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> After he recorded it, the congressman was seen with a new car... meanwhile the drug lord seemly dunked the entire 10k into meat, charcoal and booze and threw

• whatshisface 5y ago
  Something interesting in American history circa a century ago was the party machine, which combined both roles into one. The fact that it's not around today could be a sign of either a decline in corruption, or a decline in the importance of getting voters to be really strongly on your side (as opposed to being 1% less bad than the other candidate).
  • pc86 5y ago
    This might sound out of left field but (hear me out) I think the decline is due in large part to gerrymandering. 100 years ago you had a lot of pretty competitive races where party control might switch often. It was incumbent on the party machine you mention to make sure all its supporters got out. You'd usually see the party rally around whoever won the primary, because there was still another election to win. Fast forward through some pretty aggressive and technologically advanced gerrymandering, and something like 90% of congressional seats are pretty well insulated from drastic party changes election over election. The primary becomes the only election that matters for most districts, which pushes both parties to the extremes. Because the primary is the only one that matters, there is little to no incentive to rally around your chosen candidate - you just fight that much harder for your favorite one next time. Solidifying party control in most districts has somewhat paradoxically weakened party control over the process while simultaneously pushing elected candidates to the extremes.
    • rbanffy 5y ago
      You make a very good point about the nascent extremism - as primaries become the only elections that matter, and because you need extreme candidates to flip those locked districts, there is little reward in moderation. I find it funny how Republicans embraced extremism while Democrats seem to be more averse to it, even though they'd have much to gain in this scenario. This is what I really like about Ireland's elections - they are so effective in weeding out extremists that the two dominant political forces are almost indistinguishable. It's, perhaps, too efficient in that, but it also seems to be extremely safe and long-term stable.
      • selimthegrim 5y ago
        You are saying this as SF is in pole position to form a government (not calling them extremists but comparing them to the main two)
  • rackjack 5y ago
    I think it's both, due to secret ballots and first past the post voting, for example.