This article by a retired GOP staffer (via Manan Shukla), in the House and Senate, describes our current political situation better than anything that I have read. He has taken all of the themes that I have been thinking about, and posting about, and put them into an integrated essay. The GOP's dependence upon a misinformed, but politically active, grouping of religious fundamentalists, began in the Nixon administration when he based his electoral hopes on the "Southern Strategy". It has become the center of its political base, and it is also the strongest supporter of the militarists in the GOP. They have a "holy war" attitude that is similar to that of the religious fundamentalists in the mid-east. They just have different enemies. Without this popular base, the GOP would not be able to win the elections that enable it to serve the much smaller base of monied interests that it has traditionally served.
Sadly, the Democratic Party has been a weak opponent. It has to compete for campaign funds in order to win elections, and this makes them dependent upon the monied interests that fund both parties. The media have also been captured by corporate interests, and some are simply propaganda arms of the GOP. This puts the Democratic Party on the defensive since public opinion is primarily under GOP control, but the Democratic Party is simply not as good at marketing as the GOP.
The public has become disenchanted with our political system. The recent debacle over the debt ceiling limit was a disaster but it serves the interest of the GOP. It wins when the public loses faith in government and it becomes less active in elections. Its base of fanatics becomes more active when it is successful in undermining progressive forms of government. This puts our system of democracy at risk and exposes most Americans to political attacks on their economic and social interests. An American political system that is more like those in third world countries would serve the interests of the GOP very well.
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