Our Quick-Fix Electorate
Friday 03 September 2010
by: Eugene Robinson, Op-Ed
Washington - According to polls, Americans are in a mood to hold their breath until they turn blue. Voters appear to be so fed up with the Democrats that they're ready to toss them out in favor of the Republicans -- for whom, according to those same polls, the nation has even greater contempt. This isn't an "electoral wave," it's a temper tantrum.
It's bad enough that the Democratic Party's "favorable" rating has fallen to an abysmal 33 percent, according to a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll. It's worse that the Republican Party's favorability has plunged to just 24 percent. But incredibly, according to Gallup, registered voters say they intend to vote for Republicans over Democrats by an astounding 10-point margin. Respected analysts reckon that the GOP has a chance of gaining between 45 and 60 seats in the House, which would bring Minority Leader John Boehner into the speaker's office.
My guess is that with a decided advantage in campaign funds, along with the other advantages of incumbency, Democrats will be able to mitigate these prospective losses -- perhaps even relieving Nancy Pelosi of the hassles of moving. But there's no mistaking the public mood, and the truth is that it makes no sense.
In the punditry business, it's considered bad form to question the essential wisdom of the American people. But at this point, it's impossible to ignore the obvious: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats.
This is not, I repeat not, a partisan argument. My own political leanings are well-known, but the refusal of Americans to look seriously at the nation's situation -- and its prospects -- is an equal-opportunity scourge. Republicans got the back of the electorate's hand in 2006 and 2008; Democrats will feel the sting this November. By 2012, it will probably be the GOP's turn to get slapped around again.
The nation demands the impossible: quick, painless solutions to long-term, structural problems. While they're running for office, politicians of both parties encourage this kind of magical thinking. When they get into office, they're forced to try to explain that things aren't quite so simple -- that restructuring our economy, renewing the nation's increasingly rickety infrastructure, reforming an unsustainable system of entitlements, redefining America's position in the world and all the other massive challenges that face the country are going to require years of effort. But the American people don't want to hear any of this. They want somebody to make it all better. Now.
Don’t miss a beat - get Truthout Daily Email Updates. Click here to sign up for free.
President Obama can point to any number of occasions on which he has told Americans that getting our nation back on track is a long-range project. But his campaign stump speech ended with the exhortation, "Let's go change the world" -- not, "Let's go change the world slowly and incrementally, waiting years before we see the fruits of our labor."
And one thing he really hasn't done is frame the hard work that lies ahead as a national crusade that will require a degree of sacrifice from every one of us. It's obvious, for example, that the solution to our economic woes is not just to reinflate the housing bubble. New foundations have to be laid for a 21st-century economy, starting with weaning the nation off of its dependence on fossil fuels, which means there will have to be an increase in the price of oil. I don't want to pay more to fill my gas tank, but I know that it would be good for the nation if I did.
The richest Americans need to pay higher taxes -- not because they're bad people who deserve to be punished but because they earn a much bigger share of the nation's income, and hold a bigger share of its overall wealth. If they don't pay more, there won't be enough revenue to maintain, much less improve, the kind of infrastructure that fosters economic growth. Think of what the interstate highway system has meant to this country. Now imagine trying to build it today.
Fixing Social Security for future generations, working steadily to improve the schools, charting a reasonable path on immigration -- none of this is what the American people want to hear. They're in the market for quick and easy solutions that won't hurt a bit. It's easy to blame politicians for selling a bunch of snake oil. But the truth is that all they're doing is offering what the public wants to buy.
Eugene Robinson's e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.
(c) 2010, Washington Post Writers Group
All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.
Comments
This forum is moderated by software. Please allow up to 15 minutes for your comments to go live and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.
H.L. Mencken said: "There is
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 08:42 — Scott ffolliott (not verified)H.L. Mencken said: "There is always an easy solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong."
A better title is the
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 08:53 — Garrett Connelly (not verified)A better title is the "Electorate has been Quick-fixed by smooth talking Politicos." I'm reminded of a reforestation project where the people planted all the seedlings in a reforestation project with the roots up. This example from a college economics class was given as reason for the need of advanced economies to support the less developed peoples of the world. The US electorate is cleverlyly confused by propaganda, its anger remains unfocused and misdirected, for now, but we all know what rings true. Everyone knows which way the roots for the future should be planted.
I don't think I expect easy
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 08:54 — Anonymous (not verified)I don't think I expect easy solutions, but I also didn't expect from Obama and the dems the total suck up to corporations. I have grown. There are no two parties ultimately.
OR splitting the
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 09:00 — Vic Anderson (not verified)OR splitting the DEMiserepubilkan similitude is the Only ACCOUNTABILITY Available! OR The COURAGE of the simple solutions (i.e., PROMISED single-payer or C-in-C ORDERED retreat from the middle-east or even gays' acceptance by the military - SEE how SIMPLE!) And we really need some progressive bloggers opining in place of these rehashed hacks.
The anger on the right is
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 09:20 — Anonymous (not verified)The anger on the right is nothing compared to the despair on the left. We supported Obama, but like a feckless lover, the minute he got what he wanted, he abandoned us.
We can wait for change to occur, but we cannot stand the fact that he is two-timing us with corporate America.
If he was ACTUALLY fighting for the middle class, the mood in the country might be quite different.
About 1 month ago Warren
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 14:07 — Tom Hackim (not verified)About 1 month ago Warren Buffet gave an on-line interview at Yahoo! He stated... that this is just how bad the economic picture was in September, 2008... "that the economy stopped". By any measure that is breathtaking. Too bad the Dems have not bothered to explain how bad things were. This affirms Mr Robinson's point that the structural dynamics needed an overhaul.
The gallup poll and right
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 14:33 — Anonymous (not verified)The gallup poll and right wing owned news agencies that published this propaganda article today will continue like this until the elections in their desperate attempt to maintain the criminal GOP's grip on the south and the west.
They will fail utterly as the voters sweep the repiglicans out of office. They have not forgotten what bushco did to America.
While there are some entrenched corrupt democrats, DNC, public union and corporate thugs who should lose their seats in northern states, it will not compare to the bloodbath that awaits the repulicans in this coming election.
Sometimes some justice
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 17:54 — Anonymous (not verified)Sometimes some justice creeps in from it's hiding place under the rug-- at times a truly dark place. We may indeed be approaching such an opportunity again. So when/if the Republicans get some controls back, we will get some of the same great guys working "for" us that got us into this mess and a bunch of politicians that will have to do something other than "say no" in order to clog things up--and who have not been able to contribute other than do everything their selfish greedy souls can do to screw up whatever they can for our nation. The results (and the justice in the situation) will be even more misery for the folk too dumb and/or manipulated to actually think rationally about their votes. Unfortunately, all of us get to return to that leaky boat!
Voters hate the Dems. They
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 19:53 — whistlin' (not verified)Voters hate the Dems. They hate the Repugs even more. And yet, like an abused spouse, they are even more scared of leaving either party. As if other options are scarier. Vote Green Party, heck, vote Libertarian, or Independent. Anything to show the 2 big parties that we have choices that don't include either of them.
Rather than voting for war,
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 22:04 — Mark E. Smith (not verified)Rather than voting for war, casting a protest ballot for somebody who can't win, or casting a blank ballot to say that you support our imperialist system but not the candidates, half the American public refuses to vote.
We will not grant our "consent of the governed" to a military-industrial complex that uses genocide to promote capitalist inequality and oppose human rights.
We know that our system does not allow us to hold elected officials accountable during their terms of office (which is the ONLY time that they're supposed to represent us), so they're not really our representatives and there is no justifiable reason to vote for them.
You can petition them whether or not you vote for them, as any tyrant can be petitioned, but don't expect better results than when our founders petitioned King George (who didn't allow them to vote for him because he was king by divine right).
In a democratic form of government, supreme power is vested in the hands of the people, not in the hands of an unelected supreme court or unaccountable "representatives."
When the choices on the ballot stink, only the apathetic hold their noses and vote for what they hope might be the lesser excrement. Those of us who care, withhold our consent and will continue to do so until we have a democratic form of government where all votes are counted, elected officials can be held accountable, and there are acceptable choices with an equal chance of prevailing.
Political parties seeking power within a corrupt system aren't going to change anything. You can't bring about change by saying, "Give us a better system or else we'll continue to vote anyway." Voters aren't holding their breaths, they're holding their noses because our system stinks.
In Haiti, when there were no acceptable options, only 3$ of the people voted. The government rules by force, but the entire world knows that it does not have the consent of the governed. Your vote is your consent, and if you consented, then you weren't raped--you asked for it.
Oops, in my post above that
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 22:47 — Mark E. Smith (not verified)Oops, in my post above that should have been a percent sign, not a dollar sign. In Haiti only 3% of the people voted.
But they don't believe in lesser evils. They insist on having the choices they want, or else they don't vote.
One change, Mark Smith. It's
Fri, 09/03/2010 - 23:03 — Garrett Connelly (not verified)One change, Mark Smith. It's okay to vote and strengthen replacement political parties, and to vote for clear thinkers, even those unclear on running independently. Leave everything else blank. Another not rape choice vector.
I've been a Green party
Sat, 09/04/2010 - 00:57 — Ken Hall (not verified)I've been a Green party voter for over ten years and I keep waiting for US voters to wake up to what has happened to them. I think many voters are asking real questions at this point, but the media attention is devoted to the TPers, people who have to be considered insane by Einstein's famous definition. Democracy requires an involved and informed electorate. As a first step, and a show of earnestness, you red state voters need to turn off your TVs and take classes in remedial thinking. No, don't just turn them off, take them to the landfill.
Dear Eugene: I hear you
Sat, 09/04/2010 - 23:11 — Phyllis Brown (not verified)Dear Eugene: I hear you frequently in Olbermann & read your newspaper columns plus Truthout. I'm disturbed that the GOP may gain seats in Congress that will put them in control. They are hellbent on winning to the point of murder. Yes, IMO! That's scary for our country. Obama has done so much, but people don't seem to remember, as the Repubs are so busy telling lies, twisting the truth & putting him in a bad light, the gullible public is buying it! Thank you for your honest article.
There is one rule of thumb
Sun, 09/05/2010 - 09:18 — Anonymous (not verified)There is one rule of thumb that I wish the media and especially the so-called pundits would keep in mind: Never believe a poll unless you know how the questions were worded and who paid for the poll. And sadly nowadays, one should also apply this rules to "scientific" studies.
PS: And they should give the readers the full story and inform us of the questions and who paid.
I think many of these polls
Sun, 09/05/2010 - 14:49 — genierae (not verified)I think many of these polls are rigged, and they are a prelude to a rigged election. The Republicans and their owners want to condition us to think that they are going to win big, and then they can mess with the voting machines to make that happen. I'm from Ohio, where exit polls said that Kerry won, but voting machines elected Bush. There was an investigation, but somehow it all faded away. I think that elections have been compromised since 2000. Its very sad, what can be done about it?
The Green Party doesn't
Tue, 09/07/2010 - 08:41 — Alan8 (not verified)The Green Party doesn't accept ANY corporate money, unlike the two mainstream parties, which receive THE MAJORITY of their funding from corporate sources.
The Green Party represents CITIZENS' interests, like single-payer health care, slashing the outrageous military budget, and ending corporate trade agreements, like NAFTA, that export American jobs to low-wage countries.
Although the Green Party is superior to the corporate parties in every way, the corporate media have everyone brainwashed into thinking no progress can be made unless the Green Party can get 51% of the vote in a single election. This is unrealistic; no party has ever started like that, so THEY'VE concluded for us that change is impossible.
IN REALITY, 5% of the vote would get the Green Party matching Federal funds. Even more importantly, 5% for the Green Party would send shock waves through the Democratic Party that people are waking up to how they're being abused. This would cause far more dramatic changes to the Democrats than unconditionally voting for them.
It's interesting that the corporate media never even hint at the fact that a mere 5% of the vote would get the Green Party Federal funds. It's like they're terrified we might find out how easy it is to start changing things. Let's start changing things!
VOTE GREEN!