“Asymmetric Polarization” in American Politics

Washington Monthly has a new issue out this week wholly devoted to the distressing question, “What if Obama Loses?” This paragraph, from the contribution by congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Orenstein sums up our national predicament as clearly as anything I’ve read recently.

“Whoever is the standard-bearer, a Republican victory in 2012 would do nothing to reverse or restrain the radically rightward march of the party. The Tea Party movement has accelerated a process that has been under way for many years within the GOP, which is now firm in its identity as the insurgent party, set upon blowing up policies and public responsibilities that enjoyed bipartisan support for many decades. The Democrats are the status quo party— protective and pragmatic. The asymmetric polarization of the two camps is the most significant feature of contemporary American politics.”

The whole article is worth reading, as is the entire issue. Though disturbing, I find it bracing to read exactly what’s at stake. Reading this I’m reminded of why I get so impatient with DEMs who claim to have written off President Obama. Even when there are things one sincerely disagrees with, you can’t afford to lose sight of the larger picture, and what’s at stake in each election.