Washington ‘Uniparty’ Does Not Exist: Important Party Differences Remain

If you’ve paid close attention to the recent rhetoric of certain Republican lawmakers like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Senator Mike Lee (Utah), you might be concerned about a demonic, omnipotent cabal of politicians who have taken over Washington, D.C.: the “uniparty.” According to Greene, it was the “uniparty” that spoiled her effort to remove Mike Johnson from the speakership. And Lee blames the “uniparty” for the $95 billion defense-aid bill recently signed into law. Lee alleges that the “uniparty” has now captured such a dominant role in our politics that it needs its own symbol. Indeed, he recently revealed on X that he had designated the “Uniparty Unicorn” to serve that role “after considerable reflection.”

Is it true that our two-party system has entirely collapsed into a single blob of elites from both parties who are opposed to the interests of true conservatives? For a sensible observer, a few seconds of thought reveals the answer to be no. Large, irreconcilable differences remain between Republicans and Democrats on such issues as immigration, environmental policy, guns, taxes, religious liberty, the role of the courts, and the politicization of government agencies. That is not to say there are no areas in which both parties are complicit in bad policy. They have both presided over years of ballooning budgets and skyrocketing deficits, and have refused to address the entitlement spending at the root of our fiscal crisis.

About the Author

Natan Ehrenreich

Natan Ehrenreich, a recent graduate of Yeshiva University, is a writing fellow at National Review.

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If you’ve paid close attention to the recent rhetoric of certain Republican lawmakers like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Senator Mike Lee (Utah), you might be concerned about a demonic, omnipotent cabal of politicians who have taken over Washington, D.C.: the “uniparty.” According to Greene, it was the “uniparty” that spoiled her effort to remove Mike Johnson from the speakership. And Lee blames the “uniparty” for the $95 billion defense-aid bill recently signed into law. Lee alleges that the “uniparty” has now captured such a dominant role in our politics that it needs its own symbol. Indeed, he recently revealed on X that he had designated the “Uniparty Unicorn” to serve that role “after considerable reflection.”

Is it true that our two-party system has entirely collapsed into a single blob of elites from both parties who are opposed to the interests of true conservatives? For a sensible observer, a few seconds of thought reveals the answer to be no. Large, irreconcilable differences remain between Republicans and Democrats on such issues as immigration, environmental policy, guns, taxes, religious liberty, the role of the courts, and the politicization of government agencies. That is not to say there are no areas in which both parties are complicit in bad policy. They have both presided over years of ballooning budgets and skyrocketing deficits, and have refused to address the entitlement spending at the root of our fiscal crisis.