Can you see the Democrats and Republicans merging to form one party that is big tent, reaching from today's center or center-right to the extreme right?

Can you see a new liberal party forming that is smaller than the juggernaut party described above, but encompassing the people from the center to the left and extreme left?

Bonus question: Can you see the new left party quickly gaining strength by appealing to the former members of the middle class after the catfood commission impoverishes them (or some other equally devastating result of the now unstoppable race to the right this country's government has been on since St Ronald)?

But the powers that be will continue to try and keep up this two party charade for as long as possible. After all, for them it is win-win, no matter who gets in. If you had an actual, live, viable leftist party, they couldn't control everything like they do now.

this party take a stand on some of those issues (choice, marriage equality, DOMA, DADT, etc) without losing a major portion of its constituents and pushing those with strong feelings into the extreme-right and extreme-left parties?

So the 'center' party would basically stand for nothing and those with real ideological principles would be in the 'extreme' parties.

That being said, I'd be okay with that - a left wing version of the Tea Party (without the crazy, of course) that was getting support from Congress with real votes, not just lip service, is just fine with me.

On their platform (not sure anything would make it to law right away):

Choice scaled back. Roe overturned.

Gays stay out in the cold

Etc.

At the leftmost part of the spectrum, even if they claim to be Dems, they are predisposed to largely ignore these issues (as has been the case the last few years). It is easy to see them allow the right and far right to hold sway.

could work as a big tent for right wingers and centrists. Too many 'Democrats' are already there, as you point out.

For a start there is a snide and false assumption that Democrats are center right, but much more germane to the answer, there is no chance for reconciliation between all but the most conservative Dems (Nelson and a handful of others) and even moderate Republicans as they currently stand.

What is far more likely is that the right will split into Teabaggers and a smaller splinter group of moderate Republicans in the Snowe/Collins vein. The latter may very well be absorbed into the Dem fold just as Specter was,

There is however a possibility of a far-left splinter from the Democrats, but it will be as meaningful in size and impact as the Greens, which it would doubtless resemble. The best it could hope for (and yes indeed it will hope for it mightily) is to act as a spoiler in a limited number of very close elections throwing them to the Teabaggers to "punish" the impure Democrats and supposedly then move them to the left in response to pick up this small faction. That this has never happened even when the spoiler effect has been mosntrously successful will not stop attempts being repeated.

at warp speed. They will soon be leaving the known universe. We'll never catch up with them.

the "liberal" party would never be allowed to gain steam by corporate owned media. (see the tea party's constant screwups, yet they still get play on tv as a Major Grassroots blah blah blah). Imagine that same power in full reverse. Do you remember the anti war protests and how they were (not) covered by the media, but three guys show up and get called a major tea party gathering...

1: Already done

2: Not until American Idol is cancelled

3: Diebold

It may be the only "HOPE" for America's Working Class & Poor.

As the rightwing democrats started voting with Reagan, the party should have split. Instead it moved right and has been moving right ever since. And we keep putting up with it.

If I advocate that the Democratic Party should be permantly splintered in favor a Third Party, but I put that advocacy in the form of a question, should I still be tombstoned by the Moderators?

When it is just a pattern of consistent bloviating its considered good ole fashioned clowning.

And we would be annihilated, it would be the equivalent of the black vote being 50% Republican and 50% Democrat...if not worse than that.

Sid

Advocating for a third party AND throwing in the Dems = Repubs crap on top of it. Wow.

I believe that is against the rules.