Does America, in this time of extreme division between "left" and "right", require a third party? That's what Minnesota's three-term Congressman from the 3rd district, Dean Phillips, believes.
Phillips is no stranger to stirring the pot and pushing past party politics to share his beliefs.
He's the first Democrat to raise the alarm bells on President Joe Biden and what Phillips described as an inability to defeat Donald Trump. Phillips said so on WCCO's Chad Hartman Show in 2022, saying while Biden was a "man of decency," it was time for a new generation. That statement came with a lot of flak from Phillips' party, the Democrats, but when nobody stepped in to take on Biden in the Democratic Primary, Phillips again stepped into the fray running against a sitting president, a rare thing in American political history.
It ended in loss when Phillips stepped aside after Super Tuesday, but in some ways he still won: Biden dropped out of the race after a disastrous performance in a debate against Trump with current Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in late in the race. That ended in loss, making Phillips' prediction in 2022 come true even though he refused to play the "I told you so" game. Democrats needed something new.
Now, after deciding he was done in Congress and not running for re-election (Democrat Kelly Morrison now represents Minnesota's 3rd), Phillips is pondering what comes next and he told WCCO's Hartman now is the time for a party outside the two in power, the Democrats and Republicans.
"This is a beginning, not an end," said Phillips Thursday. "I am convinced increasingly that American politics require competition. I believe we will need a third party, a legitimate, principled, thoughtful center-right, center left, problem solving, common sense third party, to lead us into the next beautiful century."
Phillips said he's already talking to people who believe it's needed.
"I'm in California right now taking some time to collect and contemplate, having a lot of interesting conversations," he says. "So I'm thinking about all these things and how we can pull ourselves out of this, kind of spiral of misery and see some bright days ahead. So I'm optimistic and that's what I'm spending my time contemplating and I won't be quiet for too long."
Does that mean Phillips wants to play a pivotal role in building that relevant third party?
"Absolutely," he told Hartman. "I'm a business person at heart. I love identifying what the market is asking for that is un-met, and I've never seen more of a market opportunity and a bigger appetite for something than a reasonable common sense party. There's a reason that the majority of Americans are no longer identifying as Democrats or Republicans. Money and politics has so utterly corrupted American politics, both parties."
It's that money that is at the heart of what Phillips wants to propose.
"I think it's time for a party that offers candidates who do not solicit a penny in their pursuits of public office," Phillips explained. "Instead, Americans invest the willing as pioneers in a new party to support candidates and campaigns with their dollars that allow candidates to do what they're supposed to do. Study issues, meet people and do their work. Not spend half their time raising money."
How does this work as a business proposition? Phillips says it starts small. Not at the White House, but at the school board.
"It's not about winning the presidency in 2028, but it's about creating a new platform for great people," Phillips said. "Who, right now, are so disenchanted with politics to consider it and to run for state house or for school boards and start building a 21st century political platform for Americans who recognize, that if we just sit back and watch, there's nothing more dangerous. And seeing problems, seeing inequities, seeing mismanagement, and saying there's nothing we can do about it. But under the current system, that is the case. So that's the way forward and I think here, in the next year or so, we will see some energy mobilizing behind a new entity. Because I think it's time."
Quick Hitters
What is Phillips' perspective on the firehose of change coming out of the White House since President Donald Trump's inauguration?
"Well, I'll tell you, I think like most Americans, we want change. We're sick and tired of business as usual, wasteful spending, incompetence, redundancy. I think most of us can agree that's Democrats and Republicans. How to address it, with whom to address it, and the integrity of the mission itself is of concern to a lot of us, and I think disruption in this case is going to be healthy long term. But I am concerned that there will be an exodus of the very kind of people who ultimately are thoughtful, earnest public servants who do serve our country tirelessly and frankly with integrity every day. And that exodus will have long term consequences to the country unless we repopulate them with a new generation of people who have the inspiration and abilities to govern this country because right now we're in a little bit of a spiral."
What is Phillips seeing with Elon Musk and DOGE going through government departments and making changes with little or no Congressional oversight?
"We probably do have too many employees. We do. You have money spent in places where it doesn't make sense. But we also have quality people. We also have parts of government that work very efficiently. So bringing in somebody smart to oversee it, I get it. But who regulates him? I mean, who, who is checking on him? That seems way too unfettered for me."
Robert Kennedy Jr. looks likely to be confirmed as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services, despite concerns from both parties. What does Phillips think of RFK Jr?
"We should listen to physicians, especially Republican physicians, who recognize the consequences of installing a man who may have a lot of fans in the anti-vax world but has no qualifications whatsoever to run the most important public health institution, not just in the U.S., but in the world, Chad. And we've seen what the lack of competency can do around the world when we're faced with pandemics. And we've got bird flu circulating. We are just one day away, every day, from another horrible pandemic, and we need the best and brightest and most competent in positions of power with oversight, and I think all Americans can agree on that. That's why I'm so disappointed in both parties right now."