As a politically moderate American - which would now be considered far left based on current assessments - my fear is that we are rapidly becoming completely ungovernable.
American democracy used to be extremely powerful precisely because there was common ground across the political divide. Now however, the right - more more so than on the left - has raised to the highest good the absolute purity of the political ideology (e.g., the consistent derogatory references to RINOs). Consequently, even the most innocuous bills cannot achieve bipartisan support (e.g., highway funding, etc.) If we were a parliamentary system, this might make sense to me.
If we were, then ideological purity and consistency of voting is essential - for if it is not achieved, then governments face no-confidence votes and new elections. However, without this outlet, all that we get is ideological rigidity without the ability to vote in a new government or gridlock. And to my horror, we are further entrenching this by refusing to combat the corrupt practice of "redistricting" of congressional districts. For those of you to the north, this redistricting allows the political party holding the governor's seat in a given state to re-draw congressional districts to its benefits. What this results in are ideologically pure districts that continue to perpetuate our intransigence.
IMHO, I would rather see redistricting responsibility put out to non-partisan state commissions that would be obligated to create as many "balanced" districts as possible. That way, I believe we'd be facing many more moderate candidates that - heaven forfend! - might actually be able to compromise on some things.
Oh...and then there's the repeal of the "fairness doctrine" for TV news...but that's for another comment.
John - 12 years ago
1. Inflammatory rhetoric can easily lead to violence. For Jonah Goldberg to minimize this point is interesting and either incredibly naive or disingenuous. As Cassandra said, abusive language leads inexorably to hatred. In the U.S. the level of visceral hatred is very high. I predict it is only a matter of time before someone crosses the line and actually advocates violence in the mass media (which is already done probably more frequently thru websites than any normal people realize).
2. Jonah Goldberg also gets it wrong by saying that people would be nicer to each other if the pie were getting bigger instead of smaller. This simply does not explain the rise of religious fundamentalism in the US since the mid 70s and the ensuing emergence of political fundamentalism. The fundamentalist discourse is black and white; right vs. wrong; good vs. evil.
3. The basic dynamic here is not Left vs. Right. The Left has been dead for 40 years. The basic dynamic is an attempt by right wing fundamentalists to take power in order to transform society. The new "Left" are actually the political moderates and compromisers-the ones who want to have a civil conversation and compromise. The fundamentalists emphatically do not want a conversation.
4. We are now seeing the introduction of fundamentalist politics in Canada, with the same inflammatory rhetoric and us vs. them; good vs. evil mentality. And most Canadians haven't quite grasped it yet.
Caleb - 12 years ago
I have to say that the current state of US politics is downright disgusting to listen to. I follow their politics very closely, listening to AM radio each day to and from work and the polarity and "team-spirit" attitude of both the Republicans and Democrats is tearing the country apart. Not only do they need to add civility and respect to politics, they need to stop obstructing the other side simply because it's "the other team". A Republican in current politics will vote down virtually ANYTHING that is proposed by a Democrat, simply because they are not on the same "team" and therefore they need to be at odds with each other. The complete lack of middle ground and the wish for the opposition to lose simply for being the opposition is not a good way to run a country. Open your eyes America and stop being so petty, you need to start doing what is best for your country, not your political party.
Mike - 12 years ago
Read Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. He looks at morality as the key to this hyper-partisanship. And I agree: Civility is important. Just look at the number of assassinations in American history. They actually think murder is a valid option regarding policy disagreement. These two fools you are interviewing are just waiting for the next massacre. And I'm not being facetious. Once a member of the fringe snaps.... a swift recalibration will swing the national mood in one way or the other.
As a politically moderate American - which would now be considered far left based on current assessments - my fear is that we are rapidly becoming completely ungovernable.
American democracy used to be extremely powerful precisely because there was common ground across the political divide. Now however, the right - more more so than on the left - has raised to the highest good the absolute purity of the political ideology (e.g., the consistent derogatory references to RINOs). Consequently, even the most innocuous bills cannot achieve bipartisan support (e.g., highway funding, etc.) If we were a parliamentary system, this might make sense to me.
If we were, then ideological purity and consistency of voting is essential - for if it is not achieved, then governments face no-confidence votes and new elections. However, without this outlet, all that we get is ideological rigidity without the ability to vote in a new government or gridlock. And to my horror, we are further entrenching this by refusing to combat the corrupt practice of "redistricting" of congressional districts. For those of you to the north, this redistricting allows the political party holding the governor's seat in a given state to re-draw congressional districts to its benefits. What this results in are ideologically pure districts that continue to perpetuate our intransigence.
IMHO, I would rather see redistricting responsibility put out to non-partisan state commissions that would be obligated to create as many "balanced" districts as possible. That way, I believe we'd be facing many more moderate candidates that - heaven forfend! - might actually be able to compromise on some things.
Oh...and then there's the repeal of the "fairness doctrine" for TV news...but that's for another comment.
1. Inflammatory rhetoric can easily lead to violence. For Jonah Goldberg to minimize this point is interesting and either incredibly naive or disingenuous. As Cassandra said, abusive language leads inexorably to hatred. In the U.S. the level of visceral hatred is very high. I predict it is only a matter of time before someone crosses the line and actually advocates violence in the mass media (which is already done probably more frequently thru websites than any normal people realize).
2. Jonah Goldberg also gets it wrong by saying that people would be nicer to each other if the pie were getting bigger instead of smaller. This simply does not explain the rise of religious fundamentalism in the US since the mid 70s and the ensuing emergence of political fundamentalism. The fundamentalist discourse is black and white; right vs. wrong; good vs. evil.
3. The basic dynamic here is not Left vs. Right. The Left has been dead for 40 years. The basic dynamic is an attempt by right wing fundamentalists to take power in order to transform society. The new "Left" are actually the political moderates and compromisers-the ones who want to have a civil conversation and compromise. The fundamentalists emphatically do not want a conversation.
4. We are now seeing the introduction of fundamentalist politics in Canada, with the same inflammatory rhetoric and us vs. them; good vs. evil mentality. And most Canadians haven't quite grasped it yet.
I have to say that the current state of US politics is downright disgusting to listen to. I follow their politics very closely, listening to AM radio each day to and from work and the polarity and "team-spirit" attitude of both the Republicans and Democrats is tearing the country apart. Not only do they need to add civility and respect to politics, they need to stop obstructing the other side simply because it's "the other team". A Republican in current politics will vote down virtually ANYTHING that is proposed by a Democrat, simply because they are not on the same "team" and therefore they need to be at odds with each other. The complete lack of middle ground and the wish for the opposition to lose simply for being the opposition is not a good way to run a country. Open your eyes America and stop being so petty, you need to start doing what is best for your country, not your political party.
Read Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. He looks at morality as the key to this hyper-partisanship. And I agree: Civility is important. Just look at the number of assassinations in American history. They actually think murder is a valid option regarding policy disagreement. These two fools you are interviewing are just waiting for the next massacre. And I'm not being facetious. Once a member of the fringe snaps.... a swift recalibration will swing the national mood in one way or the other.