yes, they did deserve it
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MGZ…
I don’t know about you, but I have never had much patience with the argument that the Republicans “deserved” to lose in 2006. You know the line: “We spent too much, there was too much corruption in the House, George W. Bush was sloppy in his immigration proposal . . .” Well, in American politics, there is always a choice, or most always. If your beef is spending, will the Democrats spend less, or more?
Nordlinger’s conflating two things.
No, the Democrats didn’t deserve to win in ’06.
…but, yes, the Republicans sure deserved to lose.
Don’t be a party hack, Jay, you’re too good for that.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
I think it’s pretty clear that the two-party system doesn’t work. It eventually degenerates into a polarized US versus THEM that stops being about rational debate, and is instead about working together only when its required to keep third parties off the ballots.
If/when America is ever rebooted, lets be sure something is done to keep more newer parties springing up and getting into the mix more often.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Children/politicians don’t learn withou discipline.
November 9th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Who deserved to lose more?
At least Bush tried to fix the Social Security mess that is about to hit the fan, instead of politicizing it.
November 9th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I’d like to think the people are smart enough to fire the Republicans, by hiring the Democrats to teach the Republicans a lesson. But more likely the people bought the Democrat line of vote for us since the Republicans are big spenders.
It would be cool to see everyone run as independents, but the DOJ would never let that happen.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
TPRJones -
I don’t think the problem is due to the nature of the two-party system so much as it is a result of the nature of politics itself. And politics ultimately reflects the values of the electorate.
As much as I despise most of what federal and state and local and county (etc.) governments do, I realize that they (meaning government officials) only do what they do because, at the end of the day, people like free stuff. And politicians are good at convincing people that their promises are no-cost, all-gain propositions.
Of course, we readers of the sort that frequent this blog know that this nonsense. The goodies must be paid for at some point, whether through lost opportunities for growth, higher taxes in the future, or direct monetization of the national debt.
Don’t misunderstand me; politicians are worthless piles of s***. But reality isn’t quite that simple. If government officials are the Mafiosi holding the garrote tightly around our necks, then the voters are the capos who ordered the hit. Neither group is innocent.
We are each one of William Graham Sumner’s forgotten men: “The forgotten man… He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pay.”