Kathianne
06-06-2017, 04:47 PM
I've been saying for over a year now, I feel such a sense of anomie, since the campaigns got into full speed. So where will all the hyper partisanship lead to?
http://theweek.com/articles/703432/magic-poison-negative-partisanship
The magic poison of negative partisanship
(http://theweek.com/authors/damon-linker)
Damon Linker
(http://theweek.com/authors/damon-linker)
...
That doesn't necessarily mean the party will be forced to face its electoral comeuppance the next time. On the contrary, it's entirely possible to imagine the Republican Congress passing nothing of significance during President Trump's first two years in office — no repeal and replacement of ObamaCare, no tax reform bill, no infrastructure package — while still managing to hold onto both houses in the midterm election purely by running against "the liberal media." On the other hand, it's also possible to imagine the Democrats flipping both houses of Congress in 2018 while hammering away at Trump morning, noon, and night, and never offering a compelling alternative vision of the country and its future.
Such is the magic — and the poison — of negative partisanship. It promises, and often delivers, short-term political benefits to partisans. But those benefits merely put off a reckoning with political reality that cannot be avoided forever. The ideological coherence of our parties is crumbling. Sooner or later reality (in the form of a candidate who unifies one of the parties in a new way) is going to catch up to them, forcing a genuine realignment. When that happens, all the negativity in the world won't be able to stand against the tide.
http://theweek.com/articles/703432/magic-poison-negative-partisanship
The magic poison of negative partisanship
(http://theweek.com/authors/damon-linker)
Damon Linker
(http://theweek.com/authors/damon-linker)
...
That doesn't necessarily mean the party will be forced to face its electoral comeuppance the next time. On the contrary, it's entirely possible to imagine the Republican Congress passing nothing of significance during President Trump's first two years in office — no repeal and replacement of ObamaCare, no tax reform bill, no infrastructure package — while still managing to hold onto both houses in the midterm election purely by running against "the liberal media." On the other hand, it's also possible to imagine the Democrats flipping both houses of Congress in 2018 while hammering away at Trump morning, noon, and night, and never offering a compelling alternative vision of the country and its future.
Such is the magic — and the poison — of negative partisanship. It promises, and often delivers, short-term political benefits to partisans. But those benefits merely put off a reckoning with political reality that cannot be avoided forever. The ideological coherence of our parties is crumbling. Sooner or later reality (in the form of a candidate who unifies one of the parties in a new way) is going to catch up to them, forcing a genuine realignment. When that happens, all the negativity in the world won't be able to stand against the tide.