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...I have begun telling people that what is needed now is a second party movement.
Oppositional parties are essential to representative democracy. The "gridlock" built into the system serves a valuable purpose: to prevent elected officials from making drastic changes without the tacit, informed consent of the people.
But of course, that no longer exists in American polity. The good cop/bad cop routine being pulled by the Republicrats is stale and transparent: the GOP pushes for some outrageous infringement of civil liberties or economic freedom; the Democrats pretend that they're going to oppose it at all costs; and, within a couple weeks, the "opposition" completely capitulates and the new legislation (Patriot Act, FISA, $700 billion of corporate welfare, the Bush bankruptcy bill, et al) passes easily and with hardly any real debate at all.
We all see this pattern, yet we're all caught chasing out tails, doing the only thing we've been taught to do: point irrational fingers at "the other side."
We, the People, need to get a grip.
