vision2020
Re: Elections and cynicism (fwd)
For an interesting take on the election see "Scandal and the Road to Deadlock" by
Mark Danner in the New York Review of Books.
http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/WWWfeatdisplay.cgi?20001221096F
He contends that since Watergate neither party has been able to control the
government--House, Senate, and the Presidency are often split among the opposing
parties, so they've both turned to "politics by other means":
...elections have become less decisive as mechanisms for resolving conflicts and
constituting
governments.... Rather than engage in an all-out competition for votes,
contending political forces
have come to rely upon such weapons of institutional combat as congressional
investigations,
media revelations, and judicial proceedings to defeat their foes
The media aid and abet the process by concentrating on scandal as "mega stories",
often blowing things out of proportion, and turning off half the voters. Both
parties approve of this since only their most dedicated supporters will turn out
to vote and they won't have to deal with unpredictable voter behavior.
Ron Force
rforce@moscow.com
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