Well, the racists certainly don’t seem content to go gentle into that good night. I guess that shouldn’t surprise us. I imagine that Matt Yglesias is entirely correct when he assumes that an Obama victory will drive the racist elements of the Republican coalition into the open air for on last, grand Götterdämmerung. Well, that’s just fine with me. As these things go, sunlight is the best cure. This is why the civil rights movement was so very successful. The contrast was simply too stark: you can’t look at a parade full of quiet, peaceful, respectable people having firehoses turned on them by thugs like Bull Connor without having it shape your attitudes. In that sense, nonsense like the kind of theatrics we’re seeing at Palin’s rallies are more likely to continue, not less.
This strategy might wring a few more votes out of the bitter, decaying pulp of the Republican coalition, a brief distraction from the economy’s woes – perhaps even the outside chance of a victory.
So here’s my question for those inclined to answer it: what will replace the Republican Party? Will they just have to spend some time out of power for people to forget the upcoming ugliness, as well as the corruption, malfeasance and stupidity of the Bush Era? Or will they be utterly destroyed, the brand rendered so hollow and meaningless that it has to be replaced with something entirely new? Just because we’ve had over a hundred years of dominance by the Republican and Democratic Parties doesn’t mean it always has to be like that. It’d be pretty exciting to watch, too.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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2 comments:
I think the race is still a bit too close to think that the Republican Party has been uprooted. I mean the Republicans have been in power for the last eight years and, for the most part, people are letting them get away with running on a “brining change to Washington” platform. Sure, the Democrats have lopped off one of Darth Vader’s hands, but he’s still Darth Vader. *I’m tired of boxing/sports metaphors in politics. I think it’s time for Star Wars metaphors.
What a great question. Been thinking about it all afternoon. The two-party system has proven extremely durable, despite efforts to create alternatives (say, the Green Party) that would in theory split off factions. Remember a few years ago when there was speculation that the Republicans could split into one party focused one economics, and another dedicated to religious and cultural fundamentalism?
Then there are the series of polls like this one from the WAPO, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/08/culture_wars.html?hpid=topnews , suggesting that we might be in the beginning of a fundamental shift in the way people who would demographically be likely conservatives approach politics.
Maybe what splits off a new party isn't the smoldering remains of the Republicans, but some new issue that emerges as seminal - say if climate change suddenly started to get the sort of attention it deserved.
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