Are you my mother pretending to be Jon? Seriously, thank you for the kind words. I’ve been stewing on this column for a while. 2012 in particular. The rhetoric between Obama and Romney camps was rough. Not nasty per se but certainly rough. And yet it feels quaint now . The 2012 election was the one that now feels the most outlier ish?
Chuck, this was one of the more interesting pieces I’ve read from you because it wasn’t really about campaign rhetoric—it was about political evolution. Your central thesis, that yesterday’s insults often become tomorrow’s accepted identities, is a compelling lens through which to view the last two decades.
What struck me most was your use of McCain as the hinge between two eras. The contrast between his rejection of the “Obama is an Arab” comment and the politics that followed illustrates how party leaders once saw policing their own coalition as part of the job. I also thought your comparison of trade, foreign policy, and immigration showed that this phenomenon isn’t confined to one party. In several cases, today’s orthodoxies would have been politically unrecognizable to the same parties in 2008.
The section on America’s two-party system becoming “containers” for increasingly incompatible factions was particularly thought-provoking. Whether or not one agrees with your proposed reforms, that diagnosis helps explain why internal party battles have become so consequential. It was a nuanced, historically grounded piece that encourages readers to think beyond today’s headlines.
Here’s the bit that said it for me: “The two parties are too big. They are not really parties anymore. They are containers — bloated holding companies for factions that, in a healthier system, would not all be forced to share the same brand name.”
Excellent overview of some of what got us here. Thank you for being on of the few of the mainstream media who understands the imperative to open primaries and institute other electoral reforms to begin to find our way back to democracy.
Are you my mother pretending to be Jon? Seriously, thank you for the kind words. I’ve been stewing on this column for a while. 2012 in particular. The rhetoric between Obama and Romney camps was rough. Not nasty per se but certainly rough. And yet it feels quaint now . The 2012 election was the one that now feels the most outlier ish?
Chuck, this was one of the more interesting pieces I’ve read from you because it wasn’t really about campaign rhetoric—it was about political evolution. Your central thesis, that yesterday’s insults often become tomorrow’s accepted identities, is a compelling lens through which to view the last two decades.
What struck me most was your use of McCain as the hinge between two eras. The contrast between his rejection of the “Obama is an Arab” comment and the politics that followed illustrates how party leaders once saw policing their own coalition as part of the job. I also thought your comparison of trade, foreign policy, and immigration showed that this phenomenon isn’t confined to one party. In several cases, today’s orthodoxies would have been politically unrecognizable to the same parties in 2008.
The section on America’s two-party system becoming “containers” for increasingly incompatible factions was particularly thought-provoking. Whether or not one agrees with your proposed reforms, that diagnosis helps explain why internal party battles have become so consequential. It was a nuanced, historically grounded piece that encourages readers to think beyond today’s headlines.
Here’s the bit that said it for me: “The two parties are too big. They are not really parties anymore. They are containers — bloated holding companies for factions that, in a healthier system, would not all be forced to share the same brand name.”
Excellent overview of some of what got us here. Thank you for being on of the few of the mainstream media who understands the imperative to open primaries and institute other electoral reforms to begin to find our way back to democracy.
I’ve been wondering if either party actually believes in any (or all) of the rights granted in the US Constitution (and amendments).
Or has either party selected a subgroup of constitutional rights to support while abandoning the rest?
Would be interested in reading your thoughts about this topic in Beyond the Pod.
The Republican Party has no mainstream. What’s left are MAGA cult members and those who care more about their investments than the country.