Broken Democracy: Republicans Poised to Take Senate Even as Americans Reject Their Platform

[Triana]

A lot of political analysts think it is entirely possible that the Republicans will take the senate next November. This development won’t change much, in all likelihood, if it does occur. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives can already block most legislation, and in 2013 it dedicated itself the the proposition that the country must be punished for re-electing Barack Obama, by being denied virtually any new needed legislation at all. The Republicans won’t have a two-thirds majority in the Senate, and so won’t be able to over-rule an Obama veto.

What is odd, and damning of the current American political system, is that the Republican Party’s major platform positions are roundly rejected by the American people. That is, they are ideologically a minority party. And yet they manage to win elections.

. . .

If the US were ruled by referendum, it would have Democratic Party policies. That so many US policies are set by Republicans, and by the most conservative Republicans in the party, is a betrayal of the general will of the American people, who want an entirely different set of policies. The Republican Party advantage, as the party of Big Business, in campaign funding probably accounts for some of this disparity. Small numbers of billionaires like the Koch Brothers are extraordinarily powerful in the United States, which is obviously undemocratic and more like feudalism. The backward custom of letting partisan state legislatures gerrymander districts is also partially to blame.

Whatever the reasons, the American public is not getting the government policies it says it wants. Republicans are always slamming me as “far left.” But the opinion polling shows that my positions are solidly in the American mainstream. We are a center-left country and the majority of Americans takes the same stance as I on most controversial issues. It is the House of Representatives that is extreme, far more right wing than the country it says it represents. And now it seems likely that the Senate will go in the same direction.

THE REST:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/02/07#.UvTfPGoiUXs.twitter

[Bandit]

1. If we had "Vote By Mail" throughout the country this wouldn't happen

It is an extremely easy fix, yet Democrats are so stupid they continue to fight it. Even with all the evidence out there to show that turnout goes up dramatically, Democrats still fight it..

[Bluenorthwest]

3. They don't want to fix it, they want to complain about 'midterm turn out' forever.

It allows them to blame 'liberals' but of course Oregon is fairly liberal, votes by mail, our turn out is excellent, especially relative to the States of those who whine about liberals not voting. They'd rather whine than elect Democrats.

[Fumesucker]

2. It's a matter of social strata or class as much as anything

Private individuals who are of a similar social class as members of Congress and the Senate simply aren't interested in financial reform, they are profiting handsomely from the status quo and see no reason to change that fact.

When elite politicians start hanging with Joe Sixpack then maybe things will change.

It really goes all down the political ladder right to the local level, politicians are friends with and influenced by the movers and shakers in their community, the wealthy.

[JNelson6563]

4. Here's why I don't buy this fatalist stuff.

There are way too many primary challenges on the right in both House and Senate seats. We all know that these tea-baggers will run third party if they lose the primary, at least many will. Why wouldn't they? Lots and lots of money available to them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3GfGwH74kh4

Julie

[former9thward]

5. That almost never happens.

And its illegal in most states. Most states have a "sore loser" law which prohibits candidates who run in a primary to then run as a independent if they lost the primary.

[JNelson6563]

6. Yet the R's are still in chaos!

I don't understand how so many can buy this "we're doomed!1!" stuff in light of the fact the R's are splintered and doing great harm to themselves.

But hey, I guess everyone's free to fantasize as they wish.

Julie

[cali]

7. the republicans have been distressingly successful

on front after front, Julie- even though they hold only one branch of the federal government. Furthermore, one has to take a number of factors into consideration when analyzing the prospects of the two parties in the upcoming midterm elections: How many seats do republicans have to defend in the Senate? How many do dems have to defend? Which party has more seats up? Who's retiring? Where are those retirements? Who's running in, for instance, Montana? Historically, what patterns of midterms need to be taken into account? And on and on.

[JNelson6563]

8. Did you watch the video I posted? It answers some of your questions.

It seems to me the R's have not been as successful of late as you may be remembering. They hold the House by a small enough to overcome margin and only because of gerrymandering. I'm sure you recall that House Dems collectively received over a million votes more than the R's.

Since that election they have continually done great harm to themselves and will no doubt out-do themselves in all these tea-bagger challenge primaries. The only way to win those is to out crazy the crazies and it will be all over the country, thanks to the internet.

I see more dark days ahead for the R's. I know I am & will be doing all I can out in the real world to make it a reality and it seems a whole lot of others feel the same.

Julie

[dmosh42]

9. This is all "Rove' inspired BS. Just like the forecast for a Romney sweep.

[Coyotl]

10. BULLSHIT!

[RainDog]

11. our govt. has been bought by the rich

we don't have a functioning democracy when the legislature doesn't represent the will of the people.

[YarnAddict]

12. Maybe the American people

reject the Democratic party's platform more. Many, many of the positions we take for granted that people want, are very unpopular with the maority of people in this country.

[socialist_n_TN]

14. No, that's actually the point of the article.......

The "far left" positions that everybody in the Democratic Party likes to whine about ARE MAJORITY POSITIONS IN THE COUNTRY.

Now if you're talking about the neo-liberal, Republican Lite positions of the ConservaDems, you could be right.

[okaawhatever]

13. I wonder if Ginsburg will retire from scotus if we lose a majority in the Senate in 14. If we

don't have a majority in the Senate and she falls ill during the last two years it's unlikely we'll get a Dem elected to the seat. She's 80 now. I hope like heck if we lose the elections she retires before the new Senators are sworn in.