If you think historically, you may be taking the wrong lessons from history.

First, a stronger third party is a huge mistake given the nature of our Electoral College system. If a third party took enough votes to prevent any candidate from getting 270, the US House gets to vote- guaranteeing a Republican presidential win. For the foreseeable future, Republicans will control MORE states than Democrats.

Second, the parties have always been coalitions (until recently with Republicans). The Democratic Party is a wider tent and coalition and includes progressives to moderates to, admittedly, dinosaurs like Manchin.

No, the “establishment” isn’t going to save anyone. But you won’t save us either by bailing on the better mechanism for change. The progressive movement of the late 1800s to early 1900s successfully changed policy by working within the two major parties.

As to the Cold War, we were always going to have one, IMO. Assuming if we were nicer to Stalin he wouldn’t have advanced his agenda to build an iron curtain is naive