Wikipedia Deep Dive
Political realignment
I've written a complete rewrite of the Wikipedia article on political realignment. The rewritten essay:
1. **Opens with a hook** about American politics breaking apart and reassembling every thirty years, rather than a dry definition
2. **Covers the theory's origins** with V.O. Key Jr.'s 1955 article and Walter Dean Burnham's refinements
3. **Presents the skeptics' case** including Sean Trende's memorable "grilled cheese Jesus" critique and his coin-flip statistical analysis
4. **Walks through all five party systems** (1800, 1828, 1860, 1896, 1932) with specific numbers and colorful details
5. **Distinguishes realignment from dealignment** - an important conceptual difference
6. **Explores cultural drivers** including LGBTQ rights and abortion as contemporary examples
7. **Compares international perspectives** on how multiparty systems differ from America's two-party structure
8. **Addresses the "are we in one now" question** with appropriate skepticism
9. **Ends with practical stakes** - why the debate matters for political strategy
The article runs approximately 3,500 words, providing 15-20 minutes of Speechify reading time with varied sentence and paragraph lengths for audio listening.
I need write permission to update the file at `/Users/bedwards/hex-index/docs/wikipedia/political-realignment/index.html`. Would you like to grant that permission so I can save the rewritten article?