no, we don't. we have been living under minority rule my whole life. the r's have been gaming things in their favor since the dawn of time because they know ultimately their policies are not popular. we're looking at things through a current lens, but historians will will see this for what it is - one party completely capitulating and selling its soul for power to the worst and most abhorrent members of society. whatever bullshit they have pulled since Richards (I dunno, I was a kid at the time and I'm not keen to brush up on Texas history that I lived through) it has worked. but clearly they are doing this because they realize it won't last. they have to keep gaming the system (read: cheat) to maintain power. they've done it my whole life, this is just one of countless examples and a pretty extreme one, but anyone paying attention for any length of time should not be surprised by this
that's the part that enrages me the most. this regime could have just coasted on the policies from their predecessors and claimed all the good coming from it as their own, and I would have been fine with it because I wouldn't be lying awake at night wondering if I can keep my business or not.
bigger-brained idiots will tell you it's because D presidents spend their time coasting on R policies and R admins have to come in and do all the work and their policies aren't realized until the next admin. but of course we all know that is bullshit. we have see firsthand how current policies wreck the economy. we're watching it real time right now
it's true insofar that it's exactly what has happened to date. but what is not true is that the two-party system cannot be upended with the creation of a viable third party. the problem is one hasn't presented itself yet. what we've been given over time are offshoots or extreme detractors from the two main parties. what we need is another party that isn't trying to be what the other two aren't, but tries to be the best parts of the two and pick up what they both lack.
one thing is for sure, they shouldn't be drawn by partisans. like a lot of things in this country, the lines should be drawn by a fair and independent body whose only goal is equitable distribution of voters per seat. we certainly be where are today if such a thing had happened before now