options foment, most Americans see a future mired and foundering in everything but civility and stability with either party at the helm. All it would take is for a few of the more center-leaning leaders from both sides to be brave enough to step up and form an alliance anchored somewhere between the current extremes, and this idea would not only germinate, it would grow like kudzu.

Needless to say, it would shake the status quo to its core.

Most conservatives and liberals share much more common ground ideologically than either side is allowed to acknowledge. And while it is true we may not agree on everything, both sides of those independent thinkers know the best path forward for America is not going to be found in either extreme.

Let’s just put it this way: anyone who has ever been in a successful marriage knows that compromise is an elemental part of that success. Right now, neither side appears to even know what that word means anymore.

Now, you can be assured that both parties will do everything they can to kill the concept of an “America Party” before it takes root because they both know their stability and ‘untouchable’ view of themselves would be completely compromised.

I don’t know about you, but I’m past ready to see that happen.