America as a One-Party State: A Must Read

Excellent Kuttner piece, in the American Prospect.

"America has had periods of single-party dominance before. It happened under FDR's New Deal, in the Republican 1920s and in the early 19th-century "Era of Good Feeling." But if President Bush is re-elected, we will be close to a tipping point of fundamental change in the political system itself. The United States could become a nation in which the dominant party rules for a prolonged period, marginalizes a token opposition and is extremely difficult to dislodge because democracy itself is rigged. This would be unprecedented in U.S. history.

"In past single-party eras, the majority party earned its preeminence with broad popular support. Today the electorate remains closely divided, and actually prefers more Democratic policy positions than Republican ones. Yet the drift toward an engineered one-party Republican state has aroused little press scrutiny or widespread popular protest."

http://www.prospect.org/print/V15/2/kuttner-r.html

Although, as you might expect, I disagree with the author that this is a could happen future thing - we are already there.

I only wish it weren't so close to the mark, and that reality wasn't quite so bleak.

just like in Communist countries.

If you want to reintroduce a discredited product (Totalitarianism) one must avoid any references or reminders of the discredited old forms of the product you wish to reintroduce.

As a result, the Busheviks will do everythign they can to avoid tipping their hand and showing the overt racism of the Nazis or the hamfisted Pravda of the Commies (Bushevik Pravda is eversomuch more sophisticated that Soviet Pravda).

Homeland Security and Shock and Awe? Seems people are pretty quick to cotton to nazi convention. :-(

for an extended period. Their "party unity" will dissolve into factions and groups will splinter off. This is America, where even conservatives are liberals. The religious right and the corporatists will have to actually fight to maintain power. This could get interesting.

I do remain optimistic, in the long view, for the survival of republican democracy in America. I hope I'm not being naive, here.