MaxedOutMama
Saturday, October 23, 2004
The split electorate.
Lately I've found David Brooks to be the most interesting political columnist. His latest article in the NY Time asks a good question - why, given all of the momentous changes in circumstance, does the political map look so similar to the 2000 map right now?
"The only possible conclusion is that there is some deep, tectonic fissure that shapes the electorate, a fissure so fundamental that it is unaffected by the enormous shocks we've felt over the past four years. Remember, it is very unusual to have two close presidential elections in a row. This hasn't occurred for about 120 years."
His guess:
"In this campaign the two candidates do not just describe different policies. They describe different realities. In short, the partisan rivalry fuels itself. Once an electorate becomes tied, there is a built-in emotional pressure that keeps things that way. Even people who claim to be independents find themselves sucked into the vortex."
I'm thinking about this, because I don't think you can attribute the current situation to partisanship. Something deeper is at work, and my guess is that it's more a sociological phenomenon than the workings of mass hysteria.
"The only possible conclusion is that there is some deep, tectonic fissure that shapes the electorate, a fissure so fundamental that it is unaffected by the enormous shocks we've felt over the past four years. Remember, it is very unusual to have two close presidential elections in a row. This hasn't occurred for about 120 years."
His guess:
"In this campaign the two candidates do not just describe different policies. They describe different realities. In short, the partisan rivalry fuels itself. Once an electorate becomes tied, there is a built-in emotional pressure that keeps things that way. Even people who claim to be independents find themselves sucked into the vortex."
I'm thinking about this, because I don't think you can attribute the current situation to partisanship. Something deeper is at work, and my guess is that it's more a sociological phenomenon than the workings of mass hysteria.
