Cooler heads in Congress head for the exits.
Wow, the current administration and Congress are even too liberal for members of their own party.
Sen. Evan Bayh, a 12 year veteran and moderate Democrat, says he won’t run for reelection because Congress “is not operating as it should” and he’s tired of the “strident partisanship,” CNN reports. Good news for all the Republican fans, right?
Wrong.
I think Bayh and his fellow long-term members on both sides of the aisle see the handwriting on the wall. America’s going to be very hard on incumbents this election cycle, Reps and Dems alike. Bayh doesn’t want to be the guy who loses his seat to the other team.
The real loser? The American people. Centrist members in both parties have been the quiet workhorses of government for years with their ability to see issues from other points of view and strike deals that suit everyone and not just advance their party’s agenda. Now their number is shrinking as the cooler heads in Congress head for the exits.
The increasing
polarizing of American politics into only two opposing viewpoints is exceptionally dangerous. Each party will simply resort to exponentially extreme behavior in order to make it clear to voters that, “Hey, at least we’re not those other guys.”
More posturing, less real action by both parties results.
We have decades of disinterested, uninformed voters to thank for giving Reps and Dems the need to caricature themselves and make the choice easy for people who’d rather not have to think too hard. Gone are the days when someone is elected for their personal skills and viewpoints, and not for their party label.
Now, America votes for their preferred party like they cheer for their favorite sports team or choose their favorite fast food chain. Sure, with McDems and McReps you always know what you’re going to get, but what you get won’t be very good for you.
Its easier that way, because all that takes is being able to read the letters “D” and “R” at the ballot box. Soon, we won’t even need names on ballots. We’ll simply put pictures of elephants and donkeys on the screen and select our government like we order our value meals.
“Thank you for voting, America. Would you like fries with that?”
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