Joe Biden is a proud institutionalist who passionately embraces the two-party system and big government. He’s an affable, old-guard Democrat committed to ending the pandemic, rebuilding the economy and addressing other priorities like climate change, affordable health care and racial justice. He’s also a Washington insider with a bias for incremental change and ignoring the concentration of wealth and power and growing wealth and income disparity. The president-elect is a symbol of why voters who want to change the direction of the country or end Washington’s dysfunction distrust establishment politicians.

The 2020 presidential campaign briefly changed this. Biden created a temporary coalition to end a chaotic and dangerous administration and make Donald Trump a one-term president. Biden’s patience and moderation and preference for relationships and compromise as well as his competence and character contrasted sharply with Trump’s inept response to the coronavirus and his authoritarianism, divisive agenda and norm-shattering behavior.

Despite Trump’s rage and disbelief that he lost to a career politician like Biden, the president clearly beat himself, especially with COVID-19. Instead of directing an aggressive, science-based federal response that would have guaranteed his reelection, he tried to BS and bully it away. Now, endless tweets claiming voter fraud, frivolous lawsuits alleging a rigged process and hundreds of post-election fundraising pitches scamming his base soothe Trump’s fragile ego and bankroll his relevance.

Trump could make a Nixon-like comeback in 2024 with an anti-establishment message that loosely unites Trumpists, independents and progressives under a broad reform umbrella. This scenario is unlikely given his history of peddling alternative facts and conspiracy theories, prioritizing his needs over the country’s and demonstrated weak work ethic. Trump will stick with lies and conspiracy theories because manipulating and exploiting those who trust you is what grifters do.

Biden, for his part, wants to be the uniter in chief but there are plenty of reasons why Joe won’t succeed. Democrats aren’t united; some want political revenge; and Democrats don’t control the Senate and barely control the House. Then there’s the naïve hope that Biden pardoning Trump’s misdeeds as president would buy unity – assuming, of course, that Trump doesn’t pardon himself or resign and have Mike Pence do it.

Biden’s presidency would be easier if Democrats win Georgia’s two Senate runoffs but don’t count on it. Biden will likely have to deal with Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader and, whatever their past friendship, he will try to make Biden a one-term president just as he did with Barack Obama.

If Trump is a fake populist and failed messenger and Biden has no chance of uniting the country, the “return to normalcy” will be gridlock as usual. Expect more broken promises, Band-Aid fixes and false narratives from a two-party system that’s the political equivalent of professional wrestling.

For those who want to get off the Washington merry-go-round to change the country’s direction or end political paralysis, voters need to understand that the two-party system hasn’t solved a single problem in at least the past 50 years while successfully protecting the status quo, perpetuating big government and concentrating wealth and power. Washington works well, but clearly only for itself and its wealthy donors and powerful allies.

The Constitution doesn’t mention political parties because many of the framers regarded them as corrupt. Today’s divided and dysfunctional two-party system represents their worst fear – a divisive rivalry that’s also a powerful special interest.

To drain the Washington swamp, reverse wealth and income inequality and begin solving the nation’s problems generally, it’s time to end the myth that Democrats and Republicans represent a meaningful choice and that big government is anything more than a prescription for waste and failure. Big government can’t be made more efficient and effective and less corrupt – it can only be made smaller, more accountable and less dangerous.  

Fundamental, structural change to reverse dysfunction, division and decline is a multi-step process. First, make messaging relevant to Washington’s myths, trends and the key problems of bloated government, unsustainable debt, Wall Street greed and systemic racism; second, develop a comprehensive nonpartisan agenda of bold and diverse ideas; and, third, organize a coalition lobby to mobilize political action.