The Cain Conundrum

[phantom power]

Progressives must come to terms with the fact that the 35% or so of Americans who make up the conservative base have been radicalized far beyond the point of no return. They are activist class warriors on behalf of the top 1% of "producers." They are activist culture warriors against minority communities who will happily advance minority figureheads as exceptional standardbearers in order to prove their point.

We are now a nation hopelessly divided. On one side is a large faction of people who understand that the financial classes and the super-wealthy are mostly a parasitic class; that the middle class has much more in common with the poor than it does with the wealthy; that workers produce wealth, and that demand produces prosperity; that poor communities are disadvantaged not by the inherent failings of their people but by the oppressive nature of their circumstances; and that we humans and creatures of this earth are all in the same boat together.

On the other side is a large group of people who believe that over half of Americans are parasitic dead weight who should not be allowed to vote; that the interests of the middle class are aligned with the interests of hedge fund managers; that only a select few very wealthy people produce society's goods; that poor communities are poor through their own moral failings; and that the society's "producers" should behave however they please to people and creatures unfortunate enough to find themselves at their mercy.

...

Bipartisanship as we have known it is dead. It is not coming back. The two major political factions in America are farther apart now than they have been at any time since the Civil War. The issues that separate the country are much more fundamental than simple race resentment and minor disagreements over tax and spending policy, issues that could be resolved by a greater effort to listen to and understand the other side. The divide is profound and existential.

And Hermann Cain's advance to the top of the Republican field proves it.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/cain-conundrum-by-david-atkins.html

[Scuba]

1. New Ludlum book?

[phantom power]

2. I might have said Frank Herbert, although his being dead is problematic

[Enrique]

3. the problem I have with this is the idea that it can't change

did anyone notice at the last GOP debate that several candidates were criticizing Cain's plan because it was regressive? If I'm not mistaken, that is a first, in a long time, in GOP politics. The line I've been hearing for years is that progressive taxation is unfair. They are selling flat tax schemes as being "fair".

I'm not saying that anyone in the GOP actually believes in progressive taxation, of course they don't, if they talk about it it is just a pose, but the fact that they are now feeling the need to pose might be a sign that things are changing.

[phantom power]

5. I would agree that words like "hopeless" or "dead" are too strong -- never is a long time...

I think his more basic message is 100% correct: we currently have two utterly opposing moral-political viewpoints at war in this country, and the vast disconnect between the two isn't something that's just going to be smoothed over. They are completely opposed.

[gratuitous]

4. The Republicans have been waging their battle relentlessly

It is not to be wondered at that they have been successful given the resources at their disposal, and the lack of a similar program or platform for liberals to counter their bullshit. They have persuaded well over a third of people into thinking that they are in or very close to being in the top 1%. It's been hard work and they've had to basically destroy the United States and its commons to do it.

One measure of their success is the not only the 34% of conservadupes who think they're in the wealthy elite, but the disturbing number of people, many of whom style themselves as liberals or progressives, who endorse their repressive methods in so many areas. Look no further than the ongoing global executions of "bad guys" being applauded by putative liberals who would presumably applaud their own deaths if they can be successfully painted as being very, very bad, without recourse to evidence, due process or an opportunity to confront one's accusers.

The divide is indeed profound, and the existence of a country that should be expected to follow from our Constitutional principles is no more.