By CALIBE THOMPSON

I remember Rachel Maddow doing a piece maybe last year where she talked about the Republican Party, bolstered by a crop of fanatical Tea Party folks, moving so far to the right on issues that the theoretical “center”would have to move to the right as well. Even though I believe Democrats are typically more civil in their behavior and will not become as obstructionist as hard right wingers are,I remember thinking that tipping the scales this way could not be sustainable. Something would eventually break. I believe that that breakage is what gave rise to Bernie Sanders’socialist movement and the extreme left-wing.

The hardline views of the conservative party and their forceful conviction that compromise is a dirty word is what has led to almost six years of government inaction. If there is no action, then there can be no change.Even the smallest child knows that.

So how is it that we as supposedly reasonable adults have not yet figured it out? We see the inefficacy of uncompromising belief systems but somehow continue to blame centrists, the folks who actually look for a way to make sure everyone buys into getting things done, for lack of change. It is in fact the hardliners who keep things exactly the way they are if they can’t get their own way, or force unilateral action with the end result of perceived demagoguery.

In any democracy, change happens when a majority of people agree to make change happen.That requires buy-in from both left and right. In recent weeks Hillary Clinton has united the party’s center and left, and she’s currently even rallying support from staunch high-profile Republicans.That ability is what will allow her to make effective change. I believe that she’s going to listen to every stakeholder in our democracy and make a genuine effort to find happy mediums.We are in for a leader who,like our current president, cares more about the job of running the country than she does about politics,and I for one am looking forward to it.

Calibe Thompson is a video media producer, speaker and author. Learn more about her services at www.islandsyndicate.com and watch her on ‘Island Origins’ Mon at 10:00PM and Tues,Thurs and Sat at 9:00PM on South Florida’s BECON-TV (Ch 63 / Comcast 19)