The Head-Spinning Rate of Change in American Politics
"In America,'populism' - or better put: 'extra-parliamentary opposition' - penetrates the parties faster, as it has been for 223 years now. ... In Germany's multiparty system, with its propensity toward obligation and balance, the wheels only turn a few degrees to the left or right. What the party wants isn't decided by its rank and file. It's quite different in America, where the House of Representatives is elected directly by the people (and a third of the Senate) every two years."
America is - as always -
different, and that’s why the Congressional election in less than four weeks
will be really “exciting”: Will it topple the Obama revolution, or will it affirm
it?
In Germany's multiparty
system, with its propensity toward obligation and balance, the wheels only turn
a few degrees to the left or right. It may be that nine out of ten members of
the Social Democratic Party to
some degree appreciate Thilo Sarrazin.
But what the party wants isn't decided by its rank and file. It's quite
different in America, where parties range between “weak” and “anarchic,” and
the House of Representatives is elected directly by the people (and a third of
the Senate) every two years.
That’s why “populism” - or
better put: “extra-parliamentary opposition” - penetrates the parties faster, as
it has been for 223 years now. The most recent source of extra-congressional opposition
is the Tea Party, a movement of conservatives and anti-statists that is about
to conquer the Republican Party. The Tea Party is no more a bunch of proto-fascists
as [in Germany] the Left is an association of post-Bolshevists. Both represent populist tendencies,
but with a difference: The Tea Party is almost in; whereas in Germany, the far Left [communists] remains excluded, and
the exreme Right [neo-Nazis] certainly remains outside.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
How far will this influx go
on November 2nd? Even now, the Tea Party has undermined the Democrats' ruling
base. Obama will probably lose the majority in the House of Representatives,
and perhaps the Senate as well - and not only because of the Tea Party. Emblematic
of that is Velma Hart, a Black woman who confronted Obama at a town hall
meeting [video below] as follows: “I am a mother and wife, a typical middle-class
American. And I’m tired of defending you, your government, and the change I
voted for.” She was “deeply disappointed.” Mrs. Hart (with 800,000 Google entries)
is the icon of the 2010 elections.
This woman is Obama’s problem
- and thus that of his party, whose moderate candidates have refused campaign help
from the president, whose left-wing accuse him of betraying the revolution, or who,
like his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, have fled to Chicago to become mayor. “Macro-economic”
policy is the problem: a 45 percent support for Obama. Experience whispers: if
a president’s approval rating is under 50 percent, his party loses heavily,
especially if it holds a majority in both houses. Because: He who has more has
more to lose.
In Germany, the chancellor
needn’t be afraid of spontaneous opposition: “counter revolutions” take place
in newspapers and talk shows. But in America, disappointment over unemployment
and impending tax increases flows directly into the political process.
The rate of turnaround is
faster, as is debate. The bet is that Obama will preach change again next year,
but this time to the right. The old American adage is: “twenty four hours is an
eternity in politics.” In 1994, Bill Clinton’s Democrats lost both houses in the
second year of his first term. In the 1996 presidential election he emerged as the
jubilant winner.
