Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Repubs losing ground; Dems not gaining. Why?

Billmon over at whiskey Bar suggests that American politics has ceased to be about electing the better candidates with better policies, and has become more about electing someone who represents the voters' culture.

America, in his view, seems to be retreating to a form of tribal politics that is manipulated 21st century public relations techniques.

His final speculation strikes me as frightenly possible: "if political alienation goes deep enough, and times get hard enough, or something really catastrophic happens, it might be American democracy -- not just the Democratic Party -- that winds up out of the running, and for a very long time to come."

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