In recent years, the columnist who drives me crazy is Thomas Friedman. He has great real estate in the New York Times, amazing access, and good analytical skills, but too often, his columns fall into the “I was in a cab on my way to dinner at Tony Blair’s, and isn’t it nifty that I could watch my friend Bill Clinton’s speech being given on the other side of the globe from my phone?” Or something like that.
And so, I’m going to start re-writing his columns! You can let me know how I’m doing.
First up: “Our Democracy is at Stake”, October 1, 2013.
(Note: this column happens to be an example of Friedman’s better works – no taxi-driver conversations. Hmmm. Wasn’t this supposed to be easy?)
The government shutdown is a temper tantrum thrown by a radical group that does not recognize the legitimacy of an elected president. They object to the rights of the majority. Because the voters did not agree with them, the voters were wrong; to punish these voters, the Republican members of the House of Representatives are throwing a tantrum. Toddlers everywhere must be watching in fascination. Actions that would get them put down for a nap are being followed by people all over the world.
How did we get here? First, gerrymandering. Redistricting after the 2010 census allowed Republican state legislators to create safe districts. With better demographic information systems, party hacks could create districts that were whiter, older, and more Republican than the nation as a whole. (If only Facebook could use this serve better ads.) Those who represent these districts are, by definition, out of touch with the rest of the country.
Second, the Citizens United ruling. The Supreme Court allowed donors to give unlimited amounts to campaigns, and a few wealthy zealots have used this to change the rules. It is now more important to keep donors happy than to keep voters happy; political strategists market increasingly shrill advertising campaigns to those willing to pay for them. Sheldon Adelson’s money kept Newt Gingrich in the 2012 primary election longer than he should have been. Mitt Romney reacted by becoming far more conservative that his resume would have indicated. The Republican Party was no longer a party with anything to offer to centrists.
Third, the narrowcast media. If you turn on Fox News, right now, there’s a 50 percent chance that the commentators will be discussing Benghazi. No matter what you believe, you can find niche blogs, podcasts, and Twitter feeds that support you. If you have Rush Limbaugh supporting you – or ripping you to sheds for being too moderate on Benghazi, you’ll start to believe that everyone feels one way about the issue at hand. People can find support for whatever wacky thing they want to believe, and they will act accordingly.
This threatens to destroy the principles that this nation was founded upon. It’s a sad that so many people will sacrifice our democracy in order to secure tax breaks for medical device manufacturers.
