FDL post groups country into 3 political parties...not what you'd think. Interesting.

[madfloridian]

This is a long post, hard to summarize. It is interesting how he groups us into 3 political machines at war with each other. A good read.

Political Physics, 2006: A Tale of Three Parties

"People commonly believe we have a basic two-party system, but we really have a three party system. Each party machine has its own core constituency, its own philosophy of government and its own media megaphone. While you're watching CNN or whatever on election night, here's the perspective you won't get from Wolf Blitzer or the pundits, who themselves are part of one of these machines. Here are the three parties":

DC/K Street Elites: As the name implies, these are the people whose constituencies are the big money lobbies in DC. Those lobbies are mostly big corporations, which include GE and Time Warner. Their media machine includes establishment media outlets like the major networks, all the cable news stations, the major newspapers including the Washington Post, the AP and the New York Times, Clear Channel radio, defense contractors like Haliburton, Northrup Grumman and CACI, and the anti-net neutrality telecoms like Verizon and Comcast.

Here is the statement that jumped out at me...very true.

"This machine has no natural voting constituency of note, so it needs to ally itself with some grassroots machine that can deliver voters in order to stay in power. Because it has no real popular support for its agenda, it has to lie to sustain whatever political alliance it creates with an outsourced grass roots movement. Ideologically, this machine does not really care what grassroots movement it uses for vote getting."

The diarist states this is the party in power.

He makes another comment about the DC/K Street Elites:

This party has been in control of US politics for pretty much my entire life. It made common cause with Barry Goldwater's right wing movement, and made a strategic shift to accommodate the Theocratic Grassroots movement described below. However, it also does business with "third way" Democrats like the Clintons and their establishment DC allies operating under the label of the Democratic Party. Rahm Emanuel belongs to this machine, as do Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Heath Shuler and most of the rest of the DC Democrats, especially, but not exclusively, in the Senate. This party brought you Viet Nam and Iraq, because both were good for business and provided lots of room for war profiteering.

He then devotes paragraphs to the two other groups he names.

Grassroots Theocrats: The Goldwater business Republicans did not really gain national control until they made common cause with the Jerry Falwell theocrats and their contemporary power brokers on the right, like James Dobson and crystal meth closet case Ted Haggard. Their constituents are Christian religious fundamentalists, primarily but not exclusively evangelicals, who believe in a religious government opposed to the traditional interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

And the third group which he mentions is the Grassroots Progressives.

Grassroots Progressives: This new, emerging power center in American politics is making its bid for ascendancy as an alternative to the ruling coalition of the previously described two parties.

He says the DC/K Street media machine will frame the election in terms of two parties, but there will be three really. He does not how big the wave will be for the Grassroots Progressives.

[madfloridian]

1. Says the DC/KStreet group does not want to use Grassroots Progressives GOTV

Because they don't think the Grassroots Progressives want to keep the Gravy Train going for the strategists and the consultants...yep, that is correct.

The Gravy Train, how consultants take over campaigns

"Sometimes the party takes complete control of a campaign. Missouri state treasurer Nancy Farmer, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, is a good example. A successful statewide candidate, Farmer had no real Democratic primary opposition and could take aim
straight at the three-term Republican incumbent, Senator
Christopher “Kit” Bond. The DSCC officials told her that they’d
build her campaign and help her raise up to half of her campaign
funds. Faced with an incumbent who was clearly going to raise three
times as much, Farmer wasn’t in the position to tell the party committee
to leave her alone; that as state treasurer, she already knew
how to win a statewide race in Missouri. So not only did the DSCC
pick almost all the consultants for her campaign, they eventually
forced significant changes in her campaign staff, including ousting
her hand-picked campaign manager—the same one who had successfully
managed Farmer’s previous campaigns—in midstream and
bringing in one of their own. Farmer lost to Bond by a 56-43 margin."

From Crashing the Gate page 75

The OP diary from FDL refers to Lamont's campaign as being very indicative of the fights to come. And how Lieberman's supporters are showing their DC/K Street Elite roots. (Ok, the last sentence is mine, but the thought was in the FDL diary.) Will find the reference.

[madfloridian]

2. There are 3 major victims of the infighting, IMHO

Women are the largest group, not a minority at all. Yet too many of two of the groups listed in the OP are quite willing to put themselves in control of women's medical rights. Scary thought. They are "rights", medical choices. Doctors have pointed out they would be afraid of doing any procedures late-term...they would have so much to prove when essentially it nearly always comes down late term to the safety of the woman.

And don't even get me started on the battle to keep contraceptives from women. Don't get me started.

And the gay community is a scapegoat as well, unfortunately. The DC/K Street elites are willing to combine with the Grassroots Theocrats to repress their rights in order to win.

Third and sadly are the immigrants. Children born here, considered citizens, are now not going to be covered by Medicaid. They will only be covered if their parents can document? It is so confusing. The round ups in some areas of Florida have continued quietly...would you be willing to risk be taken in custody as being illegal when you only want care for your child? For several years they have been fearful of trying to get documented.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS/611040447/0/FRONTPAGE

So the various groups, whatever you call them, are hurting these 3 groups in order to win. They are willing to give them up and let them be used as scapegoats.