Just about every four years, we hear about how this election is going to be a transformational election and how the direction of the country is going to be permanently changed and how our children and grand-children will be affected by what we decide now. In reality, transformational elections are rare and this election doesn't look like it's going to change much no matter who is elected.
History shows that America is a one-party state. What I mean by this is that one party tends to dominate and the other party tends to be a "me too" party. In the early nineteenth century, the Democratic Party established itself as the majority party in the era of Andrew Jackson. That lasted about forty years until the Civil War, when the Republican Party under Abraham Lincoln seized majority status. The GOP dominated American politics from 1865 until 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt inaugurated an era of Democratic hegemony. For most of the twentieth century, from the thirties until 1980, the Democrats controlled the government. Reagan's election in 1980 began our current epoch of Republican and conservative domination.
How do we know that this has been a conservative era? Not just by the number of Republicans who have occupied the White house. We also know by looking at the behavior of Democrats who have managed to get elected. Today Bill Clinton goes around boasting, "We won the Cold War." "We fixed welfare." "We signed the free trade agreements." "We put the lid on spending." Remarkably all Clinton's accomplishments are conservative accomplishments. At least one of them, welfare reform, was signed reluctantly because of GOP pressure. None would have been possible without conservative support. Clinton's liberal ideas, such as gays in the military and national health care, went down in flames. In sum, Clinton was dragged by the conservative tide and basically governed as a moderate Republican.
Is the conservative era now finished? Many of the pundits say it is, but I see no sign of it from the actions of the three presidential candidates. McCain of course has largely pleged to "stay the course." His independence is genuine but it does not constitute a departure from Reagan principles. Mostly McCain is a temperamental departure from Bush. Interestingly Hillary seems to have tempered her erstwhile radicalism. As a senator she has generally occupied the right flank of the Democratic party, voting for example to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Even in the campaign Hillary has sounded cautious notes, warning of the danger of negotiating with Iran, promising a staged rather than precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, an so on.
That leaves Obama, who sounds transformational in his rhetoric. But where is the actual change that Obama is proposing? Basically Obama's argument is that he is different because he grew up in many different places, has a black father and a white mother, and because his grandmother lives in an African village. Obama claims to be different because of his name and his background. So is Obama going to radically overhaul the tax system? No. Is he going to change America's longtime alliance with Israel or our special friendship with Great Britain? No. Does he have any new ideas for reshaping race relations in this country? If so he has kept them entirely to himself. Even Obama's tiresome repetition of the need to change the way Washington does business is unaccompanied by any concrete strategies for changing the modus operandi in the nation's capital.
One of these days we will have a transformational election, as we did in 1932 or 1980. But so far this doesn't look like one at all. The long shadow of Reagan still hangs over American politics, shaping the way the presidential candidates see themselves and the world.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 27)
16. Good movie list, Robert.
Don't forget Manchurian Candidate............
Just kidding. I think.
Linda at 11:40AM on May 14th 2008
17. Wait, you mean Bill Clinton, the one President to leave office with a SURPLUS in the budget, was not fiscally responsible? Nice rewrite on history, D'Stupid..
Ronald Reagen was a homophobic God Nazi that sold arms to our enemies as he slowly rode the senility express. John McCain is a Reagen Republican...and False God Save us from him.
T.Brough at 11:44AM on May 14th 2008
18. No, Linda, you are dead-on! Take a moment, and imagine a 'metaphorical' Manchurian candidate, and there ya go! Imagine the 'candidate' not as a person, but as a conglomeration of Corporos bound up in a quasi- Military/Industrial complex. Revisit history. Connect the dots- a truly frightening picture will emerge!
Robert at 11:46AM on May 14th 2008
19. Robert,
Don't call me too much of a fiscal conservative. I just bought a $1000 TV. Maybe this IS a good time to get a racing game.
Mokele Mbembe at 11:47AM on May 14th 2008
20. I thought that I was amaze-proof... but I actually agree with some of D'Souza's crap here.
Actually, come to think of it, Clinton should really go down in history as one of the best Republican Presidents yet. He was SUCH a good Republican President that Democrats loved him and the right took a giant leap towards fascism!
I think that a 'good' Democrat President is happy when business is booming, the people are happy, any wars are justified(or at least short) etc.
... but the right gets jealous and become rabid. Right now we need a three-inch long needle underneath the heart to stop the foaming at the mouth, if you can picture THAT analogy.
not-pboyfloyd at 11:49AM on May 14th 2008
21. Dear Douche D’louza,
First of all, let me say that I’d categorize the 2000 election as transformative and my question to you is, are you enjoying the transformation?
Secondly, it gives me great pleasure to point out to you that you have painted yourself into a corner.
From here on out any attempt on your part to paint Obama or Clinton as leftwing extremists bent on establishing a socialist government will be seen as the sad rantings of a partisan mouthpiece sore loser trying to put a positive spin on the losses the Republicans are going to amass in the coming election. You are apparently unashamed of changing your views as often as you change your putrid underwear in order to make your point even if it contradicts an earlier point
You and others like you including your counterparts on the left have done a grave disservice to this country in your zeal to promote your pet ideology and demonize the other side. You despicable ass wipes have become so enamored of your ideology that you’ve come to love it more than you love this country and it’s people.
You and your ilk have helped to developed a whole new kind of deep bigotry in this country with your rabid left v right rhetoric which is actually in contrast to reality as most citizen regardless of the fact that they may refer to themselves as either conservative or liberal are actually somewhere in the wide ranging middle as illustrated with detailed polling on individual issues.
You’ve helped us make a sport of pointing to the fringe elements in each camp and declaring, "You see! I told you so! Look how wacky all those idiots are!" while losing site of the fact that we are talking about 50% of the population.
The real grave damage done by shameless self-promoting hucksters such as yourself is the continued erosion of the notion of shared values, and once that is lost we are no longer the "United" States.
This country is in a lot of trouble and nobody is going anywhere so we might as well stop telling each other that if you don't like it go somewhere else and get down to the business of saving this country which is headed down the drain.
Humans can't help but applying labels to themselves. Mexican American, Liberal Democrat, Christian etc... the problem is that many too people, once they proudly apply a label to themselves, begin to alter their beliefs and opinions (to varying degrees) in order to fit that label more fully and there are plenty of scumbags out there like you willing to help them sort out the issues along your ridiculously infantile and shortsighted ideological fault line. Sometimes they don't even know they're doing it and taken to extremes some of these peoples like you begin serving the ideology rather than having the ideology serve them.
A corrupt system will not tolerate thinking in nuances things are either black or white no grays and don't even consider the possibility of color and you seem to think that it is clearly your job to keep the political dialog as simplistic as possible regardless of the effect on our national psyche.
You and others like you such as that transvestite bitch that emasculated you exist only to place barriers between people and sow hatred. This hatred in turn allows you influential people to express you narrow definitions as to what constitutes a good/bad conservative and a good/bad liberal further widening the chasm between citizens.
Most people are going to dismiss people like you and Ann Coulter but the problem is that enough people will not and when you add your cacophony to others of your kind on the left and the right, a trickle down effect occurs.
We are being divided and ruined but we only seem to care about the ruined part when the other guys are occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
rabidmccain at 11:50AM on May 14th 2008
22. A point of correction, T. Brough. It was pointed out to me yesterday that the budget 'surplus' was smoke and mirrors generated by the Clintons. I forget the name of the poster (apologies!) but I went back and did some research, and it's true. What we were told was a 'surplus' was merely 'projected', i.e. merely numbers. Where did the 'projected' money go? NAFTACAFTAIRAQAFGHANISTANABRACADABRA! poof!
Robert at 11:53AM on May 14th 2008
23. Moke,
Did you buy your TV with W's stimulus? I'm re-modelling my bathroom with mine. Gee, thanks unca George! You're SWELL!
Robert at 11:59AM on May 14th 2008
24. Ooooo, pboy.
Is that needle into the pericardium or the heart itself??
(I'm literally picturing it)
Linda at 12:01PM on May 14th 2008
25. Moke,
I play PGR on a 72", hi-def monster! Mind BLOWING! You want some fun? Invite a bunch of kids over, pour a drink and watch them play 'HALO'. Whoa! Better than watching the country go down the drain.
Robert at 12:02PM on May 14th 2008
26. rabidmccain, it's always good to hear from you.
You are missed when you're not here.
(Note: I got my homonyms correct.)
Deliberate polarization does not help our country. We need to come together now more than ever.
(Note to GHB: not in the way you're thinking)
Linda at 12:06PM on May 14th 2008
27. Fellas? I don't do video games...What is PGR?
personal graphic relief?
professional grabass rodeo?
pick the general's rectum?
perfrom genuine reike?
Linda at 12:08PM on May 14th 2008
28. Ah, there are some universal truths- like...
"Divide and conquer!" Always has worked, always will. Question is, how do we come together? I'm working on an idea for (yet another) screenplay. What if a bunch of us on the blogoshpere ignited a viral 'revolution'? I'm wide open to suggestion, folks! Christers and Atheists alike! What would it take?
Robert at 12:10PM on May 14th 2008
29. Hi Linda... ummm, I'd have to look that one up.
Naw, as long as it is horrible for the rabid right to contemplate, but seen by the entire country to be absolutely necessary, THAT's the one I mean.
not-pboyfloyd at 12:11PM on May 14th 2008
30. Ah, Linda!
Sorry, had to pick myself up off the floor! Thanks for the best laugh of the day!
For the un-initiated: PGR is PROJECT GOTHAM RACING. The original, not the sequel. No longer available except in the 'used' section of VG stores. It's like a driving simulator, and while not as high in Graphic quality, does offer some fun. You can up-load your own soundtrack- so you can cruise to elvis, or motley crue, and with the right controller and a big enough screen, a banana chair and a margarita, it's like drunk driving without all the unfortunate consequences. Even my wife likes it!
Robert at 12:15PM on May 14th 2008