This is /c/electoralism

The people with money, the folks politicians actually work for, are likely to be more politically similar than different. Both parties are playing towards their true base.

The primaries are over so neither candidate needs to spend too much time paying lip service to the unwashed masses.

So, why not both "feature" AND "happy outcome"?

I think a large group of Dems actually buy into the triangulator bs that you see in most "left"wing parties (quotations because they're not, but you know what I mean.) I don't know if the leaders buy into it, I know there's some insidious psy-op at the root of it, meant to kneecap any leftist political party, but I think a very large group actually believes the "aw shucks we really do want to do universal healthcare, but we gotta be more rightwing to get into government."
These people never interrogate the validity of the claim, let alone the belief that a politicians task is to get elected.
You'll see this tendency whenever you ask about doing any actual popular policy. "It's more nuanced than that..." "We gotta be bi-partisan..." "We want to be able to get elected..." "We don't want to scare away voters..." "We gotta be realistic..."
Like with the decline of US intelligence agencies I think we are now seeing a generation of people who actually believe the propaganda.

It's effectively a feature, but the amount of intentionality is grey, I think bourgeois democracy initially fell into this happy outcome, and it's a natural balance that occurs from them acting in self-interest, but it is also maintained actively with laws, culture wars, etc.

Which party people vote for seems to entirely depend on "the other guy is worse", so if both parties do terribly for people when they get in government (and they will because they serve the bourgeois class) then people will always vote for the "only other choice" and voteshame third partyers.

Rinse and repeat and the balance will stay forever around the 50% point while conditions worsen and people remain under the illusion they have a choice.

the dem ideal is 51% support and 49% of the votes

I feel like Biden dropping out almost immediately after Trump almost got domed displays a certain degree of intentionality. Trump was going to run away with it at that point and I dont think they want either party having too much political power. Somebody might try to do something with it if that were the case

It's all profoundly stupid but I am a piggy addicted to the horse race

Kamala is ahead by a point nationally but this is an interesting sub story that isn't getting a lot of play