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 5 of 27)
61. What happened?
Did everyone go on 'tilt' wondering how the topic, "A Transformational Election?" suddenly became, "Christians hate gays!"?
not-pboyfloyd at 3:03PM on May 14th 2008
62. Pfft! Of course, the 'good' Rev. 3.16 is DD sockpuppet No. 234,677!
not-pboyfloyd at 3:05PM on May 14th 2008
63. Homosexual & Lesbian acts are objectively disordered.
If you look at the history. It all started with women's rights in the sixties (use of contraception & lealized abortion.) this begot the gay movement, with support from feminists who went from total man-haters to full-time lesbians.
And is it not interesting now that a small fringe in the gay movement are promoting man-little boy love. (Think NAMBLA everyone). Usually, little fringe groups blossom out for the whole movement to embrace.
Hey, these groups advocate child pedophilia. So it goes to show u that this issue is all connected together and corrupt.
America needs a reformation in not religionm philosophy or values but humanity.
Jed at 3:12PM on May 14th 2008
64. Rev 3:16
Follow this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth
After you read what’s there come back and dare say you would still not believe in the separation of church and state if a public school tried to push any of those non Judeo-Christian creation myths down your child’s throat. By the way, the abstinence only philosophy of sex education is a total failure
Speaking of the separation of church and sate, which many of you religio-conservatives abhor, the first amendment is precisely the reason why no one can force any church to accept a so called “homosexual agenda”. The few churches that are gay friendly are so because their leaders have a keener understanding of Jesus’ teachings than you do.
As for your accusation that liberal majorities seek to stamp out conservativism, had we done so when we had a majority, conservatives would never have gotten to hold the house and the senate for most of Clinton’s administration and pretty much enable Bush to do nearly everything he wanted if that were true.
Conservative traitors? In an earlier post I wrote:
“Its easier to manipulate and motivate the general public by appealing to the worst aspects of their natures (fear, bigotry, greed etc…) than by inspiring them with the need to serve the greater good for the benefit of us all.
EX: Putting anti gay marriage legislation on the ballot to motivate some people to go out and vote and while they are there they might as well vote for the anti gay marriage politician regardless of how his other policies will affect them.”
You are living proof that all you suckers got duped and they used your own bigotry and fear against you.
“Now go and boil your bottom you silly English k-nigh-it, I fart in your general direction.”
rabidmccain at 3:16PM on May 14th 2008
65. As a registered independent, I believe that Reaganism is currently alive and well - we continue to rack up record deficits and spiral into debt. With companies like Sun oil making $1000/second in net profits it would seem like a couple of drops could trickle down to soothe the parched lips of the masses.
That the Republican party has been able to successfully call themselves 'fiscal conservatives' without being laughed off the national stage has to be one of the biggest marketing coups in history.
Steve at 3:20PM on May 14th 2008
66. Jed- "If you look at the history. It all started with women's rights in the sixties..."
Now why would any woman vote Republican after an admission like that, I don't know.
not-pboyfloyd at 3:47PM on May 14th 2008
67. 53. Dear GHB,
YOU'RE the one who talked about working on the ego thing. As to the blog monitor thing- ???? I'm just sayin'... My ego? I says what I says, not trying to bring anyone over to the altar of ME. Read my posts, you'll see.
Sayonara,
Robert
Robert at 1:51PM on May 14th 2008
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Yes Robert, I realized my error shortly after I posted it. Sorry there. Hard to read inflection in a post, and I forgot that you're one of the good guys. My apologies, dude.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:01PM on May 14th 2008
68. Obviously I still need to work on the ego thing, Robert.
Maybe I need to read more buddhist texts. Too much of this christian mind poison every day and it can make even the Dalai Lama into an asshole.
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:03PM on May 14th 2008
69. Rev is a madman. Boy, does he hate gay people.
You should know that it is only the orthodox or conservative jews that comdemn (or deny) homosexuality. The reform jews welcome them with open arms.
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C'mon people. We know what REALLY brought down soviet communism.............................................
wait for it................................................................................................................................................................
The 10 year war in Afghanistan! Destroyed what economy they had.
Let's see, the Iraq "war" is at 5+ years. If you vote McCant into office that's another 4..................why that would come to about 10 years of wasted economy......................
Might bring us close to the brink of destruction.
Linda at 4:03PM on May 14th 2008
70. Jed at 3:12PM on May 14th 2008
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Hey! I bet you're that guy...
"Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed..."
Sure sound like him. Whoo, Doggy!
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:06PM on May 14th 2008
71. That song popped into my head too, GHB. I always thought that it was poorly worded though.
Mountaineers use ropes to climb up and fall off cliffs and such.
Mountain men use ropes to tie unwilling neighbors and animals up for a good humping.
... as is my understanding.
not-pboyfloyd at 4:13PM on May 14th 2008
72. I think you're right, Brian. He's probably sitting next to his cement pond right now....
Point of history: women's suffrage and rights have been going on a lot longer than 40-50 years. It began in the end of the 19th century, and was propelled by the right to vote. Birth control became the norm beginning in the 40's, the 60's were just an amplification of what had been happening the previous 20 years.
The "gay" thing has been around since the dawn of man. Nothing new there. Perhaps it was the outspokenness of the women's movement that bolstered the gay rights movement.
And what bolstered both movement was the civil rights movement beginning in the 50's.
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"Homosexual & Lesbian acts are objectively disordered.".
First of all, lesbians ARE homosexuals.
Second of all, what acts are "disordered"?? I think their acts are neat. And their business.
Did you know that most pedophiles are heterosexual adult men? It's not the gender of the child as much as the powerlessness of the child.
Those NAMBLA folks are just below turds in the evolutionary scale.
Linda at 4:16PM on May 14th 2008
73. “Now go and boil your bottom you silly English k-nigh-it, I fart in your general direction.”
rabidmccain at 3:16PM on May 14th 2008
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I press my pimples at you, you son of a silly person! You animal food-trough wiper, you! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries. Now go, or I shall taunt you a second time!
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:21PM on May 14th 2008
74. Did you know that most pedophiles are heterosexual adult men? It's not the gender of the child as much as the powerlessness of the child.
Those NAMBLA folks are just below turds in the evolutionary scale.
Linda at 4:16PM on May 14th 2008
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Heterosexual adult CHRISTIAN men. My wife works for DCYF. She says that mostly ALL the perp cases (as they call them in the child-yanking biz) have christian parents, strict christian types mostly. Rosary beads hanging on the walls, that sort of stuff. I'd love to see a definitive correlative study done on the links between religion and child-molestation. Anyone here a psych or sociology student in need of a thesis project?
Godless Heathen Brian at 4:22PM on May 14th 2008
75. The ceeee-ment pond... LMAO
not-pboyfloyd at 4:24PM on May 14th 2008