Partisanship IS democracy

[phantom power]

Journalists like Herdt and all those who worship at the Broderist altar seem to believe that there are commonsense solutions to every problem, if only the little hyperpartisan children would simply stop flinging food at each other and get down to the business of adopting said solutions. They believe that the political parties are a self-interested scar on the system that get in the way of productive problem-solving, and that the American people simply want politicians who get together and compromise free from partisan bickering. And to be fair, poll after poll does show that most Americans prefer an end to the constant partisan warfare.

But to believe this requires overlooking the fact that the parties are, in fact, a reflection of popular will. The partisan divide is a reflection of the fact that there are two very different value systems in this country. About half of this country believes that access to healthcare is a human right, and that everyone should pay into the system to ensure that no one is left behind. The other half believes that sick people should die in the street if they didn't make enough money to pay a corporation for health insurance. One half of this country believes that working people should be adequately compensated for the work they do, regardless of what "market forces" might dictate; the other half believes that profit, and only profit, should dictate people's standards of living. One half of this country believes that people should be able to control their own sexuality; the other half believes that self-appointed preachers and priests should dictate it for them. One half of this country believes that climate change is real and that we should be rapidly developing alternatives to oil rather than bombing other countries to steal their resources; the other half believes that scientists are a self-interested cabal who are making it all up, that we should build oil rigs off our coastlines and bomb Muslims into submission until they deliver up their sweet crude to the world market.

These are very stark and very real differences. It's tempting and oh-so-inspirational to declare that there is no left and right, no red and blue, but just one America. Democrats and Republicans alike trot out this tired line, but it's not true. Our divided politics are a reflection of our divided nation, and most of us are actually partisans. Those of us who claim to be in the middle usually aren't, either: so-called "moderates" tend to be partisans of one side on some issues, and partisans of the other on others (say, anti-abortion economic progressives, or hardcore libertarians like many of the progressives who support Ron Paul.)

This is what democracy is made of, particularly in a country like the U.S. without a parliamentary system to fracture two political parties into several effective units. Partisanship is democracy. Consider the case of Colorado Springs recently highlighted in This American Life. The town refused to increase taxes in a recession, and chose to force residents to pay for their own street lights and park cleanups. That in turn led more affluent sections of the city to pay for services directly--at higher cost than their taxes would have been for the same--while the less affluent sections suffered. They binged on privatizing as many city services as they could, which didn't save them any money, but did satisfy their worldview...

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/partisanship-is-democracy-by.html

[walruswasrob]

1. Thanks!

I found this comment extremely depressing.

"Jan Martin: That's right. And it's because of a total lack in trust of local government to spend those services, which was part of Steve Bartolin's letter. That prevailing sense that government won't take care of our money, that brings somebody to the conclusion that, I'll take care of mine. You go figure out how to take care of yours, because we don't trust government to do it for us."