4 ms·

I think part of this is national politics pushing out state politics. Every statewide California race recently has felt like a foregone conclusion. Either the D

by lacker 7y ago

I think part of this is national politics pushing out state politics. Every statewide California race recently has felt like a foregone conclusion. Either the Democrat beats the Republican by a huge margin, or one Democrat beats another Democrat while the two agree on all policies. California just doesn’t have the one-party-against-another politics that make democracy work.

chrisseaton 7y ago
Even if it’s always a Democrat they must still be competing with each other just as fiercely to get selected to be the Democratic candidate?
- defterGoose 7y ago
  There's still cooperation in the party, and while the Democratic Party is a husk of its former principled self, the GOP has exploded into flames.
chrisweekly 7y ago
"the one-party-against-another politics that make democracy work" Where have you seen this happening in practice? A political science professor first showed me 25 years ago something I still see in US national politics: a "winner-take-all" voting system that creates a polarizing dynamic, typically resulting in a roughly 51:49 split -- with the potential for radically different outcomes hinging on tiny pockets of voters. Also, both parties are institutionally corrupted by the dominance of money (cf Lessig on "Fix Congress First", highlighting campaign finance as a fundamental threat to democracy). But only one of the parties is exhibiting blatant, explicit, direct opposition to the principles of democracy (eg voter suppression, rule of law, etc) from the highest level on down. The degree to which state politics are tied to the characteristics of the national party makes it difficult for powerful governors or even mayors to deviate from party lines. Don't get me wrong; the idea of a free marketplace of ideas and the positive value of principled opposition are things I'm sure we'd agree on. But that's not what we have. Wish I knew how to fix it.
specialist 7y ago
The weird part is how the California's Republicans have yet to tack to the left. Per Durverger's Law, it has to eventually happen, right? I'd love to know why it's taking so long.

by lacker 7y ago

chrisseaton 7y ago

Even if it’s always a Democrat they must still be competing with each other just as fiercely to get selected to be the Democratic candidate?

defterGoose 7y ago
There's still cooperation in the party, and while the Democratic Party is a husk of its former principled self, the GOP has exploded into flames.

chrisweekly 7y ago

"the one-party-against-another politics that make democracy work" Where have you seen this happening in practice? A political science professor first showed me 25 years ago something I still see in US national politics: a "winner-take-all" voting system that creates a polarizing dynamic, typically resulting in a roughly 51:49 split -- with the potential for radically different outcomes hinging on tiny pockets of voters. Also, both parties are institutionally corrupted by the dominance of money (cf Lessig on "Fix Congress First", highlighting campaign finance as a fundamental threat to democracy). But only one of the parties is exhibiting blatant, explicit, direct opposition to the principles of democracy (eg voter suppression, rule of law, etc) from the highest level on down. The degree to which state politics are tied to the characteristics of the national party makes it difficult for powerful governors or even mayors to deviate from party lines. Don't get me wrong; the idea of a free marketplace of ideas and the positive value of principled opposition are things I'm sure we'd agree on. But that's not what we have. Wish I knew how to fix it.

specialist 7y ago

The weird part is how the California's Republicans have yet to tack to the left. Per Durverger's Law, it has to eventually happen, right? I'd love to know why it's taking so long.