Weekly Email 3/30/26

Topic of the Week: The Two-Party System: America's Political Duopoly

Dear Restore the Balance Community,

The two-party system in American politics often leaves us with a choice between two "bad" choices. It leaves many of us voting "against" someone rather than "for" someone. So why do we belong to parties in the first place?

Perhaps nearly everyone you know is a member of the same party. Humans do tend to self-sort into tribes. And it is a phenomenon that plays well into the hands of advertisers, cable news, social media algorithms, and autocrats.

But many of us remain "unaffiliated"; 40% of voters nationally and >50% of voters in Colorado. Perhaps we don't enjoy being put into ideological boxes. Perhaps we'd like to just vote for the better candidates irrespective of their party affiliation. But the two-party "duopoly" as it exists in the current era usually tends to limit our choices to the extremes on either side of the ideological spectrum. Catherine Gehl and Michael Porter, in their book The Politics Industry, liken this to the duopoly of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, both companies benefit by keeping out other competitors. Until there is more competition, there will not be sufficient motivation for independent thought and compromise.

Initiatives like open primaries, citizen redistricting commissions, and ranked choice voting can diminish the power, influence, and built-in polarity of a two-party dominant system. Politics at the congressional level is dominated almost exclusively by loyalty to party, not loyalty to voters, to principles, or to compromise.

What can we do now? We can ignore party labels. We can demand that our representatives act with courage and independence and choose country over party. We can get out and vote.

For Further Reading & Viewing:

• A Short Primer on American Political Parties — PBS Civics Made Easy

• David French: Trump, Talarico, MAGA and Religious Political Division — NYT 

• What is a Political Duopoly? — Good Party

• The Open Mind: Making Politics Work Again — PBS

• Katherine M. Gehl: US Politics Isn't Broken. It's Fixed — TED Talk 

Upcoming Events

April 1 — RMPBS Make a Circle | 5:30–8:30 p.m. Central Library, Mesa County Libraries. Free sandwiches, salads & drinks provided. First-come, first-served.

April 4 — "We the People: A Program on Defending the Constitution" | 1:00–3:00 p.m. Colorado Mesa University, 1100 North Ave, Grand Junction.Co-sponsored by RTB, the League of Women Voters, the CMU Poli-Sci Club, the CMU Free Speech Club, and the Western Colorado Alliance. Register here

April 11 — West Slope People's Forum | 2:00–4:00 p.m.

Avalon Theatre, Downtown Grand Junction

April 15 — RTB Social Hour | 4:30 p.m.The Ale House, 2531 N. 12th St, Grand Junction | No RSVP needed! 

April 21 — RTB Roundtable: Healthcare | 7:00–9:00 p.m.Redlands Community Center, 2463 Broadway, Grand Junction. Space is limited, reservations required. RSVP here

Save the Date — May 21: RTB Annual Spring Gathering | We are thrilled to welcome David French, New York Times columnist, as our guest speaker. Tickets available April 10. More details to follow!

On the Radar: Local Government Meetings

• Board of County Commissioners: Tuesdays @ 9am

• Grand Junction City Council: 1st & 3rd Wednesdays @ 5:30pm

• Town of Palisade Board of Trustees Meeting: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays @ 6pm

• Fruita City Council: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 7pm

• D51 School Board: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 5pm (public comments accepted on 3rd Tuesdays only)

• Mesa County Library Board: Last Thursdays @ 5:30pm

• Public Health Board: Monthly Tuesdays @ 3pm

RTB Member Insights

Here are some recommendations from our members: 

• Book: The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson 

• Music: Take It Easy — The Eagles, Because sometimes the best thing we can do is take a breath and enjoy some classical American music.

Thank you to all who have submitted photos, podcasts, and video recommendations. We will publish a recommendation in each category every week. Please keep them coming!

Want to Contribute to Our Weekly Newsletter?

Our best recommendations come from you! Have you read a thought-provoking book? Listened to an insightful podcast? Found an article worth sharing? Captured a beautiful photo of Western Colorado? We want to feature your discoveries and perspectives in our Monday Update.

You can share resources, suggest topics you'd like RTB to address, or submit photos from around our community. All submissions can be anonymous or attributed to you; it's your choice.

Submit your recommendations here

Let's learn from each other and build a more informed community together.

Don't forget to vote in 2026: June primaries, November general.