If a two-party democratic system is to be viable, it has to have a basic shared set of facts, values and issues about which people may differ, and should differ, about solutions. At this point in time, however, the United States doesn’t qualify because the American people are obsessed about totally different things depending on their political orientation.
E Pluribus Nada
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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“If a two-party democratic system is to be viable, it has to have a basic shared set of facts, values and issues about which people may differ, and should differ, about solutions.”
If.
I submit that a two-party democratic system cannot be viable. Especially when both parties are so similar. The dems “say” they’re for abortion. You’d think they’d have managed something in 49 years besides cashing checks from the base to help “defend” Roe v. Wade. I wonder if, seeing as how they failed at that, the dems will be refunding everyone’s donations.
True Alex,
The gun issue will never be resolved because it is the basis of campaign money donations for both parties of the duopoly.
Glenn,
Never resolved. Of course it will never be resolved. Because there is no issue there to begin with. Do guns cause violence and death? Yes. But the number of violent gun users compared to the number of owners in total is very small. The number of gun deaths where a bad guy kills a good guy is smaller still. We can’t uninvent the gun. But we can whip everyone up into hysterics about trying to solve an objectively rare, subjectively devastating problem by constantly focusing media attention on every rare case.
I only meant to compare the profitability of divisive issues.
To me the gun issue and the abortion issue are not real issues except on an emotional fundraising basis.
And this party fundraising has nothing to do with public interests, only party interests of the few.
Absolutely. We’re in total agreement on this. I watch my landlord sending my rent money to these “causes” and I want to scream.