deja vu

Today we are mesmerized by the Republican Party sharp swing to the Right. The Tea Party faction has gained Party control. It is driving the election and actions of Party politicians. In fear Politicians are in a rush to get as far Right as possible. The goal is to get or keep elected seats.

The core of the Republican Party used to be much further to the left and believers of detente. Few in the Conservative movement today will acknowledge how far Right they are of their annotated hero Ronald Reagan. Yet all this is deja vu. It has happened before.

If you go back to the first half of the last century, Conservative Party was the Democrats. They were the party of traditionalism and the anti-bellum South. They represented White supremacy and separation of the races. Keep in mind that Jews were considered a race until relatively recently in the last century. They were also considered non-white. The Jews were grouped with other undesirable minorities. The pendulum from an American point of view has swung so far in the other direction that we cannot imagine Israelis as non-White and of Palestinian origin today. The Caucasian immigrants have become the face of Israel.

If the Democrats were the Conservatives, what happened? The Democrats were losing their electoral base in key major areas. The affected Democrats took a less Conservative position. American society was changing with the youth movement. The Democrats needed to court the youth because the Republicans were gaining in marketing themselves as better Conservatives. 

A left wing faction of the Democratic Party got control. Like the Tea Party today, it gained enough control to totally shape the Party. It gave rise to the liberal policies of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Practically overnight the Democrats became the “liberal” party. Democrats that were Conservative and  failed to connect with the change loss their political office. Some flipped to the Republican Party, like George Wallace.

What lesson can we learn? Once a party is captured by far position policies, it is very difficult to moderate again in the minds of the electorate. In fact it requires those generations to die out so fresh minds can be shaped. 

You have experienced how this works with time. I bet you did not know the Democrat Party was once the Conservative party or the Republican Party the more liberal party a century before.

 American Lost

We force on the world tenets of our American culture as the best and only way. They are being questioned. One that is coming under increased attack is “democracy”.

The world can clearly see that “democracy” has significant failings. It works best in homogeneous societies that are stable with no significant religious political power. In such societies broad buy-in is relatively easy to achieve for initiatives. Democracy fails miserably where there are staunch ethnic groups, aggravated economic disparity, powerful religiosity and a strong sense of nobility [status ascribed by birth].

Democracy also brings to power people that may conflict with powerful economic foreign interests. America reportedly has assassinated democratically elected leaders deemed not in it’s interests. The best cited examples are Salvador Allende of Chile and Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh of Iran. There is no love by America for Chavez of Venezuela, despite being duly elected based on international election monitoring. Fidel Castro reportedly has had numerous American assassination attempts. America has also stifled democratic initiatives in the world that were socialistic or communist leaning. Again, for economic reasons.

Today the world can see in the media problems with Democracy. They only need look at America or India. In fact most Americas do not even know India is a democracy or that it is the largest Democracy in the world. The seeming irreconcilable schisms in the politics of both countries results in failed positive accomplishments.

The message the world is getting, that is culturally loss on Americans, is that both democracy and capitalism have defined utility and life cycles. They are not the answer in all situations. When either capitalism or democracy is the answer, scale in terms of capitalism and degree in terms of democracy, matter.

Do you know why Conservatives want small government? The answer is Democracy.  Democracy, when it works right, confers power to the voting majority. Democracy is great if you are that influential majority. In America demographics of the voting majority is changing. That is why there are voter roadblocks being erected and gerrymandering. These are efforts to hold on to the power of government. But it is a losing proposition over time. The answer from a Conservative point of view is take the power of the Federal government away to act. Reduce its size and influence. They can more effectively continue to exert control at the State and local level without Federal interference from the changing demographic.

Unfortunately with American democracy you get politicians fully owned by the monied elite or catering to the temper tandems of their 2 year old minded constituencies.