The damage done by the New Partisans

[BlackSand]

Societies are tribal. We'd end up doing the same thing under different names.

I'd think what might work is if enough national "leaders" (politics, academia, ha ha, popular culture, etc etc) were brave enough to hold a mirror to our faces to show us how similar the behavior is on both ends of the spectrum. That is the last thing partisans want to see, because they hate being equated with or compared to those they loathe. Like Dracula and sunlight.

Someone of significant influence (and certainly this would need to be several) needs to be brave and set some examples, issue some challenges.

.

You have some points about challenges ... But the parties breaking apart would just result in a different kind of partisanship.
If the electorate fragmented ... Coalitions would still have to be made in order to accomplish anything legislative wise.

That also ignores the idea that that left and the right don't hold the same values and ideas as far as direction and policy are concerned.
It is foolish to think that either side is fighting just to fight ... When their ideologies or principles are in conflict with each other.
If the final outcome is just a moderate, middle of the road soup ... Then I suggest the moderate, middle of the road soup eaters make up their own party and quit bitching about what other people do.

Just because someone gets an idea for a new piece of legislation that may benefit someone ... Doesn't mean that it is either necessary nor responsible.
The idea we need to get along just so some crackpot can produce more self-serving legislation is not an acceptable answer.

How about we take some steps that address legislative problems fist.
Even a backwards assed state like Louisiana has a law that requires any subject addressed in a bill or piece of legislation has to be in the name of the legislation.
You want to cut out monkey business in the beltway ... Take away the ability for politicians to attach unassociated bull shit and pork projects to vital legislation.
You will get a lot more Representatives in Congress willing to vote on worthwhile legislation ... Instead of worrying about the crap attached to it.
That in itself would cause less partisanship ... And could be done with the simple swoop of a pen.

.

 

[FA_Q2]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

I could not agree more. While not exactly a 'solution' it would help alleviate the problem. The question is how? I don’t see a real method to accomplishing this that remains constitutional or preserves free elections.
The best answer would be an informed electorate that actually cares but that is an even bigger pipe dream right now.

 

[FA_Q2]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

Societies are tribal. We'd end up doing the same thing under different names.

I'd think what might work is if enough national "leaders" (politics, popular culture, etc etc) were brave enough to hold a mirror to our faces to show us how similar the behavior is on both ends of the spectrum. That is the last thing partisans want to see, because they hate being equated with or compared to those they loathe. Like Dracula and sunlight.

Someone of significant influence (and certainly this would need to be several) needs to be brave and set some examples, issue some challenges.

.

Equating tribalism to political parties is not accurate. The Ds and Rs are not tribes. Tribalism is an antiquated idea and is not necessary in the 21st century.

I think you are dreaming to think a leader will come forth to change things. The two major parties are invested in the status quo and will not allow change.

Yeah, can't argue, I suspect it's a pipe dream.

Then I wonder how much worse this is going to get. Every time I think we've hit bottom we make a new one.

.

We are not even close to the bottom – not by a long shot. When we really do lose our freedom and people start dying in the streets THEN we will have hit bottom. That is a long way off at this time.

 

[gipper]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

I could not agree more. While not exactly a 'solution' it would help alleviate the problem. The question is how? I don’t see a real method to accomplishing this that remains constitutional or preserves free elections.
The best answer would be an informed electorate that actually cares but that is an even bigger pipe dream right now.

A another big part of the solution we have not discussed, is removing money in politics. I know...not likely to happen, but until it does we will continue to be ruled by the worst among us.

1. Eliminate political parties.
2. Greatly limit money in politics.
3...and a big one would be term limit all pols to no more than two terms, as is done with POTUS.
4. Enforce the Constitution limiting the central government to doing ONLY those things specifically delineated...thereby allowing each state to handle things as their citizens wish it.

Extra Credit: Eliminating the Senate altogether and expanding the number of members in the House.

 

[FA_Q2]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

I could not agree more. While not exactly a 'solution' it would help alleviate the problem. The question is how? I don’t see a real method to accomplishing this that remains constitutional or preserves free elections.
The best answer would be an informed electorate that actually cares but that is an even bigger pipe dream right now.

A another big part of the solution we have not discussed, is removing money in politics. I know...not likely to happen, but until it does we will continue to be ruled by the worst among us.

1. Eliminate political parties.
2. Greatly limit money in politics.
3...and a big one would be term limit all pols to no more than two terms, as is done with POTUS.
4. Enforce the Constitution limiting the central government to doing ONLY those things specifically delineated...thereby allowing each state to handle things as their citizens wish it.

Extra Credit: Eliminating the Senate altogether and expanding the number of members in the House.

I would disagree with 2 as 4 enforces this. Money is not going anywhere but will no longer be a huge influence in politics when the politicians are not abusing their powers by giving such money special breaks and favors.
If the government were to act in a constitutional manner and apply the law equally, money would not be the factor that it is today.

I would not remove the senate either. The prospect of an efficient legislating body does not make me think positively. One thing I like about our process is that it tries to make passing laws difficult and inefficient giving the time required to really look at it and see if there should be a law passed at all.

 

[Unkotare]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

Unconstitutional.

 

[gipper]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

Unconstitutional.

So?

So was Lincoln's actions during the War of Northern Aggression and you are fine with them.

 

[Unkotare]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

A solution to partisanship might be the dissolving of political parties entirely. Each pol should stand alone.

Unconstitutional.

So?...

So it's not going to happen.

 

[Unkotare]

the War of Northern Aggression ...

No such thing. It was the American Civil War.

 

[gipper]

the War of Northern Aggression ...

No such thing. It was the American Civil War.

Deflection...

 

[Delta4Embassy]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

 

[gipper]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

 

[Mac1958]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

I think it's our system.

Politicians are completely controlled by money, they can leverage their office to obtain more power, influence and votes, and they are not constrained by the requirement of a balanced budget. Their top priorities are fundraising and re-election.

Worse, We the People clearly don't care, or we'd do something about it.

.

 

[gipper]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

I think it's our system.

Politicians are completely controlled by money, they can leverage their office to obtain more power, influence and votes, and they are not constrained by the requirement of a balanced budget. Their top priorities are fundraising and re-election.

Worse, We the People clearly don't care, or we'd do something about it.

.

Our system has been perverted by those very same corrupt pols. They know money is power...so naturally they try to acquire as much of it as possible.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

I think it's our system.

Politicians are completely controlled by money, they can leverage their office to obtain more power, influence and votes, and they are not constrained by the requirement of a balanced budget. Their top priorities are fundraising and re-election.

Worse, We the People clearly don't care, or we'd do something about it.

.

I think we care but accept the problem isn't who's in office, but the system itself. When the system is the problem, who's in office is moot.

 

[FA_Q2]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

I think it's our system.

Politicians are completely controlled by money, they can leverage their office to obtain more power, influence and votes, and they are not constrained by the requirement of a balanced budget. Their top priorities are fundraising and re-election.

Worse, We the People clearly don't care, or we'd do something about it.

.

I think we care but accept the problem isn't who's in office, but the system itself. When the system is the problem, who's in office is moot.

You have to go deeper than that. It is in the electorate. The system is irrelevant as well when the people no longer tend to it.

 

[gipper]

.

Good piece by Dana Milbank: America s new cycle of partisan hatred - The Washington Post

A few points from it:

-- Up until the mid-1980s, the typical American held the view that partisans on the other side operated with good intentions. But that has changed in dramatic fashion, as a study published last year by Stanford and Princeton researchers demonstrates.


It has long been agreed that race is the deepest divide in American society. But that is no longer true, say Shanto Iyengar and Sean Westwood, the academics who led the study. Using a variety of social science methods (for example, having study participants review résumés of people that make both their race and party affiliation clear), they document that “the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility.”

-- This leads to a grim conclusion: The problem with politics isn’t Washington but the electorate. Members of Congress, most of whom come from safely gerrymandered districts, are behaving in a perfectly rational way when they avoid cooperation with the other party and instead try to build support within their own tribe.


Elected officials and professional partisans then reinforce the tribal tendency in the electorate with overheated rhetoric, perpetual campaigns, negative ads and increasingly partisan media outlets. “The individuals who hold more hostility are then given the green light to hold these more hostile positions,” Westwood explained.


So does he see a way out of this tribal cycle of hatred? “Sadly, no.”

Sadly, indeed.

.

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

I think it's our system.

Politicians are completely controlled by money, they can leverage their office to obtain more power, influence and votes, and they are not constrained by the requirement of a balanced budget. Their top priorities are fundraising and re-election.

Worse, We the People clearly don't care, or we'd do something about it.

.

I think we care but accept the problem isn't who's in office, but the system itself. When the system is the problem, who's in office is moot.

You have to go deeper than that. It is in the electorate. The system is irrelevant as well when the people no longer tend to it.

You do have a point there. Millions of Americans pay no attention, but this has always been the case.

It could be that since the power elite are invested in dividing those of us willing to pay attention, they could be the true culprit. If we did not allow them to divide us, things would be much improved.

 

[Mac1958]

Increasingly I'm forced to conceed when a system like our's is so flawed, perverted, and corrupted from what it began as, and beyond all hope of repair and redemption, isn't starting over better? Founders started over but had a country to leave for. We don't have anywhere to go but desperately need to start over.

America today bears no resemblance to what it began as. And remains the greatest single threat to the rest of the world. Sucky realization when you begin to realize everything our supposed enemies say about us is actually true.

We are not the good guys.

Sadly you are right, but as it applies to our political leadership. They are the ones responsible.

I think it's our system.

Politicians are completely controlled by money, they can leverage their office to obtain more power, influence and votes, and they are not constrained by the requirement of a balanced budget. Their top priorities are fundraising and re-election.

Worse, We the People clearly don't care, or we'd do something about it.

.

I think we care but accept the problem isn't who's in office, but the system itself. When the system is the problem, who's in office is moot.

You have to go deeper than that. It is in the electorate. The system is irrelevant as well when the people no longer tend to it.

You do have a point there. Millions of Americans pay no attention, but this has always been the case.

It could be that since the power elite are invested in dividing those of us willing to pay attention, they could be the true culprit. If we did not allow them to divide us, things would be much improved.

Yeah, it's both, guys.

The system is the problem, and we could change it if we cared enough.

Chicken or the egg.

.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

US is like a Jenga tower. Rich are pulling pieces of it from the bottom weakening it more and more. Eventually this will lead to the nation's collapse but to the rich that's ok. Meanwhile the majority will suffer as blocks come crashing down on our heads.

 

[Papageorgio]

Raygun? Where did you learn that? FoxNews?

You just blew your whole point. Thanks.

Joan Baez at Woodstock. In the 60's. Yes, us hippies have been calling him Ronnie Raygun (ZAPPPP!!!!) since the 60's.

Thanks, so Democrats started this all in the 60's. It just didn't start happening because of FoxNews like some dim-bulbs are implying.