Do you ever wonder if extreme partisanship is by design?

[Skip Intro]

That the parties (or powers controlling the parties) instill and stoke hatred to keep a rabid base?

That as the issues change, yet the hatred continues and grows on both sides, that it is to a large extent the result of a carefully calibrated manipulation and coercion of the populace by those huge political entities that depend on the support of the people for their survival?

That the side who manipulates the most people the best will win?

That somewhere down the line, those who claim to want to represent us went from sincerely attempting to garner support via the merit of their ideas to employing some twisted marketing strategy to illicit a particular reaction?

Like with Pavlov and his dogs.

Every now and then you get a glimpse, if you're eyes are open.

As if, for a moment, you see it all from the air, rather than from beneath the machine, and it ain't what you thought it was at all.

[Cali_Democrat]

1. Sorry, but the craziness is just on one side

The Republican side. They don't like the fact they lost the election, so they are trying to legislate via hostage taking.

They're basically demanding Obama adopt Romney's economic plan.

Fuck. That. Noise.

Shut it down.

[Skip Intro]

2. I'm coming from a bigger-picture perspective. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

5. I don't think you understand the current political situation. n/t

[Rex]

8. I second that.

nt.

[rrneck]

3. Imagine an inexaustible natural resource.

It's a resource that can be tapped with little capital investment, and if a spike in supply is needed it can usually be ginned up on demand. It will never run out, it's always valuable no matter what country or culture in which it appears, and it's indispensable for any functioning society.

Human emotion. As the nineteenth century industrialist Stephen Jay Gould once said, "You can always pay one half of the poor to kill the other half."

[DJ13]

4. Our political system has been turned into professional wrestling

A lot of screaming and chairs thrown in front of the cameras, but once the lights dim the two sides are best of friends.

They're playing the audience (voters) for suckers.

[Th1onein]

6. Yes! It's caused by polarization, which is brought about by wedge issues.

[Recursion]

7. No, I don't think anybody wanted to wind up where we are

That's the irritating part of complex systems.

[Tumbulu]

9. Yes, I think that this has been going on for some time now

And we have an economy now based on this polarization. And it is only getting worse. It cannot be shut down, as it has become so large. It is very similar to the MIlitary Industrial Complex. Highly profitable to those in the upper positions, and provides lots of jobs to large numbers of people.