Saturday, May 24, 2014

Does the "weimarization" of England portent a US party crackup?

The US and England (Britain) have represented over the modern era from the 18th century the two shining examples of "first past the post" representative democracy, while the rest of the Western world has largely embraced a proportional representation form of parliamentary democracy. Two strong parties, defined constituencies, and political stability has characterized Britain and the US.

That paradigm may be coming to an end.  Evidence suggests it already has in England. After the recent election victories by the English "tea party" cognate UKIP in local elections, England is now an effective four party state with unwieldy parliamentary coalitions looming for the foreseeable future.

Could the same thing be coming to the US, or perhaps has it already in a stealth way?  The so-called "tea party" caucus paralyzes Congress into complete inaction, where there are now essentially three, perhaps four, blocks of ideological factions.

The GOP establishment has bested its upstart populist creation, not by "crushing" it as corporate and "Junker" bag lady, Mitch McConnell (missing only a monocle and red lipstick), said, but rather by nervously co-opting its nihilistic rhetoric.  But when they serve up JEB!, their version of Franz von Papen, who if you believe the right wing comment blogosphere, is universally loathed by the far right, will there be a crack up of the Establishment right?  Millions sitting home, or a third option to siphon off 10-20 percent of the vote?

America seems logically to be headed for at least four parties:

An economically and militarily neoconservative (meaning pro-plutocracy and cartel economics and pro-imperial foreign policy) and socially moderate party (country club republicans and DLC democrats),

a neoliberal (as in Rand Paul) anti--plutocracy, anti-imperial, and libertarian party,

a Social Democratic Party (democrats),

and a neo-fascist (petty bourgeois populist, nativist, pro-imperial, and socially reactionary) party.

Are our Politics becoming "Weimarized"?

The Weimarization of the American Working Class

Jargon Watch: Weimarization

Fugitive Philosophy: Weimarization

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