We might as well get used to it; Democracy is dying

Ever since the founding of the United States, in 1789--and I use that year because it is the first year under Constitutional government--there has been political fissures along party lines. Most conveniently for all concerned, in this country's history politcal division was nearly always bilateral. In fact in the history of Western democracies, or at least in those polities that settled internal political issues by some sort of voting system, sufferage for centuries being the exclusive prerogative of propertied males, two opposing factions, or parties, alway developed.

Without at least two opposing parties, how can a constitutional form of government be concidered a democracy?

Short answer, it cannot.

Which leads me to wonder why any politician would make a statement like this:"This country can't afford further polarization."

The above, and more like it, were uttered by ex-governor of Virginia Mark Warner at a fundraiser in Des Moines, IA for Democratic gubnatorial hopeful Chester Culver. Ostensively this minor light of the Democratic Party is running for president and has amassed a quite healthy campaign warchest, second only it is rumored to that of undeclared front-runner Hillary Clinton. But let us read from Wikipedia concerning Warner's career as governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia:

Warner worked with moderate Republican legislators and the business community to reform the tax code in 2004, lowering food and income taxes, and increasing the sales and cigarette taxes in 2004, despite his campaign pledge that he would not raise taxes.The action saved the state's AAA bond rating, held at the time by only 5 other states, and allowed the single largest investment in K-12 education in Virginia history.

What a wonderful man! And what a wonderful way of funding education!; on the backs of the poor, through an increase in a regressive state sales tax, and the diseased lungs of Virginia's cigarette smokers! No wonder our beloved Governor Vilsack, chairman of the "New" Democrats, tried so hard to follow suit with his proposal to raise Iowa's cigarette tax from$0.36 per pack to a whopping $1.16 for twenty coffin-nails! DLC-monkey see, DLC-moneky do.

Now I supposed I should give Warner a modicum of credit for "...not leading on hot button issues, but maintains he is trying to avoid unproductive posturing and partisanship"(Wikipedia.org cited above) but that's exactly the problem. When the "hot button issues" and the boilerplate is all stripped away, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between "centrist" Democrats and "moderate" Republicans. In fact, I'll even go further and say that once the abortion, "gay marriage" and gun rights is stripped away there's not much difference between the positions of a reactionary knuckledragger like Rep. Steve King and this Warner guy. It's all about the money.

What is becoming clearer is that the non-ideological right in this country, the old money, banking Republicans, is looking for a divorce from the so-called "movement" conservatives, the middle-class religious whacko Republicans. The moneyed Republican crowd is tiring of all the "Christian" posturing by the Reaganites and the "War on terror," except for a few, well all, defense contractors, has been pretty much a bust. Time to trade horses. The preachers and bloviators have done their jobs quite well in driving a generation of Americans into the arms of Mother Reaction. But they've all outlived their usefulness, and a considerable number of their followers and listeners actually believe the bullshit! It is time to sing a lullaby to the Christian Coalition, and mesmerize the rudderless Democrats.

For the corporationist crowd, that so-called "New" Democrats like Warner, et al. are sucking up to, political stability is the watchword ; bipartisanship its slogan. It's time to put the people, the consumers, back to bed, political somnambulance is the preferred state.

Further reading:

Gov. Whodafuck in town for Dempublican fundraiser

Can't the Democrats do better than this?!

Momma, always told me, "If ya stand in the middle of the road, yer bound to get run over!"

Republican wing nuts bum out Centrists

Spoon Letter Anthology