tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post4070754206321240154..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: The History of Party SplittingJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-51346396368096032592016-03-14T11:41:09.899-04:002016-03-14T11:41:09.899-04:00Wow! He must have been listening to me. :-)Wow! He must have been listening to me. :-)Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353532874773316117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-41494012181321585232016-03-14T11:07:21.138-04:002016-03-14T11:07:21.138-04:00I am liking what you have to say, Shadow Flutter.
...I am liking what you have to say, Shadow Flutter.<br /><br />This week's Time Magazine's cover story on the GOP is very good indeed. It does not appear to be behind a paywall:<br /><br />http://time.com/4253747/the-party-of-reagan-is-no-more/<br />pootrsoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05975929246429466067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-71920805860098455992016-03-14T10:39:11.226-04:002016-03-14T10:39:11.226-04:00I think a viable third party would be healthy for ...I think a viable third party would be healthy for this country. By viable, I mean a party that can elect sufficient numbers to congress to make a difference. Right now I see a tug of war between two parties, each hoping if things go their way they will be in the majority. A third party presence would smash this notion, and we might see some things get done.<br /><br />I guess this is my day for posting.Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353532874773316117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-46172529258242705222016-03-14T10:29:30.206-04:002016-03-14T10:29:30.206-04:00I should add, I haven't bothered looking into ...I should add, I haven't bothered looking into Frum's claim because I find it uninteresting. I see such things as he describes as healthy, certainly not a problem in themselves. All he's describing is change.<br /><br />What I find interesting is the tenacity with which the republican party holds onto the Ronald Reagan mythology. I had my problems with him, but even if he was a good or great president, he was a president of his era and not of this one. He left office 28 years ago and died over 10 years ago. Sheesh! Give up the ghost. This is a different era with different problems that require different solutions. I'll know there is a strong republican candidate for president when I see him or her never mention Regan's name and, instead, offers new solutions. Time to modernize. Too many republicans are stuck in time.Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353532874773316117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-73262339409274059052016-03-14T10:11:53.677-04:002016-03-14T10:11:53.677-04:00I'm not sure, but Frum may be guilty of practi...I'm not sure, but Frum may be guilty of practicing the fallacy of post hoc history: If event B follows event A, event A must have caused Event B. <br /><br />Part of the Republican.Conservative mantra has been trickle down (low taxes for the rich) and that government should stop mucking around in business (less regulation). The thing that surprises me is many Trump followers seem to reject this. They seem to not favor the rich over working class or trickle down, and they seem to very much want the government to interfere with companies sending jobs overseas. Have I misunderstood?<br /><br />If I am correct, then conservatives have completely misunderstood what has been going on its own party over the past 25 years. Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353532874773316117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-24124493381557496122016-03-14T09:51:40.318-04:002016-03-14T09:51:40.318-04:00It seems to me that if a party divides, it's b...It seems to me that if a party divides, it's because of deep and long-standing divisions over major issues, not just because somebody runs a split-off presidential campaign. The most epic division was certainly the disappearance of the old Whig Party in the 1850s, and that was over the deepest of issues (slavery). The same with the 1912 election: there was probably no way the reformist and conservative wings of the GOP could have stayed together long-term, TR's Bull Moose campaign or not. Same with Wallace.<br /><br />In other words, the rise of Trump is the result of important divisions within the Republican coalition that are reaching a crisis point, and I doubt mainstream Republicans can preserve their coalition simply by choosing not to run a split-off anti-Trump campaign. The split is already ruining the GOP's ability to function as a congressional majority.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08993570411881726772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-29270687484788152152016-03-14T09:05:53.879-04:002016-03-14T09:05:53.879-04:00Frum's historical analysis may be accurate, an...Frum's historical analysis may be accurate, and clearly movement conservatives face a difficult choice.<br /><br />The remaining question: "How relevant is this history to the current situation?" The Democratic Party is also very vulnerable. In large sections of the country, especially rural areas, the infrastructure no longer exists to even nominate credible Democratic candidates. A landslide at the presidential level need not translate into significant gains in congressional and state elections. Modest gains at those levels may not translate into plausible policy-making ability in the face of the ongoing intransigence of well-organized minority groups like "The Freedom Caucus." <br /><br />The real threat may be to the "Two Party System" itself.Dallashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03860164571908668612noreply@blogger.com