Sunday, May 9, 2021

Getting Gridlock

We are not even halfway through the first year of the Biden term and it seems that more speculation is going on about the next presidential election than anything else.  I don't think the prior President will run again or even be able to although a lot of Republicans are courting his voters.  When I say his voters I mean the deplorable ones that support racist, homophobic and misogynist policies.  Unfortunately their ranks have grown and are big enough to influence primaries especially.

This points to what is possibly the real issue in American politics today.  Most districts are engineered to be easily dominated by one party or the other, meaning win the primary win the election.  So a group, such as white nationalists, or for that matter left wing progressives, can get elected by voting in the primaries.  Too many people simply don't bother waiting for the "real" election.  Unfortunately the real election is often the primary.

This is how we get some of the worst representatives we have ever had.  We used to nominate people who were supported by the party but now it is wide open.  A well organized group can take a primary ousting a moderate for a radical if they can organize a relatively small number of supporters.

Of course maybe I am wrong and we want a radicalized congress that leads to gridlock.  I don't meet too many people in favor of that, but it is what we have had for a while now.

Winning elections seems to be the goal.  Serving the country, not so much.


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