By Fareed Zakaria, CNN
Watching the extraordinary polarization in Washington today, many people have pointed the finger at the Tea Party saying it's ideologically extreme, refuses to compromise and cares more about purity than problem solving.
I happen to agree with much of that critique, but it doesn't really answer the question: Why has the Tea Party become so prominent? Why is it able to dominate Washington?
We've had plenty of ideologically charged movements come to Washington before. Think of Barry Goldwater or George McGovern.
But once in Washington the system encouraged compromise and governance.
Over the last few decades, however, what has changed are the rules organizing American politics. They now encourage small interest groups - including ideologically charged ones - to capture major political parties as well as Congress itself. Call it ' political narrowcasting.
Here are some examples:
1) Redistricting has created safe seats so that for most House members, their only concern is a challenge from the right for Republicans and the left for Democrats. The incentive is to pander to the base, not the center.
2) Party primaries have been taken over by small groups of activists who push even popular senators to extreme positions. In Utah, for example, 3,500 conservative activists managed to take the well- regarded Senator Robert Bennett off the ballot. GOP senators like Orrin Hatch and John McCain have moved farther to the right, hoping to stave off similar assaults.
3) Changes in Congressional rules have also made it far more difficult to enact large, compromise legislation. In the wake of the Watergate Scandal, "Sunshine rules" were put into place that required open committee meetings and recorded votes. The purpose was to make Congress more open, more responsive - and so it has become to lobbyists, money and special interests. This is because they're the people who watch every committee vote and mobilize opposition to any withdrawal of subsidies or tax breaks.
4) Political polarization has also been fueled by a new media, which is also narrowcast.
Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he suggested that he might further the conservative agenda through an occasional compromise. That provoked a tirade from Rush Limbaugh, which then produced a torrent of angry e-mails and phone calls to Issa's office. Issa quickly and publicly apologized to Limbaugh and promised only opposition to Obama. Multiply that example a thousandfold, and you have the daily dynamic of Congress.
It's depressing, but the fact that our politics are the result of these structural shifts means they can be changed.
Mickey Edwards, a Republican and former House member from Oklahoma, has a highly intelligent essay in The Atlantic magazine suggesting a series of reforms that could make a difference. Some of them are large-scale, others are seemingly small but crucial changes in Congressional procedure.
Read: Fareed Zakaria's op-ed in The Washington Post on "A way out of our dysfunctional politics."
Some political scientists long hoped that American parties would become more ideologically pure and coherent, like European parties. They seem to have gotten their wish - and the result is abysmal.
Here's why: America does not have a parliamentary system like Europe's, in which one party takes control of all levers of political power - executive and legislative - enacts its agenda and then goes back to the voters. Power in the United States is shared by a set of institutions with overlapping authorities - Congress and the presidency. People have to cooperate for the system to work.
The Tea Party venerates the Founding Fathers. It should note that the one thing on which they all agreed was that adversarial political parties were bad for the American republic.
For more of my takes throughout the week and ongoing discussion, I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and bookmark the Global Public Square.
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There is one basic reason why the country is so divided: Gerrymandering! Eliminate this and the country will start to heal.
certainly agreed. Primaries are even worse to get a parties nomination you must be the farthest to your parties side rather then toward the center. Hence we get Barack Obamas on the left and Sarah Palins on the right.
lol the idea that Obama is even close to being a far leftist is comical.
Comparing obama and palin is like comparing someone smart to George Bush Jr.
1.Eliminate political parties, so that candidates can run on principles, not party ideology and gerrymandering is irrelevant
2. Shorten election cycles, with real finance reform
3. Make lobbying by all organized groups illegal
4. End the tyranny of the Electoral College that creates red and blue states and allows no plurality candidate to win
5. Reform archaic rules in House and Senate that derail legislation
lol. You're a moron. Obama isn't anything resembling leftist. If anything, he gives the right everything it wants. Grow up.
The only problem with your statement is the false assumption that Barack Obama is on the left – a myth perpetrated by Sarah Palin's "palling around with terrorists" statements. In truth, Obama has campaigned and governed as a pragmatist, adopting ideas by both political parties. Many of his policies lean right, most are in the center and very few actually are left or lean left.
What? Obama left? Are you kidding? Hes so centrist hes rightist.
When Obama was a Senator, he was known as one of the most liberal Senators in Congress. To say many of his policies are right is absurd. Unless, you think being close to a neocon on foreign policy is right, but then again I'm for Ron Paul. His entire economic policies are very liberal. I'm pretty sure he is not for abolishing the IRS or anything very conservative... By the way, we should abolish all political parties that are ruining this supposed to be democracy.
Or comparing Jimmy Carter to a leader.
Obama is more conservative than most GOP presidents were a few decades ago. He is hardly extreme. The people who call him socialist or far left are the extremists!
thank god we have obama where we see some progress and hope where palin has no clue
Are you people kidding me or are you all suffering from heat exhaustion? How in the world could you not think Obama is left? His policies are communist in nature and if you can't see that I feel sorry for you. Maybe you should just have another cool drink of cool aid. Also, for you liberals who actually can still think look at the polls about his individual policies. They are not well liked, but for some reason people like him. So he is defiantly not center for sure.
Brian – you are the perfect example of the ideological parroting that creates exactly the problem this article points out. All we see are assertions with no substance – no references, no reasoning – just assertions. Obama has consistently compromised with Republicans, which is why we see so many Democrats angry at him. It isn't because his policies are 'far left', it is because he is really trying to play the center, but all of the extremists, like yourself, want nothing more than 'total victory'. In the end, we all lose. Even you.
@Brian. You, my friend, are an idiot and a part of the problem. Shut up!
Obama is way to the left. He pushed so hard in 2009 with no compromise that the democrats in congress took a whooping in the 2010 elections. On the budget he stills talks like he'll compromise but he offers nothing of substance. Reed and pelosi are more of the same. This started in 2006 with the democrat congress.
Ok you hypocrite koolaid drinking kettles. Where has Obama compromised? When he say "I must have new revenue"? Or "I won, get over it". How about "give me want I want and then we'll consider your side". That the left considers him a centrist shows how out of touch CNN's core is with the middle.
Obama only talks like liberal. However, all his actions are to benefit big corporations and millionaires! Wake up my liberal friends. It's better to sit in the opposition rather to have phony liberals like Obama in power. Get rid of him. All his legislations are watered down and made to make big profits for his friends in wall street and big pharma companies. He nominated the same people (Tim Geithner, Bernake and Larry Summers) who were watching or responsible for the financial crisis! And he could not nominate Elizabeth Warren – a true champion for the causes of middle class americans. Shame on you Mr. Obama! I wish you loose. Even Mitt Romney is OK for me for next 4 years until we elect Hillary Clinton.
Phrases like "The most liberal senator in congress." were thrown around during the election without a basis in reality. If you look at places that actually analyzed the data, he was not that liberal. He rarely went against the Democratic party, but that certainly doesn't qualify him as "most liberal." To say he was more liberal than Feingold and Sanders is completely absurd, regardless of where you stand politically.
Here is a non-partisan analysis of the data that is more grounded in reality: http://voteview.com/sen110.htm
It shows Obama as the 19th most liberal senator during the 110th session. In other words, he's in the middle of the pack among Democrats.
As far as calling his policies "communistic" if that were the case, I think "Obamacare" would have included a single-payer system rather than what we got.
Agreed, Sean. Obama is pretty far left – he only goes right when his feet are held to the fire, and sometimes not even then.
Except Obama's a centrist moderate. Everyone looks like a leftist when you are a right-wing loony, even other right-wingers.
well Mortimer, the opposite is also true. If you are also far to the left then anyone less liberal than you is a conservative. The only person who has quoted any statistics is brandon, and that data would support the statement that Obama is liberal. He is no where close to being as polarized as someone like Palin but he most definitely isnt a "centrist moderate." If he was then he would be in the 35-45 range
Steve, the fact that people like you kept SAYING that Obama was "One of the most Liberal Senators" never made it true. As I recall, you said it about every single Democratic Senator at one time or another.
"When Obama was a Senator, he was known as one of the most liberal Senators in Congress."
Who says this? Why?
Regardless of Obama’s senate record, as president, Obama has been much like a 90s (or even just pre-tea party) republican in the positions he has taken in regards to supporting ideas that were presented as legislation by republicans in the past. But anything that he has been “for,” republicans have decided they are against—even though they were “for it before they were against it.” Some republicans turned against the very bills they themselves sponsored after Obama offered his support. These things include Obama’s position on immigration, small business taxes, education, and energy policy. And of course, “Obamacare” was Dole-Hatch-Romney-Grassley-care before it was “Obamacare.” In the 90’s, as an alternative to “Hillarycare,” what was being proposed by republicans is much like what was passed into law—to include the mandate. The healthcare legislation that republicans so detest that they say they what to repeal it is in fact based largely on the (formerly) republican model of healthcare reform. The “reasonable” If Obama was a leftist, he would have done something like try to expand Medicare to everyone. If he was centrist, he would have been trying to get the public option which was supported by nearly 90% of dems, 2/3 of independents and about half of republicans. The “new” center is where the republicans used to be and as the tea party has moved the repubs to an all-time nutty extreme.
The only way to turn things around is if everyone stopped voting for anyone who runs for a second term. When legislating becomes a service again, instead of a perk-filled and lifelong career - sustained only if voting the party line - common sense may return. Not before.
Well said. But that will never happen. The fat cats on the hill get too many goodies. They care about nothing but themselves for the most part.
A lot of the problem in getting any type of compromise going now is not the people in their second or longer term. It's the new representatives.
What's the point of voting anyways, the Electorial College chooses who becomes puppet/master.
The problem we have now is not the old timers, but the new Tea Party people who do not understand how to govern. Politics is the art of the deal...the art of compromise. Ronal Reagan was an expert at the art of making a deal. The Tea Party people are extreme extremists who put ideology above country. It doesn’t help that the GOP has pledged it allegiance to Grover Norquist rather than the United States of America. Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave at the thought that the GOP did NOT take President Obama’s deal of 4 dollars in cuts for every dollar of revenue raised. What is the GOP thinking!
But its the 2st termers – the Tea Party legislators – that are causing the gridlock.
What we need is two term limits for all government positoins.
Understood, but there is a reason for re-election being on the table. The possibility of re-election means that an elected official works at being pragmatic and look for compromise. Would a term-limit system work better? Perhaps, but by historical example, there is the risk at losing lions in the Senate like Ted Kennedy, Everett Dirksen, Orrin Hatch, and strong Representatives like Mike Castle, all of whom ably served their states and districts, and did so for lengthy periods thanks to the lack of term limits. I don't but the argument that all elected officials are incompetent, selfish, heartless fools only out to line their pockets They enter public service to help do some good. Zakaria's point is that the systemic changes that have taken place in the last two decades have shifted the system against the very strength the system has to begin with; the possibility of compromise. That can't be changed unless we make it that way.
That will never happen because the GOP voters will only do what they are told by their party like stepford wives. DEMS constantly vote against themselves, but not GOP. It's like they don't have any logic or reasoning skills and just do as they're told.
Two points. If you recall an old British TV series called Yes, Prime Minister, then you see a good argument against "throw all the rascals out" - the rascals' replacements are essentially newcomers
at the mercy of the long time bureaucrats.
The second point. I think that the consequences of huge amounts of secret political money, thanks to Scalia et al, contributed greatly to the election of the tea party ideologues. Advertising and propaganda are powerful.
Military Vet is right. The current impasse was predominantly caused by the "freshman" Congressmen. Though one can argue that the senior legislators have been driving it as well, the reality is that the Boehner has his hands tied by what his colleagues are forcing him to do.
Unfortunately there is no simple answer as to whether less experience or more experience is a good thing in Congress. More experience makes congressmen less dogmatic and more willing to compromise. But it also makes them more adverse to change and more cynical. Less experience makes congressmen more bold and more willing to try new things. But it also makes them less realistic and more impractical about what it takes to get things done.
Limiting terms by not electing is the only stick you hold to have your agent in Congress work for you. If you wield it indiscriminately (for or against) , why would they bother to listen to you? And dumping the devil you know will bring on the devil you don't and knowing that they will be unemployed might well get them to focus on where the funds would come from afterwards. Bribery would skyrocket even over the current levels.
Much better to get involved so those you would elect know you and you them, then you would have two sticks and a closer relationship to even know the mind and votes if your candidate.
Term Limits? We already have them...they're called elections. Term limits only ensure that Congress is filled with a bunch of amateurs only interested in finding their NEXT job. which means they follow the directions of their party leader or biggest benefactor. Need proof, see California. Term limits have seriously impaired California's ability to govern. Nothing magical happens when term limits are implemented. Your side won't magically start winning more elections and the quality of representation won't get better. Those who think that term limits get rid of the career politician are kidding themselves.
I disagree on Obama being to the far left. He couldn't be more center if he tried.
What color is the sky on your planet?
Hello from planet Earth!
Sanity, don't mind Matt & Dennis.... Their type perceive ANYONE who is not as far to the right as them to be all the way to the left.... To them, EVERYTHING is about extremes and they cannot fathom someone who is not an extermist.
For Matt....you are totally delusional. Obama is as far left as Richard Nixon was. Nixon, the man who started the EPA and went for peace with Russia and China. Wow. I guess the US educational system really has gonedown the tubes.
Centerist? That's a joke. This guy has done nothing to try to bring the two sides together. I always thought that once a politician became the President, he (or she) was meant to serve as President to us all, not just pander to his party's special interests.
Hey - we elected an idiot and we're paying thje price.
I agree. Barack Obama is being painted as a far left by the far right in order to make him out as fanatic as they are. That way, it takes the heat off of that group of nuts.
It is telling that Matt asked what "color" your sky is. That is why he and many feel that Obama is way left... It is all about color. They deny it, but I listen to people all the time make racists comments and jokes and then swear up and down that they do not dislike Obama because he is black.
I couldn't agree more. I guess that's why I'm one of the few that like him. Even Steven, right down the middle.
He has compromised and to the point where his own party is turning on him somewhat. For Republicans it's been all out war from the day Obama took office and they aren't about to compromise on anything or say yes to anything.
The Line has been drawn and it's now a game of chicken and neither side wants to be the one to cave in and seem willing to take America over a cliff just to prove a point.
I say let America vote on it then.
Boater and Tom,
Have you ever read anything that Obama said about himself, even how that back in his college days, he was always attracted to those profs who were to the far left? He is currently angering the etreme left, because they are his base and he has done the unthinkable by offering to compromise with Boehner.
Obama is generally left of center: more liberal than Clinton/Gore (especially post 1996) and more mainstream than Nancy Pelosi. The better analogy would have been to say Pelosi on the left & Sarah Palin on the right.
@Nodack – exactly right. Looks like they voted pretty resoundingly against the Dems vision of the future of this country last November, and just wait for Nov 2012. Oh and by the way ... 66% poll in support of forcing a balanced budget Amendment? That's not an idealogical left or right view, but just the American people of all political views coming together to tell Washington to stop spending money we don't have.
Agreed, emphatically.
Much of "Obamacare" actually comes from plans floated by *Republicans* as an alternative to the single-payer system proposed by Democrats in the 90's. "Cap and Trade" was a market-friendly alternative to strict carbon controls proposed by *right-wing economists* back in the 80's and 90's. On many policy issues Obama is more in line with the Republicans Nixon and Ford than with Democrats Carter and (even more so) Johnson. In many ways, Obama is farther to the right than Bill Clinton, who himself is generally regarded as a somewhat left-of-center moderate. (In other ways he's somewhat farther to the left, so in the end it's a wash.) He's been compromising with the GOP in all sorts of ways, and has given them 9/10 of what they want in most cases. (Of course it doesn't look that way because those Republicans have repeatedly dug in and refused to give up that last 1/10, and insisting that Obama refuses to "compromise" because he won't give up on that last 1/10th.)
To all those people who think that Obama is a whacked-out far-left loon, I'd like to know what planet they've been living on for the last 30 years.
He certainly has moved toward center, but still fairly left. Clinton did the same thing once he was in office. I actually applaud this. I consider myself a liberal conservative (mostly center), and really have trouble voting for either side due to their extremism.
Obama is a complete political animal. He's an idea guy who has no real experience in getting things done. Add to that the way he insults the opposition and it's no surprise what you end up with. He panders to whomever he thinks will help him the most. And once that position falls out of favor he shifts course and throws people under the bus. He is anything but a leader.
I beg to differe, Al Anton. G.W. Bush (helped to run), or in MHO ran our country into the ground during his two terms. President Obama is just getting to deal with it all now. I find it interesting how loudly (some) reps scream each time President Obama's honest agenda exposes the travisties of the near past.
70% of the American public wants cuts to government spending as well as an increase in taxes on the wealthy. This is the President’s plan is aligned with 70% of the American people. If he is a lefty, then Ronald Reagan was as well, at least according to what I see written here. Understand this simple fact, the left has not changed, the center has not changed, but the GOP has shifted to the extreme right over the last ten years. They are no-where near the center anymore. Old time conservatives are now considered center-left and have fled the party in droves. Independents who voted GOP last fall – expecting to get the common sense GOP agenda – are now suffering buyer’s remorse. After seeing the GOP’s extreme agenda across the country, they are fleeing the GOP positions as well. I am one of them, I don't want the Tea Party ideology, I want my government to work, I want the middle class to be the priority…not the wealthy or some guy named Grover Norquist.
I agree, Obama could not be more centrist than what he is.
The problem is that the right wing is SO far right wing that everyone else appears liberal to them.
Obama could actually stand to be more liberal.
At the end of the day, the Dems represent 90% of America while the GOP represent 9% of America and the Tea Party only cares about the top 1% of America.
Unfortunately many people do not realize that the GOP does not have the slightest care about them or their interests but Fox News and the elite right wing media have convinced them that billionaires getting taxed is going to hurt them and destroy America.
Wake up, America! The GOP's job-killing policies only help the rich!
Obama could cut $9 trillion in taxes, banish the EPA, claim global warming is a "sham", support creationism, label being gay as a "disease" that he can personally cure at his church through "therapy", end the federal reserve, and finally support local militias as a way to fight "government intrusion", and he would still be labeled as the anti-christ. The only thing that might help him is changing his name to Benjamin Franklin and becoming white.
I agree with nodack, I like Obama also and I will vote for him agin
Obama is not in the center, he is far left! What planet are you living on? He is all about re-distribution of wealth through taxes and social programs. The idea that anyone that disagrees with him is far right or in the Tea Party Movement does not understand America!
Very true. If you read either of his pre-Presidency books, its clear he's in the center and a pragmatist. Most that hate him, only know about him from the right and Fox News – none bother to do their own research on the man.
you have to be joking! trololololol
There was a reason that Sen Obama was *THE* most liberal senator.
I love all the comments about Obama being in the center and how much he has compromised. I guess you've already forgotten his down the Care. I think the comment was something like.... we won the election so deal with it. As for the debt debate, it's hard to compromise with someone who doesn't have a plan. When I see specifics on his plan, I'll let you know how much he has compromised.
I love how someone can copy a republican idea and be considered an ultra left wing nut job for it (romneycare/obamacare). GOP's don't have a problem with universal health care. GOP's have a problem with a democratic president, so therefore anything he does is considered anti-american even if it was their idea to begin with. I also love how the GOP claims they are fiscally conservative and want smaller government with lower taxes even though the last 3 republican presidents have gone on historic spending spree's.
He was trying to slip that in there and hoping no one would notice his crazy rant. Sorry, crazy ranter. We elected Obama because he was a moderate with no far-left agenda. Still too black for you, I see.
Campaign finance is equally broken – and causes the same basic problem of skewed representation.
No it won't. You discount the effect of mass marketing and advertising (ie the media) one of the reason for the polarization was the pirating of neutral journalism by forces on both the left and the right. Americans are very susceptible to mass marketing and advertising and taking political sides and brainwashing via the air waves is nothing new–but never since the hey day of yellow journalism has news been effectively skewed and propaganda driven by mediums in radio and tv. Witness Fox news, MSNBC–the diatribes and rhetoric and sides of both parties–talk radio and finally the way sensationalizing and parsing has taken hold. Each side only presents THEIR side and the same can be said of CNN–don't think so? Remember when censuring was a hated phrase of all media? That went the way of the dodo bird from the minute telecommuncations and networks got in bed with Bush and rewrote the war–now–censuring is the rule of the day–which will explain much if this post does not see the light of day or having seen it, is pulled prematurely.
Fortunately we have no gerrymandering in Europe!
Fareed regreted that, "America does not have a parliamentary system like Europe's, in which one party takes control of all levers of political power – executive and legislative -". If one party wins, but doesn't get the majority vote, it has to form a coaltion with one party or more. Things don't always work smoothly in a coalition government.
Being elected to the house or senate is a job for life. It's time to go back to what the founding father's had in mind. Serve your country and then go home. Important point here being "serve your country" Ron Paul has authored numerous bills to set term limits, during his numerous terms:) Pitch forks and torches? Not as long as the average American is more concerned with what is happening on reality tv than in the real world.
Amen! Too bad legislators don't acknowledge they aren't supposed to be there for life. It used to be that Americans worked for a company until retirement...and that went away years ago, but not for legislators. change is definitely needed
As the GOP handlers have screamed from roof tops time and again...they manufacture wedge issues to create polarization to motivate non-voters to vote based on their personal bigotry
. . for one reason only . . they cannot get their candidates elected based on their merits.
Please spare us the BS. If the fact this country is spending trillions more than it takes in isn't a legit issue then there isn't one.
Unless you bother to look at actual data:
http://blogs.princeton.edu/mccarty/assets/gerrymander38.pdf
Hmmm...I read your link. Don't you think things have changed a bit in three years?
The reason that the US is becoming polarized is because of the leftist slant of the media....this article is a case in point.
Don't forget Fox News, and right wing radio. How about Rush Limbaugh? The right wing news organizations are just as bad as ABC/MSNBC. thats why most people actually watch CNN. It seems to be right down th emiddle between the wto.
Yeah, those all exist BECAUSE of the leftist media. In essence, liberals created their own monster.
@Military,
Sorry most people don't watch CNN. Fox is blowing all of them out of the water. Look at the ratings. Not saying its a good thing just a fact.
There has been a definite left wing slant to the majority of news outlets since the Vietnam war. This more than anything is the primary reason that there is polarization in American politics. Americans are tired of it, that's the main reason that Fox has captured such an audience. It's not rocket science here. Americans are ticked off at the liberals.
I believe that Fox gets higher ratings because a majority of conservatives tend to watch Fox to the exclusion of all other outlets. Everyone else splits between all the other networks. If you took the viewership of the so-called 'liberal' media – i.e. everyone but Fox – and confined it to a single channel....that channel would blow Fox out of the water.
http://people-press.org/2004/06/08/news-audiences-increasingly-politicized/
Jason, I believe that Fox gets higher ratings because a majority of conservatives tend to watch Fox to the exclusion of all other outlets. Everyone else splits between all the other networks. If you took the viewership of the so-called 'liberal' media – i.e. everyone but Fox – and confined it to a single channel....that channel would blow Fox out of the water.
http://people-press.org/2004/06/08/news-audiences-increasingly-politicized/
Actually that's a self-serving lie. You people are crazy. FOX news has dodged lawsuits over and over by admitting they are a joke and don't report actual news, and still you think you are watching the news. Rupert Murdoch gets rich off you and you never catch on.
Yep! And there are people out there that would like to see the USA fall and being so terribly divided is just the groundwork for that to happen. The devil we don't know might be worse than the one we do know.
I agree with that Barbara. There seem to be a design to this whole thing. The globalists seem to almost be delighted in America's current fiscal problems.
Obama is a far left Socialist who is trying to transform America through social programs that amount to re-distribution of wealth. Anyone that does not think so is kidding themselves. Obama needs to start being a leader and learn to compromise with this debt crisis and quit blaming everyone else and take some ownership. Thats what a true leader does- which he is NOT.
its funny how you think we have a SOCIALIST leader, our government is not set up that way, and in case you have forgotten republicans are just saying no to anything the guy suggests, and just don't want to agree to anything the black man says.
Oh, go suck a teabag, Cathy. You obviously have no idea what a Socialist is. Hint: Obama is not one.
What do you know about wealth, Cathy? You're nothing but a trailer trash tea bagger who won't go to the toilet without Limbaugh or Beck giving you permission. If anything, Obama needs to be more socialist. I voted for him as a fellow University of Chicago guy, and expected a University of Chicago plan. So far, it's been blocked by the know-nothing GOPtards. More socialism.
"Anyone that does not think so is kidding themselves." You suck so much.
As to what a socialist is there is much disagreement-The late great Kurt Vonnegut said that when it was first said that the church was a opiate for the masses it meant that it was a comforting soothing thing to the masses-but then others decided to twist the meaning knowing or not to that it meant the church was a degenerate habit and a problem and this became a reason to stamp out the church in communist countries etc and a driving force for us to not like them here in "god fearing America" So some of the founding socialists were very different than others in thinking so you have to state what it means to you. Kurt Vonnegut was a socialist who valued common decency extended to his fellow man regardless of differences in thought or belief system held.
DUH, because we have a black president!!!
Oh, so anyone that dislikes the President's policies only does so because he is black??? Hahaha, that's the best you can come up with? How about we disagree with his policies and think he is too liberal?
Cathy, Please name the Socialist policies of this president?
Obama is hardly a liberal. He is as centrist as they come and he will likely gain enough independent voters to take him to 271 electoral votes and the Presidency in 2012. The Republican leadership is terrified.
Cathy, so it's cool if his daughter marries your son? Of course you're a bigot, we can all read your posts. Hatemonsters like you are what this article's about.
I'll add to your barrage of identical replies and state that only loonies consider the President "far left".
SO TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, THE PROBLEM IS RADICAL REPUBLICANS. THE REASONABLE AND SOON TO BE THROWN OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE ON THEIR ASSES DEMOCRATS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
Oh this is hilarious on several levels. Hamilton and Jefferson got into arguments so heated about the banking system Washington had to physically separate them on several occasions. Banking regulation goes to the fundamentals of money and power and frankly if your not an extremist in one way or the other on this issue your ignorant and not paying attention or just a stupid sheep.
We need men of science to engage in the workings of government. Men of science cross parties, countries, and do not dwell, with political foresight, on issues and problems. Men of science work for the good of all and would offer a new perspective in the political arena.
Your solution would not necessarily work. Men of science are, well, men. Human beings. Just as susceptible to greed, bigotry, ego, lust, national prejudice, vanity and narrow mindedness as men of God or anyone else.
You idiot liberals are reading an opinion on the United States from "FAREED ZAKARIA". WAKE UP!
Fareed is totally out of touch with what most Americans really think!
The problem is we need term limits on the congressonal members. All congressional members take bribes from lobbyist and if your a republican its money from the wealthy contributers. Then when its time to represent the US supposedly then they are back to who ;they support.... We need term limits on congress. A reorg on this would solve many problems and stop the non representation of the USA people.
Make all the Fed.Hacks change jobs every six or seven years and keep them fresh,too.
You make a great point, but it's only part of a serious two-part (at least) problem. The second part that keeps the congress off track from the betterment of the country, is the uncontrolled political lobbyists allowed in Washington.
There has always been political extremes in the federal government. This is not new. The author of this article is missing a very basic point though – Democrats controlled Congress for decades, so you don't really HAVE to compromise when you control both houses of Congress! The real reason for the polarization is that conservatives have mostly moved to the Republican party and liberals have moved to the Democrats. When you have conservatives and liberals in the same party, there is an incentive to continue to compromise so that you don't lose power. Now that the diverging political views have moved to the respective parties, there is no reason to compromise. You don't have to look much further than that as the reason for this "new" polarization.
Fareed fails to acknowledge the real reason people are so divisive. It's the name calling. Think of how the media has portrayed the Tea Party movement, which if the media was honest in their reporting would be much more influential than it is now because they'd find they would agree with the Tea Party positions.
Whenever obama and the liberal media resort to name calling, that makes our nation more divided! duh! That is the ONLY reason our country continues down the path of divisions – it's not because OF the Tea Party. It's because of what happens TO the Tea Party.
Fareed knows he's liberal and is using this piece to go after conservatives. It's what CNN does. there's no honesty with CNN. they have an agenda – nothing more. Its why Fox News SOLIDLY BEATS them in every rating category there is.
Thank you Dennis for adding one more vocabulary word to my life. I had to Wikipedia the term. But is this even legal and within the confines(if there are any) of fair play in the political world?
I fail to understand what makes the tea party extremists!!! to my knowledge there primary interests are fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility and holding politicians and gov't responsible for their actions. What is extreme about these positions?
Doesn't matter really. Once the cake mix is fkd up there aint no fixin' it. The U.S. is one fkd up cake mix indeed.
Kill them all (dems and repubs), they are all snakes anyway and LET IT ALL BURN
Burn baby burn.
If history proves correct the next bunch of lords and ladies will be much more cautious in their thievery, leaving more than just crumbs on the floor for us. Then as time marches on it will all repeat itself again. Too bad we are living during the bad times and not the good, but then again, you ask the elders they will tell, the good ole' days weren't that good either.
Gerrymandering is wrong. All districts in all states need to be formed without politicization though I am not sure how that is best accomplished. Unless random selection is employed by a neutral machine, how is politicization avoided?
Obama is left of center and Boehner is certainly right, but the Tea Party is not in the middle! They are right wing extremists that are trying to bring the lost sheep back into the fold of the Republican Party. This was intended from the beginning. Their objective: to fool naive voters into believing that they had a new political party to represent them. The people of the true middle ground do not have a party label other than Independent. We are made up of former Republicans and Democrats alike. 2012 is near and we will be heard next year!
America; where the people who elect crooks,liar,and thieves will do nothing more than sit there and argue with each other rather than throw them all out...Zakaria knows this, all "journalist" know this, the only people who don't know this are the idiots who keep voting for any politician.
Not to mention the fact that it's become economically attractive to present just one side of an issue so that people never even hear ideas they might not agree with.
Yeah, Obama is clearly a "leftist". Like when he didn't close Gitmo. And when he didn't end either of our Wars. And when he didn't end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" via Presidential Signing Order. And when he supported Bush's TARP bailouts. Oh, wait. Those were all things Republicans wanted him to do. But hey, he's still Black, so he's clearly "Leftist".
I don't see how Gerrymandering can be seen as the problem. The argument Zakaria seems to be making is that polarization is a recent problem which has escalated in the past few years (this is also a popular position). Gerrymandering is a 200+ year old problem. It was the norm in any "good old days" you could possibly define in which we were less polarized, and therefore not the reason for the recent issue.
hell yea BL a great start
Why do we need a house of Rep. With todays ability for tax payers to vote on line. You have a SS # and pay taxes then vote once per month on issues. Dissolve the House or Reps. We no longer need them or the cost of their wasted time.
It seems to me Fareed is ignoring identical problems on the left. all his examples are the right. Yet the same problem exists on the left with insane people like Olberman pulling the same stunts as Limbaugh.
With one slight difference. I'm on the left and I don't know anyone who slavishly listens to Olberman. In fact, I can honestly say that most of us consider him just another part of the overall problem. Unfortunately, I know a lot of idiots who slavishly listen to Limbaugh. I find it telling that almost all my liberal friends question things before believing in them, then continue to question new aspects as they materialize, while Limbaugh's army just repeats his quotes like they represent some unassailable truth.
The people that are the puppets of Limbaugh are fanatics. I am aghast at some of the things he says; the individuals that listen and believe in what he says are crazy. There is no logical thinking kicking in there.
Every time I force myself (moderat, R leaning) to listen to the "Excellence In Broadcasting" network, AKA Rush Limbaugh, I find a paucity of facts and analysis. I find a guy acting like the ignorant sarcastic youth most of us once were, but magnified 10,000 times. I don't know how many real listeners he has, but I hope they are few. Glenn Beck totally lost me when I checked into some of his conspiracy theories and found them nothing more than mildly entertaining fictions. Shawn Hannity wastes all of his interviews on his own acrid voice rather than framing his guests' views. The only halfway honest and intelligent talking head on the right that I've seen is O'Reilly – and that doesn't mean he's always right or that everyone has to agree with him.
DJ: I agree with you. Followers of Rush are those who are willfully ignorant, even determinedly ignorant.
nice try but can you name just one a single person who has apologized to olberman??? no ... make the claim provide the evidence
I agree, Rush fans are blindly following him like sheep. He couldn't care less about anyone but himself. Anyone who listens to Rush i already know how they stand, how they think and how they will vote. They are about as sheepish and sad as anyone i've ever met. I am in the center. I despise extremes on both ends, they are not good for anyone but their interests
That's right....the self righteous conservatives of merica speak up again. It's their way or the highway.
Fareed couldn't see the forest for the trees. He is so left-driven right-blind that he is the last person who should write on polarization.
who should beverlee? are u actually disagreeing with what he said or just that the best examples of this are certainly from the right? sorry but the teabaggers are the prime example, its the best example to use.
Really Adam? He couldn't have mentioned the ridiculous amount of power that the unions have? The single largest contributor to the Democatic Party is the AFL-CIO and the party does it's bidding.
Unions are the middle class; they represent the last of the middle class. As union representation has fallen, so have wages. The last time the middle class got a raise that beat inflation was in 1973. Whether you like them or not, you have to admit that they at least fight for their members. Did you know that 7 of the 10 largest contributors to the last election where corporations, and they gave exclusively to the GOP? Why? Because for 40 years it has been the goal of the GOP to demonize unions in order to reduce membership and get rid of them so they can eliminate any voice of the middle class. They have almost succeeded. The wealthy have used their tax cuts to buy more influence in Washington, and to protect their interest at the expense of the middle class. The Tea Party is funded by the Koch Brothers, oil men, it is not a grass roots group at all. I've watched this process for 40 years and I'm amazed that “We the People” have allowed this to happen!
Beverlee, to criticize Fareed as "leftist" would be to forget that there are right-wing zealots like the Teabaggers. The problem is that BOTH sides have polarization groups, not just the right. It's no wonder politics have become more toxic in Washington. The political pendulum is in the center but then there are idealists/extremists on both sides that refuse to acknowledge that fact which is why both parties must work to win them over.
Unfortunately, this polarization of politics is going to hold all of us hostage and cause the economy to get worse than it already is as well as bring any kind of lawmaking to a halt. Not a way to run a country.
I agree that Fareed is a Globalist and that he does not really understand American Politics. There are a lot of us in the Center and we are not in the Tea Party! We just believe in balancing the budget and as many people paying taxes as possible and creating jobs.
Cathy, I am still laughing at your comment that there are "lot's of in the center". After reading a few of your posts you may be a centrist in Idaho or Alabama but in the rest of the country that makes you Tea Party material.
I don't like to cast Fareed into a political party. If I had to, however, I would cast him as center right. His ideology seems to be heavy on business and economics, and light on social/welfare. Additionally, he appears to enjoy tax cuts (for stimulus), even though he feels that additions in revenues are necessary for balancing the budget. Yes, he would like a national value added tax (5% if I remember), but one issue cannot paint a man to one side. Anyways, that was for R&D, which could be argued as a center goal.
So, based on his ideology, I paint him center right. His words against the Republicans are generally within the context of the lack of intelligence they are bringing to the table, and to their stubbornness to their ideals. This is not because they are idiots, but rather because they are holding on to their ideology in lieu of intelligent argument (there is intelligence in the ideology, and to do this sometimes, but not to this degree). Thus, I find Fareed annoyed with the congressional Republicans, but not republicans in general.
Thanks.
Sean: What 'identical problems on the left"?
The difference is that the left fights fair, and they fight for "we the people." We don't exploit hate, divide and conquer or make up elaborate lies like "'death panels."
And when Democrats get into office, we don't forget the people that sent us, and just start shaping the world to suit the Party's political advantage, 'the people" be damned.
There is absolutely no equivalence in the MO of the two parties.
But who can blame the Republicans: If they dropped the lies, distortion, the exploitation of hate, the divide and conquer, the tricks to deny Democrats their right to vote, their determination to silence unions, their determination to keep women barefoot and pregnant, out of the workforce, housebound and subservient to men, their determination to destroy education, keep young men stupid and docile, or their determination to kill our social safety nets for seniors and the poor – I f they told the truth about their plan to turn our democracy into a corporate fascist state, who would vote for them?
All Republicans have are lies, spin and tricks – like obstructionism and refusal to compromise, even when they're risking the country's reputation.
Don't try to equate their shenanigans with Democratic incompetence. Not the same thing.
LOL. Too much KoolAid. Neither side fights fair.
The Tea Party has been a monumental disappointment. Either it was an astroturf movement or it's been fully co-opted by big monied interests (Koch brothers, etc.).
But I also have trouble listening to Richard Trumka or other union activists and their baseless vitriole.
Elle,
Do you understand that your comments just aren't useful ? Do you get that ???????
Typical Liberal! Calling names, making ignorant statements with no facts to back up claims! Making generalizations about anyone that disagrees with them and then saying THEY don't fight fair? How about having a dialog and understanding that some people see the world differently than you!
Your point actually goes to show exactly why the right were the only ones pointed out. While Olberman may be the closest thing the left has to Limbaugh, they are in no way equivalent. How many Olberman is Right stickers, or some other equivalent to the Rush is Right sticker exist for someone on the left? Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck, Hannity, etc, the right has a slew of personalities that a large portion of America will blindly listen to as Gospel, and who wield huge amounts of power on the actual politicians that are running the country. If someone on the Right offends Rush, that can have huge negative implications for their future political career. A person on the left offending Olberman has little to worry about. That huge sway the right wing media has on directly affecting the current political landscape is a scary thing, as it means that an unelected official like Limbaugh holds more sway in national politics then the actual people that are chosen for office.
The founding fathers may have despised the concept of a party system, but they engaged in it with a fury. Indeed party politics shortly after independence was much more vicious than it is now.
It seems your essay is mainly attacking the right. I wonder if you would be as concerned about polarization if it was the left engaging in more aggressive political activity.
I really enjoy your show and many of the online articles in GPS, but it seems we differ in our political views.
Exactly. It seems Fareed is unaware that he is actually part of the problem here.
A former editor of the house organ of the Council on Foreign Relations can't help but be part of the problem.
Fareed and journalist like him are indeed a large part of the problem. Polarized networks, like this one (and others across the aisle) are a HUGE part of the problem. Wouldn't it be great if networks and newspapers would act in tn the common interest ?????? The idea of a right leaning or left leaning media outlet is pretty scary ....and it is now the norm.
Fareed is part of the problem! He blames the Tea Party rather then understanding that the Tea Party emerged as a result of a nation spending money out of control, a government growing too large and citizens upset about it. And not everyone that disagrees with Obama is in the Tea Party!
But that's just the point. The right has created an aggressive atmosphere and they act like bullies. There are idiots on both sides, but liberals, in general, are on the defensive all the time because conservatives act like rabid, angry dogs. Listen to the rhetoric of Limbaugh. Attack attack attack. What EVERYONE needs to do is stop listening to the extremists on either side.
There are plenty of online videos of lefties and their pets physically attacking Tea Party-type demos.
Well, you're going to have a hard time arguing that conservatives need to stop doing something that seems to be working for us. I personally like a more intellectual debate, but I will not try to stop political antics that are achieving what I believe to be good results.
Yeah it's the right that's always under attack...religion, marriage...oh and let's not forget about Christmas! LOL!
This "war on christmas" is nonexistent. Christmas season shopping starts earlier and earlier every year. Christmas sales have started to appear in early November – and in some cases – October. Christmas and its associated revenues are alive and well in America. Trust me, as an accountant I have seen some seen some of the books for retailers after christmas season.
Walter,
I have just finished reading "Burr" by Gore Vidal, which tells US history from 1776 to 1836 through the eyes of Aaron Burr (according to Gore Vidal's understanding). The villains are Thomas Jefferson, for organizing the first political party, and Alexander Hamilton, for creating an opposition party. Burr and Adams and others didn't like parties, but they arose and we've been stuck with them ever since.
Political Polarization...GONE WILD! Watch rich girls at the PAC phone center take off their shirts! And make LOOOOOVVVEEEE on camera! Uncensored! Uncut! Political Polarization GONE WILD!
Eliminate primaries and the wingnuts will have to compete with ordinary voters in the "instant" primaries that could easily replace them. Everyone is on the ballot, and you get to rank your choices. As it stands now, the only folks on the ballot are the ones the wingnuts elected in the primaries, and even wingnuts can tell the difference between a moderate pandering to the base and a true died in the wool fellow wingnut.
Finding some way to get rid of primaries (and parties in general) would be an incredibly positive step.
Capt'nObvious...I agree completely. I thing the whole system perpetuates teh pwoer structure and keeps both parties handing power back and forth for generations.
There was a time, several decades ago, when there existed conservative democrats and liberal republicans. Even moderates found homes in either party. Primaries might have worked better then. But in today's political world, where D = Left and R = Right, the center has no home and no primary to play in. Thus, the polar extremes rule the roosts (D & R).
Dont' forget the closed primary which has become more prevalent and only allows party members to vote in primaries. No independents or opposing party members allowed
Primaries are where Party policy and platform are decided. Why would you want to allow someone who isn't a member of your club to decide the rules of your club?
To the best of my knowledge, primaries are not where the party platforms are written – that's at the convention and by essentially faceless delegates and party functionaries. At the primaries, the parties put forth their lists of potential candidates to sound them out. For the most part, Republican leaning independents will gravitate towards Republican primaries, and likewise for Democratic primaries. Open primaries are a reality check for party leaders living in echo chambers and may result in candidates who can appeal beyond a limited base.
I feel the nation is divided because of how Bush II won his election in 2000. The corrupt Florida republicans cheated to ensure Bush would win. Our country started to downward spiral right after that. Bush hurt us more than Obama ever did, yet you have the culprits that helped Bush bankrupt us are now on the attack against Obama.
I completely agree and came to post the same thing! I haven't noticed a political divide as intense in our nation's history as has been seen in the last 10 years. I think it began with the 2000 election and the way Bush was put in office illegitamately in the minds of many. From that day, Democrats positions have been to adamantly oppose any Bush policy whether bad or good. Then Republicans returned the favor with Obama. The media has also helped, aided by the growth of a more social and interactive internet that wasn't there in the 1990s
And yet again another corrupted by the well liberal media. The Supreme Court decided the outcome, go and complain to them already. And given your blame Bush, Obama rocks posting, seriously you do not think for yourself. UGH this is why the media sucks.
Same Supreme Court that declared that corporations have the same rights to fund elections that individuals have. Unfortunately, corporations do not enjoy the same rights of punishment as an individual does. About all you can do is fine them, then they will litigate it until they are only paying pennies on the dollar for the fine, or have it dropped altogether. Everyone keeps talking about having skin in the game. I think that if a corporation wants the same rights as a citizen, the CEO should serve as a stand in for the physical body & be subject to incarceration for corporate malfeasance.
Huh? Even the unashamedly liberal New York Times investigation acknowledged that Dubbya won the election in Florida.
The myth of the "liberal media" is long gone. The NYT was very involved in our invasion of Iraq. Your outlook on the media is soooo 1970's!
You are so right. That was the day democracy died. The winner became the loser and the rest is history.
The country's been on a downward spiral since the 1960s, when "reform" of the immigration laws ensured ethnic/racial balkanization and a future minority status for whites.
we really need to stop the blame game and focus on what's best for the country. the party be dammned.
K3Citizen...Except that two independent auditing agencies verified the counts and found that the outcome was legitimate. Ultimately the SCOTUS made the ruling, but the vote was not fraudulent. That is nothing more than another ridiculous conspiracy theory foisted by those who were po'd that GWB won.
The answer in 2 words is -- Nancy Pelosi!
That's just dumb.
That's just ignorant.
You guys seriously think Nancy Pelosi hasn't been a force of division even in her own party? Please. Her insistance on her way and unwilliningness to compromise was the chief reason that Health Care Reform was held up in Congress for so long. Lest you forget, the Dems controlled BOTH houses of Congress and couldn't get much of anything done and blamed the moinority Republicans for the hold up. Yes, but teh Tea Party is to balme. Please.
In any household, polarizaton between spenders and savers "goes wild" when debt gets out of control. There's nothing at all surprising about any of this.
Priori, did you know that the US (counting all levels - federal, state, local) has the lowest taxes (as % of GDP) of any "first world" nation? (And this according to the conservative Heritage Foundation.) If something's out of balance, it's the low level of taxes collected.
... Hi Dan... What you say goes a long way toward explaining why so many "1st world" countries are in horrific financial states. It hardly bears considering that heavier government taxation of the profit-creating sector would lead toward greater financial solvency.
Our problem is revenue; we have the lowest revenue since the 1950's. This is due to the Bush tax cuts. Taxes, in general, are a problem because they have been cut too deeply. Tax cuts do not create jobs, demand creates jobs, and demand means spending.
1. Tax revenue is at its lowest level since 1950
This year, federal taxation will take up less than 15 percent of total national economic activity. That’s the lowest level in 60 years. In fact, total revenue as a share of gross domestic product has now been under 15 percent for three straight years—the first time that has happened since before World War II.
20.4 percent – 1945
14.4 percent – 1950
20.6 percent – 2000
14.8 percent – 2011
Sources: Office of Management and Budget
2. The U.S. has much lower taxes than other developed countries
Out of more than 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the United States ranks fifth from the bottom in total taxes paid to all levels of government, as a share of GDP. Total government revenue in the United States is nearly 25 percent lower than the average OECD country.
Denmark – 49.3 percent
UK – 35.8
Canada – 33.1
United States – 26.9 percent
Mexico- -18.4 percent
Sources: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development
The solution?
Simply return the tax rates to their normal level, cut waste, eliminate tax loopholes for the wealthy and big business, and our problem will be solved.
Yea, but in a household, there is the possibility of divorce. How can we divorce the mess we have ruining the country now?
Democratic approach: get a high salary (raise taxes/revenue for gov) and run up a large bill
Republican approach: get a low paying job (cut taxes/revenue for gov) and still run up a large bill (see approx $9T of the debt belonging to last 3 GOP Presidents)
Fareed, can't say I agree with you. You're mainly a globalist with semi-conservative views and the tea party doesn't fit into your CFR agenda regarding globalization. What about all the wackos on the left side of the spectrum that aren't in the mass media daily? Oh yeah, that's right, because CNN and MSNBC have a liberal bias. Really dude watch some other news stations and you will see what I am talking about. CNN is always parading gays, dragging down the tea-party, and pandering to mainly liberal audience, especially since Lou Dobbs left. Youre no different than Fox News, CNN.
Glad you enjoy the right wing propaganda on Faux News!
And, someone needs to drag the Tea Party down!
The myth that illegal aliens only hold jobs that American workers won’t do is just that — a myth. Recent studies estimate that 20 percent of cooks, 25 percent of construction workers, 22 percent of maids and housekeeping personnel, and 25 percent of groundskeepers are illegal aliens. In addition, 40 percent of illegal aliens are visa overstays, many of whom take high-end jobs from Americans.
When fast-food company Chipotle was audited and hundreds of its illegal workers were fired, American citizens lined up the next day for a chance to work at those jobs. . .
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data from last year show that 98.3 percent of employees were confirmed as work-authorized instantly or within 24 hours using E-Verify. A 2009 report by research firm Westat found that those eligible to work are immediately confirmed 99.5 percent of the time.
E-Verify is free, very accurate and reduces paperwork for American businesses.
Please put your efforts into helping the truly down and out Americans. Please put your efforts in helping mothers, fathers, teenagers find work. There are generations of families who cannot compete with the under the table dealings of illegal’s and have gone out of business. Fax your representative today. Faxes and calls work and are free at Numbers…..(look it up and just do it!)
Thank you Holly. I think most people still labor under teh delusion that illegals are only migrant farmers who pick cantelopes in Txas and cotton elsewhere - which IS a job most Americans won't do, but is hardly reflective of which jobs illegals are actually doing.
Fearmongering. Both parties do it, and the fear just pushes the decided farther apart and the undecided farther into a corner.
Fareed is an 'advisor' to Obama. When the radical Obama fails, time to spin the fault as that of partisan Republicans.
He's about as radical as Nioxon, you fool!
Groups like the Tea Party love media attention. Turn the camera's off and they go somewhere else or shut up. The Tea Party doesn't just disagree with the left, they hate them to their very core. Never before has there been so much hate towards fellow Americans. Is it a coincidence the Tea Party has never before been so powerful?
FAREED IS A GLOBALIST!
And your point is???
Lynn –
Your comment displays that you actually do not even know anything about the Tea Party and you have actually depended on the liberal media to get your information. Gee thanks media for helping the divide. Lynn do yourself a favor, actually look up what the TPM stands for.
The Tea Party stands for the status quo until a black man is elected president.
Some serious projection going on here.
It's a real challenge to outdo the obsession lefties have for Tea Party types, or for conservative whites in general. They really do genuinely despise them. It's amazing how much emotional capital they've invested in this anti-white hatred.
anti-white? More like anti-everything!
Yes, but it's an obsession based on fear. Tehy pose a threat to the hegemony of teh traditional parties, so of course tehy are demonized. I can't say that I agree with many of of them, but soem people really need to step bac and take a serious look at why many people in the press and both major parties hate them.
Ha, anti-white. This article hinted at nothing of the sort, and most of the people you are speaking with are white. The fact that you even brought it up shows that you have some issue with the White race, whether it is a feeling of superiority or inferiority.
Maybe since you mentioned it on CNN they will do a story on the plight of the White Man.
Fareed, not everybody has a globalist agenda like you. Don't be mad because of that.
Personal attack example of Fareed's opinion....
I agree with Fareed's points, but he's part of the problem.
"4) Political polarization has also been fueled by a new media, which is also narrowcast."
This is 100% spot on, and even Fareed is culpable by providing examples of what's wrong with Washington by using only examples from the right. Shame. Lead by example Fareed.
gee captn ... it is rather obvious that the polarization is happening on the right ... can you name any democrats who are running to communism (may be a bad example as you may believe anyone to the left of limbaugh is a commie but for reasonable people it is a good example)
Communism? What? I'm not talking about communism.
One needs only look back at Bush's term to see insane polarization coming from the left. (General "Betrayus"...yeah that guy that Obama later tapped to lead the effot in Afghanistan and now the Defense Dept)? Face it. If you believe one side or the other is the only one with a polarization problem, then you yourself are polarized and part of the entire problem with American politics.
Are you suggesting that Rush is next to a commie? The shame!
could we return to an intelligent discussion instead of babble?
I agree... many more people showed up, on average to anti-war protests, than they did to tea-party rallies. The media rarely and barely covered anti-Bush or anti-war rallies. The gave a disproportionate amount of media coverage to the Tea-Party. The Tea-Party is still in the very small minority, yet they still get way to much attention paid to them... especially when you consider that they are a fringe group in the grand scheme of things.
Fareed's bias is transparent. How can these journalists write pieces like this ...are they oblivious ? Seriously – what is the root motivation to write a piece on polarization ...in a polarizing manner ??? This really is odd behavior ...or is it just plain old hypocritical business as usual ?
I really think CNN has fallen off the map as a news organization. Globalist/progressive/liberal bias at its best. That's why they hate the tea party.
Or maybe it is because any sane American can see that they don't agree with their insane anti-tax, anti-government message.
Yes, keep throwing around those words you probably don't even know what they mean. Wear them out until they are meaningless. Keep attacking the straw man! Just keep labeling people. That will work out...
JMK–
What is weird in your own original posting you talk about the problem being laziness, YET you then complain about the Tea Party Movement saying such things that are not entirely correct. So maybe you should stop being lazy yourself and actually read up about the real purpose of the Tea Party Movement. They are not anti-tax, they are anti-new taxes, they are not anti-Government, they are anti-BIG Government. See I just had to correct you when you could have done that yourself. You did not, because you are lazy yet you complain about people being lazy.
Hummm, is that what the Tea Party is all about. Doesn't sound so unreasonable, and I'm a democrat. I would like to add to that platform, leave the debt ceiling where it is. Due to jobs that don't pay what they used to the government has less income and a serious spending problem. Fareed has addressed this in past commentaries, but only a few listened.
So very true. Every day they push the liberal agenda.
Remember how long they ran with that "sissy"-boy story? jeez.
The problem isn't primaries and gerrymandering. The problem is laziness. The American people don't pay enough attention to politics to care. Why do the moderate Americans registered with a party let the crazies take over? Laziness/apathy. If gerrymandering is to blame, why is the Senate becoming more politicized (there are no districts to gerrymander)? Plus, in order for a Republican to be elected in a solidly Democratic district (or vise versa), wouldn't they have to appeal to the center to win and thus be moderate? Wouldn't that encourage more moderation?
sorry, not buying it. Proponents of this recent "vicious politics" theory need to check their history. One only needs to attend the Lincoln Museum in Springfield IL to see how nastily the democrats treated him. There was no love lost. The examples the author gives are just a little one sided since they only seem to be republicans "not moving to the center". What a crock.
GOP-er's really shouldn't rush to claim the Lincoln mantle, as he set the stage for the loathsome overreach of federal power we have today.
Back then, the Dems were the anti-statists, and they were right to rake Abe over the coals.
You criticize the Tea Party for it's purity? You'd rather see compromise as opposed open and honest dedication to those principles which a group believes is right? Perhaps instead of criticizing others for their integrity you should take a look at those principles which they defend and attack them directly if you disagree.
Try looking at gridlock as the country's defense mechanism against bad policy and poor decisions instead of as a flaw. Maybe that's why nothing gets done in Washington...
There was a turtle and a scorpion who met at the Suez Canal. The scorpion asks the turtle to let him ride on his back so he could get across the canal. The turtle says he will do it if the scorpion doesn't sting him. The scorpion promises not to sting the turtle. Half way across the canal the scorpion stings the turtle and as both are sinking under the water the turtle asks why did you sting me now we are both going to die. The scorpion replies...this is the Middle East. This entire debt debate sort of reminds me of that story.
The MEDIA!!!! Because of the internet, everyone now has a voice, the Media will not present all facts, it presents slanted truths and people are too lazy to go and research anything these days. The Media knows they have more control than ever before. I cannot even stand to watch the cable news channels as they are pathetic and actually what sickens me even more, sure Fox News admits it does have a bit more of a conservative slant, it admits it, but liberal media is in such deep denial of their own liberal slant which makes for really bad reporting and journalistic skills. I want a media outlet that is in the middle and reports about both sides the negatives and the positives and does not slant things or hide things or avoid reporting things.
Fox has a bit more of a conservative slant. Kinda like saying sharks have a few more teeth then other creatures. Stop blaming the media for all of our ills. I think that currently people make up their mind and then find a media outlet that reinforces them.
People used to speak of the "art of politics". But if you Google "art of politics" and "game of politics", "art" gets 370 thousand "hits" while "game" gets 1.8 million. In art there there is stuff you like and stuff you don't like, but the existence of one does not diminish the other - there are no real winners or losers, just some works that are appreciated more than others. In a game, however, there must always be a score, with a winner and a loser.
Let's get back to the art of politics.
Why is it so necessary that everyone be in the absolute center? From both the left and the right has come some pretty crazy, radical, and insanely liberal ideas like Worker's Rights, Women's Suffrage and the Civil Rights Act. There's something to be said for not riding the fence. It's OK to take a side and stand by it. You'd be historically in some good company.
Those are all ideas largely promoted by lefties. Like gay marriage and ending DADT.
Surely you must concede they're good ideas ... unless you don't think women should be allowed to vote because it might offend someone. Honestly, I'm more afraid of a country run by moderates than I ever will be of radical groups.
To compromise in politics often means betraying what one truly believes in. I don't want those type of people representing me.
Amen
Sounds like an excellent way to have the political system self destruct.
Why is it integrity to take a stand and hold it without any recognition that one might be wrong. We don't always have it right. If we had been more willing to confront that view, we might have stopped Bush going to war against a toothless Iraq that had no WMDs and overspent, putting us where we are now, economically speaking.
So again, where is the benefit in holding to a position blindly?
Litmus test are today the hallmark of the right. Moderate Republicans are a dying breed, whereas fairly conservative Democrats like Ben Nelson and Heath Shuler do quite well. The Democratic Party is not controlled by a mob of Dennis Kucinichs. In fact, nobody takes an emotional liberal seriously.
Nice try, Fareed, trying to strike balance for the purpose of this post. But one party has repeatedly expressed a willingness to compromise in the face of reality, and the other has not. You mentioned the Tea Party. There is no equivalent to them on the left.
Not buying it. There's no way a centrist Democrat would make it past the primaries in say Pelosi's district.
Pelosi's district = local politics. Same could be said of lots of right-wing districts in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, ....
The Tea Party is a national-level leash on the GOP. There is no equivalent on the left.
That's exactly Fareed's point. All these silly local districts with extreme views on the right and the left are providing lifetime jobs to extremist politicians.
As for national left leaning groups, try Sierra Club, NEA, NOW, Teamsters....
Don't worry, the right has more than the Tea Party...NRA, Right to Life....
To #@* with all of them.
Sorry, I left off the most egregious, and perhaps the one most directly correlated to the Tea Party: moveon.org.
you do realize that without the progressive take over in 2008, the tea party would have never existed right?
it was all that anger and aggression that created the very division you are talking about. Maybe if Obama had been a bit more humble and more compromising in this posture, none of this would have happened. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, so we all must experience the consequences.
Agent4, you realize that without the massive "soft money" spending by the Koch brothers and other filthy rich right-wingers the Tea Party would never have existed, right?
Dan, it seems very easy for you to overlook the money obama gets from the George soros'and GE and other Corporations along with the unions, who have their own liberal agendas. The Dems have had control for over 4 years in congress. They couldn't even pass a budget when they had the presidency, and both houses. Face it Dan you are backing losers.
Hey CNN, can you get some columnists who actually know anything about the history of politics in our country? LOL @ this donkey and his assertion that only recently did our country become really polarized.
Sorry Fareed. But you are incorrect. The reason our nation is divided is because there are still people in America that were raised with a good moral compass, and then there are people that were raised by parents that gave their kids everything so they could get quit whining. Unfortunately, those whiny kids never grew out of their child-like tantrums and they became liberals. Thank god for some parents that still have good skills in curbing child-like behavior before their kids become whiny adults.
Couldn't agree more. The sad part is Fareed and CNN will get thumped by the public on this piece but they won't care. They don't get it! CNN and liberals are mean, nasty, and just not that bright. They believe because they've hijacked the education system they can look down on the rest of America.
They'll learn the hard way!
A big part of the problem is the media. Take this article for example. It is labeled as political polarization but only shows problems with the right wing which is the tea party and or the republicans instead of congress as a whole. Fox, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Rush etc... are pushing people to one side or the other and then they report on it. This causes the divide to become larger and larger.
Secondly, the government is to large and out of control in every way possible. Lets temporarily stop the handouts to the world, cut back the billions of wasteful spending in our own country and then look at what needs to be handled first.
Thirdly, set consecutive term limits and give no retirement. Get paid while you are there working and no more. Getting elected to congress has become a get rich quick scheme. Instead of getting the best, we often get the smoothest talker who wants to line his or her pockets.
100% agree. Fareed is part of the problem here. Love the term limits. We need this, but which career politician would ever support such an idea??
Political Polarization? What we have is the Rich and Powerful funding the destruction of a Presidency and they do not care who gets in the way. Are you retired living on Medicare and SSA? Are you in a care facility where they have robed you of everything so you are dependent on Medicaid? This has become a Class War not a political war and they will use every trick in the book to turn brother against brother.
YES...my thoughts exactly. The Tea Party types are unwitting shills for the rich and, sady, they don't seem to have a clue that they are only hurting themselves.
Ron, Exactly how many Rich people do you see at Tea Party events? Mostly you see Sr. Middle class people who realize we can't keep going down this path. Fact: We are Broke, Fact: We are up to our ears in debt. Fact: Our current president has done nothing to improve our economy. We have more people on food stamps and unemployment than any time in our history. With out a return to sound economic principles this country has very little hope and the change obama promised will be all bad.
It began with Gingrich and continues today with other idiots such as Cantor, Boehner and the entire Tea Party. Gingrich's Contract on America was the first step and it's been an uphill battle ever since. Things might have gone a little easier had the Press not joined ranks with the RNC to promote their peculiar brand of ignorance, but journalists today aren't much better than the politicians they parrot. You won't find a single original thought in the either bunch.
BAN-ALL-LOBBYING-THEN-SEE-WHAT-HAPPENS.
There would be no reason to be a politician if you did that.
The Founding Fathers assumed that only intelligent white men would run the country.
If they saw what their nation had degenerated into, to a man they'd call for scrapping the whole mess and starting over.
Moron alert!!
It's really broad-based and cultural not just political. Look at religion–divisive and adversarial. Sports–ditto. To me it boils down to the cause of all suffering from the orthodox Buddhist perspective: namely individuals' ignorance as to what causes suffering combined with a lack of applied not just preached lovingkindness. We can't have peace and a cooperative culture without peace from within.
Mr Zakaria,
agreed with one exception. Democratic party remains diverse, with far left liberals, centrists and even conservatives from the South. The power of TP comes from huge gaps in our political system they exploit to the max with their minority status, and from uninformed Americans that support it's delusional policies without understanding them!
They don't understand they work for us. That's the reason we have to get rid of everyone next election. We need mature people in office to take care of people's business, not party's business, or special's group business....
well said. Let's do it!
Pretend your are on a paddle boat – and you are the only person paddeling – EVER!! When 1/2 half of the people are paying/paddeling – and the other 1/2 don't pay/pedal – and they don't even appreciate the job you are doing (because you aren't paddeling fast enough) – I've become polarized...
The problem with your paddling is that you're listening to Fox News while you paddle.
At what point in history does it make sense to reexamine the fundamental basis for our democracy. In this age where communication is instantaneous, does it still make sense to be ruled by a mechanism designed over 200 years ago. Especially when that system is failing us so badly. I think it is time to put the brainwashing from high school civics aside and to start reworking how America is governed. We cannot continue down this disastrous path.
Why has the polarization become worse? That is the aim and the design of Washington insiders. As long as the public is duped by the two party system and is fractured...the longer government can go on with their plan to place us as just another country within the new world order
Power is the problem; who's got it, who wants it. The lies being told are to keep the silient majority at bey.The middle of the road Republicans and the middle of the road Democrats are considereably closer than the far right and the far left.
We need three political parties, forcing a power broker situation, as in England. The lefties, socialists; the moderates (middle of the road Republicans and Democrats), and the far right extremists (Tea Party).
The next election will weed out the Teabaggers. Americans have had it up to their ears with pledges and tantrums.
Whaddya expect from no experience, little vision or ability to prioritize, no national consensus buidling background? Are you really surprised the country is drifting, unemployment and debt rising, heated opinions and agitation increasing? Face it supporters of an "outsider", the man doesn't have enough mojo to get the job done and is resorting to divisive tactics. This outcome was predicted on the left by Hillary and the right by Romney, for example.
Isn't it a travesty when people charged with governing our country listen to the ranting of a moron like Rush Limbaugh?
Fareed missed one vital point: There's a black man in the white house.
While it is true that not all Republicans are racist, it is equally true that pretty much all racists vote either Republicans or Tea Party, if they vote at all. This has fomented a divide that will never be bridged easily. I still remember seeing one of the last civil war vets on TV in the early 60's (on You Asked For It...) and the race problems that this country suffers from have been exacerbated by the current political reality of the ethnicity of the President of the United States of America.
Talk amongst yourselves(!)
Pretty much all anti-white "racists" vote Dem.
True enough; point taken. Not laying blame, just stating the fact(s)
Roy. Do any of those "anti-white racists" you mention have a prominnent radio show that brings a lot of influence to bear on leftist politics? Just asking.
What's with the focus on this radio show, or that one?
Most of the MSM and academia peddle the theme of the eternally guilty white male, my dear.
Elle – no, they have the WHOLE rest of the media – they don't need 1 or 2 radio shows when they have ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, Hollywood, etc, etc, etc
DataBoy, To imply that all racists vote Republican is so ludicris. 98% of Blacks vote democrat, 70% plus of Mexicans vote democrat. The fact is there is plenty of racism in this country. But you seem to imply that only whites are racists. Please take your lips off your crack pipe and open your eyes to reality of your surroundings.
You're right (except for the crack pipe part) there are black racists and white racists. It's just that, numerically, there are a pazillion more white racists than black citizens, and they are overwhelmingly republican/teaparty. Really, crack notwithstanding.
What else not discussed here is jesus zealots. Repubs have done a great job of convincing the religious right that they are in step with their social values...even knowing a true republican believes in few social concerns. The true repubs are for less taxing and less government to assist extreme capitalism...but they have almost brainwashed all social conservatives that they are on the same team. Since on one side we see these extreme jesus zealots aligning on the right all that oppose on the left look extreme...thus highly polarized views are in the mainstream on issues that have little todo with bigger concerns.
I think the extreme polarization started when Ted Kennedy demonized Robert Bork and blocked his appointment to the Supreme Court on purely political grounds.
You're kidding, right? Robert Bork?? The same Robert Bork who "supported the rights of Southern states to impose a poll tax),and his stated desire to roll back civil rights decisions of the Warren and Burger courts"???
No, seriously, you must be kidding. Right?
Bork supported the rights of Southern states to impose a poll tax and his stated desire to roll back civil rights decisions of the Warren and Burger courts. Bork is one of only three Supreme Court nominees to ever be opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union, along with William Rehnquist and Samuel Alito. Bork was also criticized for being an "advocate of disproportionate powers for the executive branch of Government, almost executive supremacy", most notably, according to critics, for his role in the Saturday Night Massacre.
The same Robert Bork that did Nixon's dirty work and fired the prosecutor in the Watergate scandal.
For the answers to your questions of why and when, think back to how those like you on the left acted and talked during the Bush administration.
"Here's why: America does not have a parliamentary system like Europe's, in which one party takes control of all levers of political power – executive and legislative – enacts its agenda and then goes back to the voters.".........................................
Translation: America is a republic and not a democracy. If we want democracy we will have to get rid of the Senate, the Supreme Court and the Electoral College. Our system of government was set up by reactionaries for reactionaries. Those "founding fathers" were Indian killing slave owners.
Interesting POV. I've lived under a parliamentary system too, and I think people were generally much more ambivalent because it seemed pretty much hopeless to effect meaningful change. One great thing about this republic is that things are pretty much guaranteed to change hands early and often, as opposed to the staid one-way (or worse, minority) governments that seem to come out of the parliamentary democracies.
Reading the replies here is deeply depressing. It seems that voters are as radicalized as the politicians. Everyone wants it all their own way like little children. If we can't compromise, and call everyone who doesn't agree with us an extremist (right or left), there isn't much hope for the future. Nothing will get done. I hope there is still a silent majority of Americans who are waiting for a chance to get rid of the political fundmentalists. The country does best when it's ruled from the center. This is the lesson from history.
"Political polarization has also been fueled by a new media, which is also narrowcast." This is the nail on the head. The media outlets are so slanted to either the left or right that its hard to get the truth withough reading/listening to both sides and then figuring out where the middle is to get the real story.
Excellent point. Alas we all hear pretty much what we want to hear, and there's generally a touch of false equivalence in both directions ("they did this, so I can do that...")
But to your point, just wait until the effects of Citizens United kick in high gear...2012 is going to be on S***t-storm of an election year.
Citizens United already kicked in. Why do you think the Republicans won everything in 2010?
If you look at polls of all citizens, the country was almost equally split in 2010. It was only the extreme campaign spending of corporations that were able to get a higher percentage of conservative voters to actually vote.
You've already seen the last of honest elections in this country. Yeah free market! (not)
Or the big Union (read as corporate) spending of groups like the NEA, etc. Why else do you think the demos won in the previous term. Sorry dude it goes both ways.
Attaboy to your name Databoy-I am envious it's too cool.
All of them now work for a political party or are being blackmailed by a new one, by the people and for the people no longer exist.
Would that be a new party tired of the same old ways? Change never came, except record debt.
America has gone too far in immorality and normal people feel repulsive about it. How about splitting the nation into two? See which one will prosper. The godly one with true freedom!
Its amazing about democrats, They say if a man dislikes a White politician its because of his politics BUT if they dislike a Black politician its because he is Black, It has nothing to do with his politics. I dislike Obama because he is a Lousy president for the times we are living in, Hes the wrong man for the Job right now, America is in the worse mess its ever been in and he has only made it worse. The truth is There doesn't seem to be the right man anywhere these days, But Obama has proven thru the last 3 years he is not the man we need!
There has been ONE constant in politics – the wealthy, whether Dem or Repub, have been in control. And they have increasingly failed and are bringing America to its knees. Not all wealthy people are corrupt, but with few exceptions those who make it to and in Washington are. Whether Dem or Repub, they are about themselves first. Not We the People, not America. Want REAL change? Consider bypassing what the purchased media sells you about candidates and seek out candidates (they are out there) from the middle class. The Internet now enables this. The wealthy have had LOTS of chances and keep blowing it in government leadership positions.
Gee...way to go and be totally partisan about the whole problem. Of course, this could be just part 1 and part 2 slamming the Left, Liberals, Democrats will be coming out tomorrow, right? Right? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Politics has become more polarized in this country because the people have become more polarized. Thirty, forty years ago, there were of course differences of opinion among the populace but there was a definite majority which by and large shared the same basic values and the same basic vision for our country. That's no longer true. We have two definite subgroups out there – liberals and conservatives – who have drastically different values and visions for our nation's future. the only solution is compromise.
the problem is republicans have turned into Nazis and the democrats have turned into Communist; it started uner Johnson
This started the minute a black man won the office of President by popular vote. Remember during the Bush reign, you couldn't even speak up against any of the regime's acts lest you be beaten down as anti-American and a terrorist sympathizer. If this is the way Republicans want to drive the nail into the coffin of a once great nation...do it. We'll rebuild from the ashes.
America, if it's not careful, will destroy itself from within. The insane amount they spend on weapons systems, as if there's iminent challenge from outside, is a waste. The threat will come from within. And the more mitigating events occur, like deficit issues, challenge to their military and economic might, the wider the fissures from within. And the faster the collapse.
Great societies, from Rome to Great Bitain, eventually fall. But not always from outside threat. Sometimes, it's from the not so obvious.
I think the images both parties use to represent them says it all.
On one side you have the elephant in the room, on the other a gang of asses.
Anyone who thinks highly charged political rancor in Washington is a recent thing has either a poor grasp of history, or is looking at their childhood-era politics with rose-tinted glasses.
In Mr. Zakaria's case I think it is a little bit of both.
As for why it seems so much worse recently, it's not gerrymandering that's creating these divisions. It's you, Mr. Zakaria, and the rest of the 24-hour news cycle.
It's the fact that the media gives more attention to a group of 3500 activists than it does the ten thousand citizens who would prefer a more moderate candidate but are simply too busy to make signs and camp out on the streets.
The tea party question is not a answer, it is a question. I have attended two because my 80 year old father who served in wars and 30 years in the military asked me. These 60-70-80 and 90 year old vets and their wives are wack jobs and bad for the country? Faraad, you are wrong as ususal. These people want smaller government. I am not a Republican or Tea Party member, but I love my dad and I lstened to his friends. The can do math. 1.65 trillion x 10 is basic math. It equals 16.5 trillion dollars and when you add that to 14.5 trillion dollars you have a 20 trillion dollar deybt. Am I wrong? I think these old men see this country's demise in less then 10 years. As years. As you know there is no mathmatical equation that can fix that problem, unless you do serious cuts . At least cut 1.05 trillion that the Dems created and fix the take code and add the 800 billion in loopholes the Reps suggetsted. That way you start paying on the debt almost 200 billion a year.. Nice, huh? Sorry, many Federal jobs will have to be cut, but that is the way it goes. I work for a college. I know the utterly terrible waste the department of Transportation and other money spent gets wasted. They by million and billion of equipment, with no RR budget and it NEVER gets used because the people who have the money, spend it so fast, no one uses their brane.
Anyone who thinks political rancor in Washington is a new thing either has a poor grasp of history or is looking at the politics of their youth with rose-colored glasses.
It only seems worse now because the 24-hour news media gives more attention to 3500 activists than it does the tens of thousands of citizens who would prefer a more moderate candidate but don't have time to make signs and camp out on the streets.
It's the media's fault. Instead of reporting on the objective facts, they report on the new, big, flashy, things because that draws viewers. Viewers are influenced by what they see, and either say "yeah, that's a good idea" or "those people are F'ng nuts" and it creates this cyclical problem. The thing is, propaganda is effective because it is constant and in the mass media, creating a perception of normalcy. It's not effective because it's put out by the government, but because it appears that the people around you believe something. Oh well.
Anyone who thinks political rancor in Washington is a new thing has a poor grasp of history or is simply looking at the politics of their youth with rose-colored glasses.
It only seems worse now because the 24-hour news media gives more attention to 3500 activists than it does the thousands of citizens who would prefer a more moderate candidate but don't have time to make signs and camp out in the streets.
Fareed Zakaria is the man! So insightful, hopeful, and even-handed. I hope lots of people pay attention to him.
Here's the problem. Forty percent of the voting american public are total morons. These are people so steeped in greedy rationalization and religious irrationalization, that they cannot see how the right-wing is moving this country into armageddon. They are fat people (mentally, often physically and spiritually) The end times aren't here yet, but if the Tea Party gets their way, they are coming soon. Now all they need is a charismatic Herbert Hoover to seal the deal.
Maybe if there was not so much money and power concentrated in one place that would make a diffence. The bigger the government, the bigger the arguments. Perhaps if the power was decentralized there would not be one monopoly government trying to figure out what was best for us with our money.
Open up primaries.These used to be open to independent voters, and even voters from the other side. That introduced a moderating influence in the candidate selection, and we used to have a much more stable set of people in office who weren't so blindly driven by ideology. Unfortunately, now primaries in most states are closed to the general voting public, and open only to the idelogicially pure party faithful who decide to register. As a result, we end up usually having to choose between two nut jobs, neither of whom would have stood a chance in general elections 30 years ago.
The GOP has been pulled so far to the right, they call Obama liberal, when in fact his own party has been condemning him. He is the most centrist president we've seen in recent times.
Do any of you folks need more proof why is it critical that we get both of these parties out of office?
Two words: Term Limits.
Another party would be useful.
Most people in the world have no real comprehension of how the government that they live under actually works. America's government is especially complicated with the division of powers, bureaucracy, and hundreds of volumes of law. How can we expect the American people to understand government when they would rather watch Dancing with the Stars instead of CSPAN?
IMPLOSION AHEAD
Here's a good, thought-provoking read, that hits the proverbial....
The Enemy is Washington
An Economy Destroyed
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
July 22 / 24, 2011
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts07222011.html
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury, Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal, and professor of economics in six universities. His latest book, HOW THE ECONOMY WAS LOST, was published by CounterPunch/AK Press. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com
The cultural marxists trying to shove their ideology down everyone's throats is why we're here.
Perception is an individual sense and as our President said "Elections have consequences".
Whether right or wrong, we'll not know who's correct until November of next year.
Maybe those that woke last November made to the election results a fluke, but most likely it was the tip of an enormous iceberg.
I believe it's because that is how you make $. When the senator yelled, "You Lie" to the president he immediately raised over a million $. Unfortunately you don't raise money for being logical and rational. You have to be controversial in order to get press coverage. Look at Palin... she gets more press than Vice Pres Biden and many other senators combined.
I agree with Fareed about the need for structural change in the US. But with respect I believe he is overlooking a more fundamental and structural problem that exists in US society – ignorance. Sadly the US has dropped to 20th place in the UN listing of countries with the best education, slighlty ahead of Lithuania. Americans are less intelligent and less informed about public affairs at any time in their history. President Obama has recognized this and made education one of his priorities.
This drop in knowledge and understanding has resulted in people having a more simplistic understanding of complex issues such as the economy and has allowed right wing GOP candidates (Palin, Bachmann, Tea Partieirs -etc.) and right wing bully pundits (Limbaugh, O'Reilly etc.) to present a "pure" but simplisitic solution to every problem. For example, that only a reduction in spending will solve America's deficits and national debt.
Because these simplistic policies are simple, they are easy to glob onto because they do not take much thinking to absorb or support. As a result America is faced with these intransigent adherers we now see in the GOP and the Tea Party. When their simplistic thinking is challenged they become annoyed and defensive and rather than justify their policies they blame the President or liberals or progressives.
This is a classic case where KISS (Keep it simple stupid) continues to perpetuate stupidity.
This article dances around the core issue . The formation of the tea party is a result of total fear; the fear of equal share that could be induced my a black president. This is a threat to the so called “superior and supermacy” of this soceity. It’s not about big governament and spending – if spending was the case then the tea party should have formed and protested during the eight years of the Bush administration. It is very ironic that the party formed during an after the healthcare reform. Perhaps this ignited the fear that some would have to pay alittle more to help other? Or perhaps the small percentage will losing their grip/control? i digress…
We need to start calling a spade a spade in order to idenify the “true” root cause of the culprit’s behavior.
The military needs to just take over. America needs a Pinochet. This is the solution. The final solution.
I think it would help Zakaria and CNN to take a college level Political Science class and learn Duverger's Law of the problems of single member districts with plurality voting systems. It'd also be worth paying attention to the fact that it benefits politicians to keep voter turnout down... so that it is easier to pander to the extremes. In this day and age, it makes no sense to have election day on a weekday... nor does it make sense not to make it a national holiday to ensure higher turnouts. But of course, that would mean they would have to take into consideration majority of America who is in the middle.
Add a third party and all the deadlock is gone.
What Fareed and others fail to realize is that the left-sided media created the popularity of Rush Limbaugh type commentary. This also created the rise of conservative biased commentary on Fox News. While so many in the mainstream media point to the bias of conservative commentary, they do not understand that they are left-biased in their reporting. This is not reflected necessarily in commentary, but what the editors decide to report as news. Fox News is on the right and MSNBC is on the left – that is clear. Network news and CNN tend to avoid the ideological commentary; however, the problem is not as much how they report the news, but what they choose to report. When half of the news is left on the floor of the editing room, it is left for the pundits to pitch. The claim from many on the right that the news media is dead in the U. S. sadly seems to he very true. This is not entirely what has created such political polarization in this country, but it is a major factor. I think that historians will look back and correctly identify this time period as one where the media failed the the American people.
One more personal note: Why is it that those in the mainstream media always name Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck as right wing noise, but never mention Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann, or the ladies on The View as noise makers on the left? Again, here is just half of the story. Is it really believed that the left had no influence on the passage of health care reform or the stimulus package? Really? As for the current debt crisis, the U. S. will have to go through a painful bankruptcy – period. No matter what course of action is taken, this is the pathetic reality. We now just need to focus on how we recover from the crash. The media will not speak the truth on this one.
I have to say, after having discussions with people on the right, Obama could offer to cut $9 trillion in taxes, end the EPA, FDA, USDA, Federal Reserve, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Welfare, unemployment insurance, any and all anti-gun laws, become staunchly pro-life, promote creationism, proclaim that being gay is a "disease" that can be cured, support the creation of local militias to challenge the authority of the federal government, and go to war with every single country that we don't like, and the right-wingers would still declare him the second coming of Fidel Castro. The only thing that MIGHT help him not be hated as much is if he changed his name to John Smith and became white.
We are a polarized nation because their is an on going shift in the morals of the USA. My view, this is a slide into the Abyss. Fareed's articles and view points serve to undermine the American way of operating. I think he is USA citizen now, but he would prefer we adopt a strong government way of operation like exists in his home nation. I say no way. I do not think we need to compromise. The problem is, we don't have good ideas coming from Washington. The Tea Party is not the problem. To say they are a problem is un-American. The right to SPEAK UP is what has made us a great nation. Now, many are trying to take this right from us. I say Mr. Fareed, go back to your country. You do not understand why our politics is so polarized. And we do not want your sharia guided views.
"Debt Limit Talks"
Wipe out Domestic Terrorism in the USA, stop rewarding the Republican Party for its terrorist tactics of holding Congress & the USA hostage!!!
ENOUGH!!! No more tolerance for the Anti-American Domestic Terrorist tactics perpetrated by the Republican party. The Republican have put their rhetoric and subversive policies above the the wellbeing of our Citizens and the Country. No More, this has to end!!!
I love how Fareed points the finger at everyone but himself for this problem. The new media is the reason? How about the absolute selling out of the old media. The fact that he is writing for CNN, which has a clearly left leaning agenda could not possibly be the reason that people have gone to the new media in droves, could it. As usual this is nothing more than liberal talking points dressed up as journalism. You Mr. Zakaria are one of the main reasons that people are so divided. You and the others of your ilk on both sides, that have forgotten what journalism is because you would rather sell your soul for a nickle than represent real news and unbiased reporting.
Why do Fareed and most other commentators continually castigate the "simplistic" approach of the Tea Party to fiscal sanity in comparisons with the "sophisticated" liberal approach to outlandish and unaffordable promises of social programs??
Obama could cut $9 trillion in taxes, banish the EPA, claim global warming is a "sham", support creationism, label being gay as a "disease" that he can personally cure at his church through "therapy", end the federal reserve, and finally support local militias as a way to fight "government intrusion", and he would still be labeled as the anti-christ. The only thing that might help him is changing his name to John Smith and becoming white.
The Tea Party has some good ideas, but they are too extreme and ideological.
The irony is that the extreme position they take will ultimately wear very thin on the American people and they will be discarded in history's trash heap of movements that failed. If we default, the Tea Party GOP members will be thrown out on their butts next election.
So what happen to this Sunshine Rules back when ObamaCare was in Congress? Republicans were not allowed to speak and discuss the bill during the proposals and Pelosi required a vote before anyone had time to read the actual bill.
A challenging essay, pointing to some of the major forces at work. I'd suggest one addition: the changes you observe are the end product of a long struggle between Capitalism's advocates and the defenders of popular government. The issue as seen from the side of the moneyed interests is: how do we keep governments from becoming active servants of ordinary voters and meeting its expenses by increases by taxes on our properties and privileges ? The struggle commenced in the days of Teddy Roosevelt, a prime activator of the hitherto dormant government, and has accelerated with every expansion of public power. The so-called "welfare state" – a purely propagandistic term – has exacerbated that struggle and raised the stakes of the outcomes. Sharpened ideologies, more powerful propaganda weaponry on the part of the defenders of privilege, and great increases in direct political participation by their agents are creating basic changes in the contests over public power. The signs are, in my opinion, that the defenders of privilege have been winning on a broad front, that sectors of the voting public seem unaware of the stakes and are remaining politically isolated or inactive.
The deeper issue is: what are the purposes of public policy, who decides the answers to those questions and how do we go about that in this country ?
More nonsensical drivel from Zakaria, who refuses to call a spade a spade. Most likely, this can be traced to his significant roots in the conservative movement. While you'd have to call him a centrist now, he like many centrists, can't survive the ego blow associated with admitting that conservatives have gone completely mad, and therefore, to be a centrist is to be an idiot half of the time.
The issue Zakaria describes is only present on one side of the political spectrum: the right. There is no movement on the left to get more liberal. None. Democrats have moved toward the center, and Republicans have moved to the right. What about this isn't obvious?
Think back to the 90s. There were liberal issues like gun control, participating in the Kyoto protocol, public financing of campaigns, "Hillary Care". Some people even believed back then that wars could eventually be ended! Those liberal ideas are nowhere in the debate now. Every new idea Obama comes up now with is one he stole from Republicans. Republicans respond by pushing their positions even further to the right, just so they don't have to be seen as agreeing with anything Obama says (since they keep touting him as a socialist, or a Nazi).
Seriously, Fareed. Where are the liberals? Al Gore's gone into hiding on account of his happy ending massage. Russ Feingold and Alan Grayson are gone. Obama has morphed into the black Ronald Reagan, pushing tax cuts and gutting the government. Are you trying to tell me that Dennis Kucinich is forcing Democrats to the left all by himself? Hell, even he caved and voted for Obama's corporate welfare health care bill.
If you were a baseball player, Fareed, I'd say that getting it 50% right (batting .500) was great. But, as an op-ed, your work is garbage.
While there are "contributors" to the problem, the fundamental cause is the two party system. Each party is controlled by a base that would rather do nothing than compromise and everyone else has not choice but vote for one or the other. If we had more choices, then we could actually punish both parties. One possibility I like is Instant Run-off Voting. There is a good wikipedia article on it.
Media, plain and simple. Elite owned media has created an atmosphere of hatred between the two parties in order to keep your focus and hate on the other side of the political isle. All of this so the actual power brokers can run the world without the citizens seeing the truth. It's quite simple really....but quite evil as well. I know, I know.....conspiracy theory.....there's no "theory" to this story any longer. It's sickly, fact.
We can point at the media, the politicians and the special interest groups forever, but it will neigher change the root of the problem, nor the only true source of fixing it - the informed and reasonable voter.
As long as so many voters WILLINGLY allow themselves to be manipulated by the special interest groups, and are willing themselves to characterize their neighbors as the enemy if they don't agree with them completely, the problem will not go away. When we, the voters, allow the governance of our nation to become a polarized game of us vs. them, WE are the problem.
The quick answer to this is more parties, the more variety of parties the more effective our govt. will be, Tea party should run as Tea party not republican hybrids, yes this may divide the republican party but on the flip side then republicans wouldn't feel so bad siding with Dems once in a while because their base is different from the Tea party's and its not like the republicans are not going to side with the tea part most of the time anyway
Gee, another in-depth analysis from Mr. Obvious.
Those who love the center, like the author will never define to us what they mean by the center.
While there are "contributors" to the problem, the fundamental cause is the two party system. Each party is controlled by a base that would rather do nothing than compromise and everyone else has not choice but vote for one or the other. If we had more choices, then we could actually punish both parties. One possibility I like is Instant Run-off Voting. There is a good wikipedia article on it for those who want more info.
apparently, every comment I make is auto-banned
So political polarization is the work of the right and more specifically the tea party? Could you be more biased?
We should put term limits on the House and Senate, 2 terms only, make all elections publicly funded, get rid of special interest, and the lobbyist, big money has corrupted the political system.
YOU can't get it done because of PARTY, PARTY, PARTY and the inability for these PARTY folks to break out of their narrow view. PARTY also means EGO, EGO, EGO and having to WIN, WIN, WIN while the country suffers. Complete and utter immature selfishness!!!
It is high time to go PARTYLESS, to have one term term limits, to get out of the middle east, to drop the income limit on medicare and social security taxes, to convert legislation resolution to popular vote, to pay politicians minimum wage and with their one term to eliminate their pensions.
It is high time to tax the wealthy at graduated higher rates. It is high time to build a conscience into politics that does not presently exist. To cut into Social Security and Medicare and leave the wealthy alone is completely without conscience, compassion and common caring.
It is high time to have a Democracy where only presently there is a Corporatocracy. Popular voting will tell you how we the people think.
I do not think we are as polarized as the article entails. I am biased as a self confessed liberal democrat, however it appears that democrats have been very willing to compromise and move issues to the center. The republican shift to the hard right in the last 25 years has pulled the center to the right as well. Unfortunately the conservative position of 0 compromise has been linked to virtues such as faith, conviction and vision which is very popular with the base of Republican voters. As Democrats continue to compromise, the right has become even bolder. In the current debt ceiling issue I really hope the President doesn't back down, because the Republicans are now in a position where the unwillingness to bend has been caught in a situation where they will ultimately pay a political price for not compromising.
Hey,
I haven't read all of the 200+ comments here, so I'm very sorry if I'm an echo of others.
Just for starters, how about y'all just renounce your chosen party and reregister as an independent. That's a lower case "i", otherwise known as "no party affiliation".
Just imagine the terrible angst in all of the bastions of power! What will they do when they can no longer count on us, actually COUNT on us ......... without actually talking directly to us?
The Teaparty venerates the founding fathers?? In order to venerate you must be able and willing to read what they had to say. What they had to say was not simple stuff that can be encompassed in a tweet or 30 second spot. It is sophisticated and not simple. It requires serious thought. What we have are popularisers and snake-oil salesmen who simplify and misrepresent the works of the founding fathers in order to advance their own agendas.
Mr. Zakaria,
No, it is not the Tea Party become so prominent. It looks that way because GOP are using them.
No one, of course, mentions that the rise of American Fascism has anything to do with it. Look up the eleven steps that every nation takes toward Fascism and there will be your answer to why America is politically polarized. We have become a Fascist nation and things are really beginning to heat up in the political and social arenas now. The first wave of genocide, carried out bureaucratically by terminating life-sustaining benefits that tens of millions of poor, disabled, and elderly people depend on for their survival, is under way. Of course, none of this is really happening, right? We do not do it for the same reasons or by the same methods that other Fascist regimes did it, so it is not the same thing, right? Look up "American Genocide" online and do a little reading if you do not want to be next on the list of scapegoats when the government is finished bureaucratically wiping out us disabled people who are consistently portrayed as "lazy bums and freeloaders."
Can we please get 25 rational Republicans willing to govern rather than hold our nation's economy hostage? End this!
We are 70 so you won't have to put up with us much longer. I was in the army 3 years, we got married, bought a house, raise 2 children, sent them to college and always paid our bills. We lived conservatively, never used any government programs and were able to save a little. Now we see social programs that when all are totaled cost more than defense, and people are wanting more and more. The borrowing and printing money is devaluing what little we have saved.
We think people should take a little responsibility for their own lives, and not expect the government to take care of them. We paid for ourselves and think other should too.
A Tea Partier is just someone that says stop spending and no on taxes. Someone that balances their budget through cuts alone is not extreme. There is only two ways to do it, with cuts and tax increases and with just cuts. No surprise the media calls the Republican way extreme.
This analysis was a partisan joke. Did anyone notice that every example listed in this video was shedding poor light only on Republicans?
Compromise is what got us into this mess.
I disagree completely with the authors Tea Party thesis! The situation being framed as a Tea Party problem began with 911 not the election of Barak Obama! It is so self serving for the media and the liberal bias to frame the debate as an economic one and is delusionary! It is also a form of solipsism and the author ought to ADMIT his liberal media problem as a core issue before jumping on the political bandwagon of REWRITING FEDERALISM which is the crux of his and the Democrats assertion that the problem is the Tea Party.
Farreed should give more importance the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Coulter, Hannity, et al. They've been hammering the American public for YEARS – every day for hours each day with nothing to counter their tilted and tainted way they think about America.
Our politics started to change when their shows started to become popular. They abhor the way it used to be – equal time for the opposite side because they want unrestrained speech – saying the most obnoxious things day after day. WHY? Because the more outrageous they are, the more listeners, the more listeners, the more money they make. If they didn't say outrageous things, no one would listen to them.
THEY have played a MAJOR role in activating the radical right wing who really are not a majority but who are very vocal at their encouragement. When Speaker Boehner calls Limbaugh and spends time on his show paying homage to this guy, American politics suffers. Ditto heads follow Limbaugh's mantra and can't think for themselves.
We need to return to equal time for the opposition to speak their viewpoints. Hopefully the pendulum will swing the other way soon before our country turns into a radical right wing total mess.
Polarization of the Democratic and Republican parties became a lot stronger after Newt Gingrich discouraged Republicans from fraternizing with Democrats outside of Congress. Republicans were discouraged from attending parties and gatherings where Democrats would be present.
Gerrymandering. That's the fundamental cause for our divided country. End it and everything will start to get better.
There has always been polarization. But a strong president can always overcome that – look up FDR, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan, Clinton, even George W.
The problem is that Obama is a weak and indecisive president.
Fahreed are you running? I hope so. You have sensible ideas and seem like a man that can stand on principles that bolster Middle Class Americans
Why? 1 word... thuhinternet.
Politics has always been like this. To say some golden age existed just beyond our reach of memory is silly. It only seems worse now because our memory spans are more fleeting, and because with a 24 hour news cycle, journalists need to find things to write about (or feel compelled to put a new coat of paint on old stories like this). I respect Mr. Zakaria, but in my 41 years of life on the planet, I've heard this "politics ain't what it used to be" story more times than I count, and I expect to continue hearing until they plant me in the ground.
Money in politics and gerrymandering are the two biggest problems I see.
The elected employees,i.e. the Democrats and Republicans are one united group working together against the voters.Their single and only professional objective is reelection. What we call “issues to resolve” for them are “issues to maintain, nurture and grow.” Illegal immigration is their model, since 1965 the laws concerning illegal immigration have been clear, and they have never, NEVER, been enforced while the issue polarizes the country. Nothing changes, the issues is maintained, nurtured and grown while the radical on both ends get reelected on their extreme views and the middle gets reelected on the basis that they are the reasonable position and the extremes prevent them from resolving issues.
The elected employees are a unified group acting in their own interest which is not in the interest of this country or in the interest of the voters, but in the selfish personal interest of themselves.
Remember this, if you told your boss that you were going to spend the next year looking for a new job, you would not be doing your present job and you expected to be paid full salary, the boos would fire you. Last election Obama, Clinton and McCain did exactly that to us, giving us the finger and laughing at us everytime they picked up their paycheck.
This article and the comments show why there is a polarization in politics. The only people blamed in the article and by majority of comments are the Tea Party. Didn't the "progressives" use back door maneuvering to stick us with the Health Law without compromising with the other party?
While Fareed's comments are generally right it's very disapointing that the examples he only ever cites are of bad behavior on the part of the right.
He wasn't nearly so vocal for the equally bad behavior on the left in the "Pelosi" congress.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that compromise has given us a 14.5 Trillion Dollar debt... Created the banking meltdown... Got us into 2 undecleared wars... and a thrid non-war... gave us a Patroit Act... and has led to an overall reduction in our standard of living.
Some of us got tired of finding middle ground between bad and worse.
This discussion is as polarized as the original biased article
The gerrymandering comments are right on. Term limits, maybe even just a single term, would be useful also.
Its simple. Bush was so terrible that the GOP took a whooping in 2008. This caused disenchanted republicans to search for answers as they stared into the brink. What they did was move MORE to the right......... a move that allowed them to deny all responsiblity for Bush and his totally ridiculous policies, defined by the Iraq War. I'm no democrat, I even voted mostly republican in the 2010 elections, but let's just be real. In a two party system that has two evil political parties, one party is more childish and out-of-touch than the other.
Moderation , moderate , middle of the road ...... these along with every other term one uses that applies to most of the people in the " middle" of the political spectrum , have become dirty words . It seems that both sides consider those in the middle just as much of an enemy as the ones on the opposite end of their politics . And it has come down to being enemies !!! There is no longer discourse , only yelling , screaming , accusations and threats !!!! This is very troubling , ..... but the media absolutely LOVES IT !!!! It puts eyes on screens !!!!!! They won't even report on measures and propositions that come from the few courageous representatives that are moderate !!!!!
All that seems to get reported is , One side will spend you into oblivion , The Other Side will starve you into oblivion .
I say to HE11 with all of them , they have all violated their oath . They no longer even make a pretense of representing US , the PEOPLE . Dissolve the government , new elections without ANY special interest $$$$ , contribution from registered voters only , capped at $500.00 per , and PAPER BALLOTS ONLY !!!!!!!
In europe the partie that wins takes control of everything?! has he ever EVER looked at euro-politics?! we have multi-partie-systems everywere, no single partie ever takes complete control, we always have painful coalitions, contrary to the states, a duplocracy, in which either party a or b takes complete control.
im sorry fareed, but that was a description worth flushing down the toilet...
and the us problems wont be resolved until you properly educate your kids,starting with teaching evolution and leaving out religion( ID)
There should be a separation between religion and government.
What we have today is the result of the whooping the GOP took in 2008. They stared into the brink and pretended that NOT being far enough to the right was their problem. This started all of this...... and NO, I am not a democrat. This is just what has happened.
This editorial is completely partisan in itself! Your far left views precluded you from even mentioning that the left is equally to blame for this stalemate. By focusing completely on the far right groups, you just further belief that the media and its pro left stance is a big part of the reason that the tea party even exists at all!
if you want a European style government, i suggest that you consider moving to Europe.
In america, laws have to worth passing to make it through all the checks and balances in place, i think that the fewer laws and regulations we have the better we are.
When you have a group of people , theoretically elected by their fellow citizens to do the business of running the country, you would think they would consider all of those citizens. You would be wrong. Special interest groups, 'super delegates', lobbyists, the electoral college- those folk have no vested interest in anything other than their own agendas. Remember 'for the common good'? Political party members don't grasp that concept . Their mantra is to divide, to demean and to discredit anyone who even dares question them. On any subject. It's a toddler convocation. The perks are to prevalent, and there is no accountability, there is no safeguard in place to hold them accountable. They don't have to live by the laws they shove onto the rest of us. They have what most of us will never have- lifetime pensions , healtcare and myriad other 'gifts'. It's absurd to think that they give one second's thought to what they are supposed to be doing, for that would be -common- . Hmm
One side will spend us into oblivion , the other will starve us into oblivion ........ no middle ground , and , the media wouldn't report on a true balanced idea/agenda anyway , it doesn't put or keep eyes on screens !!!!! Every one in the middle is just trying to get by day to day and not get caught up in the constant yelling , screaming , accusations and threats being hurdled back and forth over their heads .
You people and the author of this article are out of your minds freakin minds! You and you socialist leaders are the problem! NOT the tea party! Your disconnect is the reason you lost on 2010 and will lose in a record landslide in 2012! Read the TEA leaves idiots! Mainstream American does NOT side with you nor do they want your policies and they are showing you NOW how they refuse to fund your socialist programs or agendas ! Of course your retaliatory plan is to simply keep telling yourselves that we are the stupid ones and that you have some sort of intellectual high ground and that we are simpleton racists ... which of course is laughable ...
In the end, all you have is a socialist biased press that perpetuates lies for this regime in a desperate weak attempt to save an already lost cause.
This president if you wish to call him that is exactly your problem....
And those of you who think that was an incomplete thought ....
Well once again – dont get it!
This video is pathetically biased......As a native Atlanta citizen I've tried to defend cnn for years but it has moved closer to msnbc than the center....very sad
wow Fareed – absolutely NO mention of how the "progressives" and the FAR, FAR left want to turn this country into a socialist utopia!! That couldn't account for the polarization at ALL, now could it? It HAS to be the right's fault. Couldn't be that the far left hate capitalism, and is doing all the can to eliminate private business and replace it with Gov owned jobs.
HOLY cow Fareed, your true socialist marxist colors are showing!!
How is the less biased than Fox?
Good article. I think Fareed hit the nail on the head with this one. Usually these pieces on debt ceiling politics try to be so "zen" and "understand the duality" of Washington, i.e. saying "there are faults on both sides" and "can't we all just get along". That may be the case sometimes, but lately the fault has been squarely that of the Republicans and Tea Partiers in taking extremist positions and risking enormous damage to the country, despite a willingness to compromise by the Democrats. I like how Fareed went into detail about the mechanics driving the fanatical right, including that nut-job Limbaugh and his army of mouth breathing goons. I hope Congressmen and women on both sides begin to show some backbone and realize that these brainwashed Teabaggers do not represent the majority of Americans.
As I recall, When American values began to change in the 60's evangelical conservatives got scared. Then every time something went wrong ( a crime for example) they just screamed their heads off that America needed to return to it's old fashioned values. That trend has continued and gotten totally out of hand to the point they will attack their own.
Good analysis. I would add that a big part of it is that one side of every debate has a lot of propaganda outlets that continually reinforce the uncompromising C-R-A-Z-Y! It's up to media consumers to sort that all out, and if they haven't done it yet then perhaps they never will.
We used to compromise because we could afford to. Those days are gone. We used to be able to afford all the "big ideas," which, no surprise, cost buckets of money, but that was okay, because we had it. One politician's bridge vote was traded for another politician's airport vote. Now we have to decide if we're going to be in denial, like California, or face ugly facts and deal with them, like New Jersey. THAT's why ideology is front and center. And clinging to old ideas and habits are going to cost us more money and more pain. You can love all the safety nets and "free" things you want, but that model is destroying us. Government can no longer – if it ever could – afford to be all things to all people, primarily because it's expensive, secondarily because it sucks at administering its own programs.
How do you expect them to get along ?? Republicans (Elephants) never forget and want to have revenge. Democrats (Donkeys) are too stubborn and are determined to have it their own way. Therefore, Elephants and Donkeys will never get along. The new saying (mine) Elephants and Donkeys don't mix is very true.
Mr. Zakaria,
I periodically read the liberal biased CNN"s reporting in order to stay abreast of your latest propaganda. I've read your "opinion" rregarding the polarization of the two parties in America, & in a nutshell, you blame it on the Tea Party and their "radical" ideals; i.e., much too rigid in order to consider "compromise." Your point is well-taken in an econmy NOT experiencing 9.2% unemployment, TOTALLY out of control DEBT & SPENDING & a democratically controlled executive branch, coupled with the same in the senate, neither of which have a clue how to effectively stimluate job growth, or restore credibilty & respect to our country. Thank GOD the Tea Party is holding their elected lagislators "feet to the fire." Conversely, it's unfortunate we have folks like you & many in the liberal media who just want , to reiterate a much overused phrase, to"kick the can down the road,." with the ensuing results/pain falling upon the shoulders of future generations. There are other obvious negative considerations that apply to this mindset, which I won't go into now. Lastly, I would reluctantly agree that we need at the least, a short term increase in the deficit(which Obama has more than tripled),but only with similar decreases or more in the deficit that are effective NOW, not 10 years down the road. Obama, as a leader, is a total failure. He has a blatantly, obvious socialist agenda, which is seriously harming our country.THis country is NOT Europe & never will be! Obama does nothing unless he can gain politically. His policies are seriously flawed and poll after poll reflect a major dissatifaction with his policies. In summary, I would strongly encourage you to consider backing a conservative in '012, & accept the fact that this country was built on conservative principles. Conservatism made this country the envy of the world prior to '08 and it will be restored once again in 2012.
Look what happened to CNN. This used to be only about news. Now it is more about explaining the news with twist of center wannabe left wing self rigtious propaganda and GOP (50% of us) is always bad for you brain wash "cure"
Will tax cuts to so called "Job Creators" create jobs? Here is the simple example.
Profit to the oil companies from bush tax cuts-–36 billion in 2010
Number of jobs created–0
ironically number of jobs lost in the oil companies in 2010–1836
I rest my case
The truth is........that religion, and not politics, is governing the GOP today.
There is nothing less forgiving, than religion. Absolutely nothing, because in the mind of the religious zealot, there is ONLY one way.......the religious way.
The problem with the Dems, is the same one they have always had........fiscal stupidity. They think they can gift away equality, with money, and that simply isn't possible.
The two major forms of government in this world are Marxist Communism and on the opposite side of the spectrum is free market capitalism. We have seen both fail miserably in the last 30 years. Both have a fatal weakness...greed. The power-hungry and the ruling elite exploit the masses unmercifully, much as monarchs and emperors did centuries ago.
Somewhere in between these two extremes is benevolent socialism as most of Europe has embraced. I submit that that is the only way...it's the future. Tea Party fanatics won't want to hear this...they are blinded by xenophobia and intolerance. They are ultra nationalistic...an outmoded and foolish way to think and to govern. They must abandon the notion that the United States is a special country, blessed by God himself. Ronald Reagan had that twisted vision.
Wake up people...change is in the wind.
What about the radical socialist that have taken over the Democratic party? The Tea Party is a direct response to the radical left wing agenda of Obama and his comrades. CNN is so one sided in these pieces they are hardly worth reading.
You basically get the government you deserve. Half of Americans don't vote. And of the half that do, most of them don't know what the issues are, or care much.
Start figuring out who in Washington are the impediments to change...and don't vote them in next time. Start taking charge and DEMANDING accountability. Quit accepting the status quo if it's not working for the country.
Again...you get the government you deserve. Get your fat asses off the couch, turn off the TV and get involved.
Watching the extraordinary polarization in Washington today, many people have pointed the finger at the Tea Party saying it's ideologically extreme, refuses to compromise and cares more about purity than problem solving.
I happen to agree with much of that critique, but it doesn't really answer the question: Why has the Tea Party become so prominent? Why is it able to dominate Washington?
-----------------
Seriously? It's nice to see that you wear your partisanship on your sleeve. You want to know why things seem more polarized?
1) The Democrats have drifted from being conservative to far left.
2) The Republicans have drifted from being moderate to conservative.
3) 24-hour news media constantly hyping every single issue.
4) More political involvement by people around the country, leading to the drift from one-party domination (Democrats between 1933-1995 ... 62 years) to a two-party shared-power system.
There's a short list right there. It's not "the "evil" Tea Party for the rise in polarization, since this specific movement has only been around for 2 years. As you note, this has been going on for decades. Hence, trying to use the Tea Party as your partisan hipping boy is both embarrassingly sad (given your "expert" label) and hysterical at the same time.
The problem is that politicians these days seem to be either total Marxists or right wing neo-cons. I do not care for either. There is no balance anymore. Everyone wants to be uber left or uber right. Yet most of the public is somewhere in the middle. I am myself fiscally conservative, but I detest the bigotry of the neo-cons. So where does that leave me? Between Obama and Michelle Bachmann, I have no one left to vote for except perhaps, to write in "Mickey Mouse." Because Mickey Mouse would do a far better job in Washington than either of the two.
Strange, but the author does not mention the way Democrats behaved autocratically when they had majority in both the House and the Senate. They bull dozed the Health care plan without caring for the opinion of American people.
This antagonized Americans and slapped democrats by blowing them off in last elections.
Obama has spent more than any president in history, and republicans are trying to halt this reckless spending. That is what Americans want. If Democrats do not want to stop spending then America is in deep trouble. Unfortunately for the author, the Democrats do not want to cut spending unlike the rest of American people.
Obama is a moderate and as there are compromises he has made that have disappointed many of his own party, he remains firmly in the gray area, while the partisan extremes of each party remain polarized with all black and white rhetoric. Obama is a pragmatist and we are lucky to have him. He is a conservative democrat, like Clinton, which is nearly the same thing as being a moderate Republican, which Ford and Bush Sr. both were. Reagan and his protege, GW Bush were both conservative Republicans who both sought to bring the church into the state. Probably the most obvious issue which now separates conservative Democrats from moderate Republicans is abortion. Religious issues is what is separating the moderate republicans from the conservatives and what is splitting the party, which is generally good for the dems.
People mistakenly view both religion and politics as linear, which limits our ability to see patterns of cause and effect and learn from history. In a cyclic world which is our natural pattern, that would put extremes of the right and the left as positioned next to each other. Religions work the same way (athiesm included). So as I see it, the Tea Party (extreme right) is no better than the Communist Party (extreme left). Therefore, this is the formula for a totalitarian state: (Political Ideology) x (Religious doctrine) + extremist = Zealot
Two words...talk radio. THAT'S why so much polarization.
I don't believe the entire Government has gone wild; however, I do believe the T-party Freshmen and other GOPs voted in 2010 have hijacked the Republican Party. It is indeed very sad, They are destroying our country by pledging allegiance to Grover Norquist – an unknown silent power in DC and not too different from Hitler!!!!! Scary.
I do love how CNN is apparently not interested in hearing from Centrists.
The problem is EGO
Where is my comment?
The polarization is because society is polarized. The voting is determined by 5 – 10% of the people – the "independents". But it has become evident that the real power is hidden in the court system. All judicial appointments are more important than elections – they last until death or retirement. The makeup of the Supreme Court determines more than 535 elected congressmen. So the effort is about being the party in control when appointments are made.
fareed zakaria is an idiot
I am a rock solid independent and moderate. It is the Republican party that is running away from the center so fast that they are making me look like a liberal. They have proven that they can't govern.
Ob'ama not a leftist? Please. Socialized healthcare, his "evolution" on gay marriage, tax and spend policies, his up and coming amnesty for illegals not to mention "common sense" gun control. Shall I continue?
Almost 50% of Americans pay NO income taxes. When all the goodies that Congress hands out (Medicare, medicaid, stimulus money, farm subsidies. etc) is paid for largely by income taxes (and therefore "free to half the population) its not surprisign that the demand for free stuff is insatiable. Our friedns in Congress (Repub and Democrat) can't say no to anything. Consider thsi: In the next 10 year, Congress is slated to spend $46 TRILLION yet our eelcted offcials can't seem to cut $1 or $2 trillion. That's only about 2 or 3%. Every dollar we spent is 42 cents borrowed. We need MASSIVE spending cuts. The entire Congress and our current President display NO LEADERSHIP.
The scary thing is that we Americans are voting so conservative that we are actually running the risk of strangling our liberty and ourselves. It's like a race to the bottom where nobody really wins. Aren't we supposed to be the land of progressive ideals and maximum liberty possible? The sad and ironic thing is that most people that I know who vote conservative actually live their lives much more liberally than they vote – almost like churchgoers who pretend to be all holy in front of their preachers and then go home and live normal lives like everybody else. It would be great if we all could actually vote and preach what we actually practice and not the way we want others to think about us. Even with things that some of us might not like such as abortion, gay marriage, or whatever...why can't we live and let live? Can we quit this hypocriscy and be Americans like our Founding Fathers intended us to be a shining example to the rest of world that a diverse group of people can live with each other without hating everything that we do.
America is such a mess. How does a country allow lobby groups? or lobbying for that matter? How does a country allow its debt ceiling to become a political issue? I guess we should expect this behavior from such a selfish ignorant country. Going to single handily sink this planet back into another recession...
The world would be better off with America. You bunch of stupid morons.
Solution
Fire Congress
Fire Senate
I'm in shock that the T party has managed to hold your country hostage and you people have stood by and watched them do it. What's wrong with you people? Do you not understand there are consequences to everything?
You should all be ashamed for allowing this to happen
Two words for the cause of the political extremity on the right: black President
Hail Obama:
1) For refusing to stop giving 2.5 trillion dollars to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, and Palestine even though this money can save the current crisis.
2) For maintaining the highest average unemployment since the great depression
3) For bringing the economy down almost to the great depression level.
4) For spending more than any American president in history
5) For having more troops killed per year in Afghanistan than during Bush's presidency
6) For initiating war against Libya, for no reason. The price of gas per gallon has gone up one dollar since then.
7) For refusing to drill gas in USA, and forcing Americans to pay a lot of money for gas, every day
8) For forcing 40 million Americans who cannot afford Health Insurance, to but health insurance. If people hardly make enough money to feed their family, how can they pay $2,000 more for health care? Eta one time a day?
The reason for the polarization is absolute fear and panic on both sides. The liberals are afraid their gravy trains will come to a half, and the conservatives are afraid that by borrowing 40 cents from foreign governments for every dollar spent we are turning a blind eye to our bankruptcy and not acting to cure it.
Nothing will ever change if folks will keep voting for the only two alternatives that are presented to them.
We need many more choices than just 2 or 3 and coalitions without majority votes.
Stand up and refuse to participate in what you are getting served and don't treat politics like a mindless boxing match.
There is another reason why political extremes begin to garner favor wtih voters. It is simply that the status quo has become unacceptable to an increasing number of voters. The promise of change is enough to get support. This was the basis of the Obama platform that got him elected in 2008. When the voters are fed up with more of the same, expect them to support anything that looks like profound change.
I can see it now. Baby Bush for President with his "Dubya Brother" as his chief advisor. That will be a big hit. Are these hacks delusional, or what?
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Visit the SimpleStockCash site, and go right to the penny' stock page to see what the rich do not want you to know.
Take the two minutes to see what we have...it will be well worth it.
Mr. Zakaria neglects to mention one of the major causes of the increased polarization in American politics: the rise of the Christian Right. After all, members of the Christian Right know beyond the shadow of a doubt:
1. They are on God's side and all others are not
2. They know God's will and all others do not
3. They have a duty to use the power of government to advance their vision of God's kingdom here on Earth
4. Anyone who disagrees or opposes their ends is by definition anti-God
5. You never compromise with agents of Satan.
All hail the Christian States of America.
Obviously, only the right has become more polarized. They did this out of the blue for the sake of entertainment. It has nothing to do with the left becoming increasingly polarized as well or pushing the limits of reality, particularly when it comes to responsible spending. The lack of polarization in the left can easily be seen by armies of liberals claiming that Obama is a Republican in sheep's clothing.
Yet another reason for a proportional voting system, so we don't get into a "us" vs "them" rut that gets us nowhere.
It would also be nice if we could get over the whole left vs right outlook. The political spectrum is far more complicated that that.
Get used to it. The Internet has allowed the special interest lunatics to organize and have an undue level of influence. See the Internet leaving any time soon? Neither do I. Kiss America goodbye folks, it was nice while it lasted.
Fareed is trying to undermine our country by injecting he non-American ideas. I think he is A US Citizen now. But we dont want his flawed concepts here. We don't need compromise in GOVT. We need solid solutions that we agree upon. Best decision-making is not coming out of Washington. Tea Party has a right to speak. If they take our right to speak up (which they are trying to do) then we will have fallen as a nation.
Why you ask . . . because Marxism/communism and socialism are not compatible with a democratic, free Republic. The country is hopelessly and irreconcilably divided politically, morally and spiritually, and the final outcome doesn't look promising.
Sorry Steve, but Ron Paul is as conservative as they come. I'm pretty sure he's on the "if you can google it then you can cut it" boat. He also thinks that because he read a couple books in the seventies about economics he's an expert. One of his misconceptions is that default is unavoidable for the U.S. . This is not even close to true. Our debt is in U.S. currency so we can't default unless we decide to. Although he says default is a good thing, it would make the $3 trillion Americans hold in U.S. bonds worthless and would make it virtually impossible to sell U.S. bonds in the future.
This is possibly the most poorly written and misguided op-ed I've ever seen. Here's why:
1. Political polarization is NOTHING NEW to American politics. If you've ever studied even a bit about the first 3 administrations of the U.S., you would know that politics was just as, if not much more, dirty than it is today. And don't try to tell me the media is making things so much worse. PLEASE take a look at the the Lincoln-Douglass election. Politics have always been and will always be dirty. Also, it's much better and more civilized here than a great majority of the rest of the world, where corruption doesn't run rampant and people aren't killing other people for political gain.
2. This article is blatantly biased towards the right (nothing surprising there). But to say that both parties are pandering further and further from the middle is ludicrous. Around 35% of Americans consider themselves Democrats and about 35% consider themselves Republicans; that means that 30% are unaffiliated with either (give or take a few points depending on the time). Come election time, candidates pander to those in the center very much (independents).
3. FZ's mentioning of the Founding Fathers is way off base. The Founders understood that power divided among too many parties or interests was dangerous because the government has a much greater chance of failure. Italy is one example with its dozens of political parties. Also, while it was mentioned that a party-less political system would be ideal, it is not realistic, and Madison realized that as well. The form of government we have naturally produces two dominant political parties. That's the way it will be as long as it remains.
Citing polls of our ignorant citizen base does not indicate anything about the proper direction of policy. No, Americans certainly DO NOT want a balanced budget amendment, or hundreds of billions of dollars in immediate spending cuts! They simply don't understand the implications.
For instance, with a balanced budget amendment, any time that the economy falls on hard times, incomes and tax revenues will decline. Assuming that the government already had a balanced budget, it will now face a deficit that it will be forced to close by law. So what will it have to do? Either raise taxes, or cut spending. Both measures will deepen any recession, and possibly turn it into a depression. It is the same idea with cutting spending immediately as part of any one of these equally foolish deals.
The time is not now to make these changes. This is not about securing our future, but about securing 2012, and politicians would rather hold each other hostage to make a statement to their donors. When the cost of borrowing is near zero, and the economy is stagnated, that is the time to run a deficit to ensure a recovery. Once the economy bounces back and you run surpluses, you can pay off the debt you incurred during the period of deficits. Of course, count on our dumb politicians to screw even that up. They'll just give it back in the form of a tax break! (See: First Bush term)
When we begin to contemplate the influence that specific powerful individuals (especially, Rush Limbaugh, Grover Norquist and Roger Ailes) have over Washington, we realize that single individuals with a very narrow world view are in near-direct control of most of our Republican caucus; and thus, can effectively and singlehandedly, control the direction of our entire country. These individuals were never elected by any democratic process and cannot be voted out of their positions. Their actions and influence can be characterized as a morph of sedition, coercive monopoly, and collusion for the formation of a cartel.
There's less to go around and the fight for resources is gradually increasing. First it's a fight of ideas. Then it will be a physical fight.
It’s all laid out, (National Geographic, March 2011, page 72) in the chart graphic of a 3 dimensional cube. One axis measures population, the other measures technology based on patents. The third axis measures affluence based on GDP. Affluence is a euphemism for over-consumption gently directed to the National Geographic readership. Notice how the vertical axis of affluence adds to the shocking exponential growth after 1950.
Any child born after the mid '80's should not exist. That is the time our planet surpassed it's population carrying capacity. Peter Singer head of philosophy at Princeton did the fifth grade math in a 1999 NYT essay. By studying world statistics on overpopulation and over-consumption he found, if we're getting and spending more than 30k per year we're basically guilty of murder.
http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/singermag.html
So basically everything is going to crap in a hand basket just as Revelations predicts. The only thing not mentioned is the exponential speed part. Humans don't intuitively grasp the exponential mean. So I believe all we can do is treat each other a lovingly as possible as we watch the whole world go to crap in a hand basket at exponential speed.
This is possibly the most poorly written and misguided op-ed I've ever seen. Here's why:
1. Political polarization is NOTHING NEW to American politics. If you've ever studied even a bit about the first 3 administrations of the U.S., you would know that politics was just as, if not much more, dirty than it is today. And don't try to tell me the media is making things so much worse. PLEASE take a look at the the Lincoln-Douglass election. Politics have always been and will always be dirty. Also, it's much better and more civilized here than a great majority of the rest of the world, where corruption doesn't run rampant and people aren't killing other people for political gain.
2. This article is blatantly biased towards the right (nothing surprising there). But to say that both parties are pandering further and further from the middle is ludicrous. Around 35% of Americans consider themselves Democrats and about 35% consider themselves Republicans; that means that 30% are unaffiliated with either (give or take a few points depending on the time). Come election time, candidates pander to those in the center very much (independents)....
What a joke! Another "lame stream media attempt" to rationalize an environment that Liberal Socialist Democrats OWN!
Who COULDN'T ACCEPT that Al Gore simply lost the election of 2000? Democrats
Who POLITICIZED 911 and Afghanistan "long before Iraq" in 2003? Democrats
Who PUSHED relaxed Fannie & Freddie mortgage loan requirements? Democrats
Who had OVERSIGHT over the mortgage lenders Fannie & Freddie? Democrats
Who had OVERSIGHT over financial markets? Democrats
Who RAMMED ObamaCare down 1/2 of unwilling Americans? Democrats
DEMOCRATS PUSH GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF OTHER PEOPLE
This is about simple Corruption of the Soul within the Liberal Socialist Democrat Party.
Who is the "nut jobs" spewing HATE & VIOLENCE at Sarah Palin and her family? Democrats
...
3. FZ's mentioning of the Founding Fathers is way off base. The Founders understood that power divided among too many parties or interests was dangerous because the government has a much greater chance of failure. Italy is one example with its dozens of political parties. Also, while it was mentioned that a party-less political system would be ideal, it is not realistic, and Madison realized that as well. The form of government we have naturally produces two dominant political parties. That's the way it will be as long as it remains.
the only good thing about the coming default and the subsequent economic carnage is that it will bring about the end of the tea party. They are the ones who are pushing for default and they will bear the blame for the consequences. We may never be an economic superpower again, but we will be a less consumptive and egalitarian society. Oh and by the way, cutting medicare and social security is essentially a tax on the poor and middle class. It will lead to greater poverty and crime in this country. Everyone except the super rich will suffer... and you are not super rich now, you will no longer have the opportunity to join that elite.
Ronald Reagan said default would be a disaster. Every conservative/republican economist says default will be a disaster. It is only the mouthpieces of the right - the talk show pundits and tea party ideologues who have no real knowledge of what they are talking about advocate default. We raised the debt limit well over a dozen times with Reagan and Bush, both Republicans.
I consider myself a fiscal conservative, but these ideologues are playing Russian roulette with our futures. A balance between cuts and new revenues is essential to any deal. Raising the debt limit is not a left or right issue - it is essential or America's credit rating will drop and then it will be game over. Credit will dry up again, and as bad as the economy feels now... we will dream of this, we will look back on the relative prosperity of 2011 and wish we had a do over.
because our president is black.
24 hour new networks have changed the political landscape. Or should I say "so called news networks". CNN, MSNBC, FOX all care much more about profits than news. There's profit in polarizing the public. Chris Mathews, Keith Olberman, Sean Hannity are not journalists. They're mouthpieces for their respective political party.
It used to be that people watched the nightly news for 30 minutes to an hour. The networks gave us facts not opinion. Nobody screamed at each other. Now all we get is two morons yelling at each other and the cable networks love it.
Journalists need to look in the mirror and see what their profession has become. It's disgusting and very harmful to this great country. Everyone should boycott cable news(entertainment) shows. There's your problem.
Republicans are favoring rich who make profit and then invest in other countries and not USA to create jobs. If rich have created jobs in this country I dont think we would have to go through the POLITICAL DRAMA that we are going through. USA is a laughing stone in the eyes of world. We are supposed to be leader of the world and set examples and see what is happening in our own country.
There are more kKK in Tea Party and make it hard to work out anything and the end result is the demise of GOP
Thank you for bringing this issue to the table. My friends and I debate this issue a lot. The politics of Washington and their reverberating effects are so disheartening. Major changes need to take place, but firstly, everyone needs to take a deep breath and a step back to look at the whole picture. Weren't we all taught to play nice and share in pre-school? Where has that mentality gone?
Let Obama raise taxes causing the economy to get worse and destroy even more jobs... he won't get re-elected. The GOP is doing him a favor by blocking tax increases, but Obama is too arrogant to get it. If the Dems reduced the federal budget without raising taxes, Obama would win in a landslide in the next election.
We get it Fareed, you don't like the Tea Partiers. They get in the way of your grand plans for America. Well you know what? Tough luck. They are Americans as well (actually I don't know where you are from but that is besides the point), and they vote, and they sure as hell don't agree with your big government, globalist agenda. God bless them. So you may as well stop whining about them and trying to sound balanced at the same time.
The Tea Party does not exist.
The Tea Party has no representatives. It has no candidates. It has no policy. It is the fabrication of the media. A puppet show for republicans who are to ashamed to call themselves republicans and the gullible... who trust the puppets on TV.
Fareed,
Don't agree with your opinion. This country needed the Tea Party long before now...perhaps our out of control debt would not be so far gone at this point. In normal economic times, whatever that is (perhaps 5-6% unemployment, spending LESS than revenue, a Fed head that's not an Obama puppet, etc.) compromise might be a consideration, but NOT NOW. We've been "kicking the can down the road" forever because we keep electing morons and self=serving career politicians who perpetually place themselves lst instead of doing what's right for the country. Obama has an obvious socialist agenda which is not working, thank GOD His policies are failing...,but he doesn't get it or he doesn't give a damn. Small business creates nearly 70% of all jobs in this country. His so-called stimulus totally failed and further increased unemployment; he spent his lst two years in office cramming an unwanted health care plan down the country's throat and still doesn't want. This man is not a leader; he's another liberal/socialist with an agenda that will never fly in this country. Further, he's an embarrassment as it pertains to his behavior in foreign affairs. Lastly, he never does anything that's not politicaly motivated. To sum up, we need the Tea Party to hold these self-serving morons accountable. I do reluctantly agree that we need to further extend our bloated debt, but only if we demand similar cuts or MORE NOW, not ten years down the road. There's many more things that need to be done, which I won't enumerate here, but serious cuts (4 T or more) in our debt NOW just might convince some of our creditors we're finally getting serious.
Mr. Zakaria, I recommend taking a simple political science class. Duverger's Law is well known for explaining why single member district plurality wins create a bipolar two party system. Basic understanding of how to run a political primary would explain why it's in the best interest of politicians to suppress voting turnout instead of encouraging it. Simple stuff like making election day a Monday national holiday or putting it on a weekend to encourage turnout... has long been avoided because it's easier for politicians to pander to their bases instead of having to deal with the people in the center.
I think a lot of people who call for a complete abolishment of Political Parties dont really understand the binding nature of parties and historically how they have kept a Republic physically as big as America together and functioning instead of falling part into smaller countries. An early American History or Civil War Historian could explain it a lot better, but basically what keeps an Alaskan and a Floridian giving a damn about each other is political ideology of their parties.
I can't believe all the brainiacs that believe obamarama is giving everything the Conservatives want. Why don't you liberals enlighten us with facts. You donkeys ass's just want him to move off the map left because you wasted all your money taking liberal arts in school figuring you would at least be able to draw after.You liberals better bone up on your books or at least the daily newspapers instead of just boning. All the bailouts and all the money given to unions is not for conservatives, all your lying my stay in the brains of the stupid but the majority of this nation still has more intelligence then that.
Want to fix the polarization? How about we start with questioning news media sensationalism. There are a lot of good politicians with middle of the line approaches, but they never get air time because it doesn't get good ratings.
In can be summed up in two words Tea Party. The real Republicans would have settled it by now. The GOP is hostage to these idiots nad they are holding our economy at gunpoint. They are the most un-American group to have sway in this country since the end of the Confederacy. Yes that includes the drugged out hippies who held sway with the Democrats.
"When Obama was a Senator, he was known as one of the most liberal Senators in Congress. "....................
Known by whom? Fox "news"?
Mr. Zakaria,
Your statement "The Tea Party venerates the Founding Fathers. It should note that the one thing on which they all agreed was that adversarial political parties were bad for the American republic." demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of American politics and history. Adversarial political parties have been around since the founding of our country. This is nothing new. Relax. A representative republic is ugly but it is the best form of government that God ever gave human beings.
Aside from polarization....the tea party is a creation of the media. They do not have the numbers but get media attention 24 7 from Fox and other mainstream media. Just like they did Sara Palin 24 7 for years nonstop, the tea party is a corporate creation financed and scripted to provide cover for smoke and mirror agenda that amass ever more US wealth in the hands of a few. The tea party was forced down America's throats whether it representated a majority of citizens in general or a small group of the republican party hardly matters. The great power given them is demonstrably marginalized by their tiny numbers.
If one wants to see political polarization at its finest. Just read the comments from the right and left on this post.
It seems consistent with the decline of the USA and the western world. When the Roman Empire declined, small interest and lords took over. Aided by barbarian invasions, the decline was caused by Roman citizens themselves, by inept leaders, corruption and greedy. What America is experiencing is the consequence of decades of speculation, lower work ethics and permissiveness. Short and self-centered vision is taking over in the American culture.
I missed the "what to do about them" part of the article, unless the author's only suggestion was to adopt a parliamentary system. If that's the case, the author may feel free to leave the system he dislikes so much.
A rather self-serving (or at least non-introspective) piece. While the reasons they cite have some merit, the ignore one of the largest - the "OLD" media (including CNN, etc). The media, in general, works hard to fill their time, or their pages, with stories - the bigger and wilder the better. So, any of the networks will pounce on any tidbit, trump it up as much as possible, and put a lurid headline on it. So. politicians and pundits have taken a page from reality TV - if you want to be noticed, be outlandish, loud, and call people the vilest names possible. The media (including CNN) essentially encourages such actions and those things get in the way of compromise.
It's obvious by the responses that everyone has beefs with the other side. That's the way it has always been and always will be. If we can't compromise we cannot unite as a country. While many of the posts here make valid points there also a number that show no regard or respect for others. People should only post things that they would say to the other persons face and in the company of their family and friends. So much of this vitriol is done behind the veil of anonymity and while you think you are making a point you are also making no progress in making a difference. If you want people to respect you and actually follow your train of thought than you must be open to that of others. It's time each and every one of us thinks about what we are saying to one another and make this a country of unity, not disparity.
I am not voting for a democrat or a republican in 2012. I am voting for someone with common sense and the ability to compromise where necessary.
I am going to take a good hard look at the candidates records to see how they operate. I am going to vote for someone who understands why compromise is necessary and how to compromise in order to achieve results. Someone who knows how to take a realistic look at what needs to be done for the good of the country, how to work out the best compromise with other politicians in order to get the work done. Someone who has the courage to vote for the good of the country rather than for the good of political parties or for the good of their own chance of re-election.
If I can't find such a candidate, then I will pick a first timer who may at least attempt to do things differently. If they can't, they won't get my vote again. I'll try again next time.
"I know the president's worried about the next elections," Boehner said. "But my God, shouldn't we be worried about the country?" .....really? Both Dem's and Republicans are acting like 3rd graders and fighting for next elections. These politicians are all selfish, full of ego and don't give a damn about common man.
A lot of the comments on this piece demonstrate just how extremist our politics are. Anyone who does not understand that Obama is a committed progressive is beyond extreme. They're just plain weird
Ideology means conditioned fixed ideas out of partoci;ar group of people . Such group like "Tea Party", stick to there ideology because it is benefiting such group temporarily and not the nation. The member of such ideological group identifying with such ideology at any cost, where it is right or wrong. Fact is a moving truth and that can solve any issue and not ideology. Ideological mind can never go near the truth because invetigation and discovery doors are clouded by there ideology.
so it's only polarization if it's from the right, eh, Fareed? I guess the far left, aka "progressives", aka "socialists" aren't guilty of polarizing?
I mean, the fact that they hate capitalism & want to turn this country into a socialist utopia can't at all be polarizing to the majority of people in this country, now can it???
(rolls eyes in heavy sarcasm)
I used to think that Fareed Zakaria was an intellectual. It now appears to me that he is merely another left wing political hack. The argument that compromise on the debt ceiling debate is necessary is nothing more than a liberal ploy to cast Republicans that believe spending is grossly out of control and that the Fed Gov is too large already as unreasonable. No business or responsible individual can possible justify borrowing 40 cents of every dollar especially when there is no national emergency. Republicans are trying to save Medicare, Social Security and the country before it is too late. It appears that Obama is only concerned about being reelected.
Has anybody else had trouble with posting comments?
So at the end of all these comments and article we can all agree that Obama is not the great uniter but the big divider.
Reading the comments from the Socialists on this site is scary, Barry is a moderate?, Barry is from the Right? Barry is a Socialist, always has been. If you read his books, listen to his redistribution of other people's wealth policy's, the only conclusion is that he is Far Left. DEMOCRATS are the party of Saul Alinsky
Why is my comment not posted?
The reason your country is so polarized is that your left wing types have been selling it down the river. Comromise of course, but do you compromise with stealing, cheating or lying. The point is at some point there is NO room for compromise. Take immigration. Being a Canadian I think the salvation of our country are immigrants. (we're only 35 million) But NOT illegal immigrants. Period. By pandering to communities that want to turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, you're saying crime really does pay. Then you're upset when folks take that message to heart. Why shoudn't they? You've already made clear that cheaters get in ahead of being patient an legal. From my side of the border your politicians (and ours) no longer place country ahead of personal gain (re-election) The truth is, your deficits and debt are reaching the realms of being no longer manageable. There is NO free lunch. If you Increase taxes in this global economy you'll lose even more of your manufacturing base, if you cut spending you will probably vote your politicians out. In fact you look more and more like the Greeks rioting in the streets for their Government to give them more and more of what they do not have. Compromise is what got you into this mess, I suggest that compromise, is not the path out.
What's funny is that they are running to media to present their case instead of talkiing to each other to settle whatever needs to settle between them?
The country is not actually "polarized", the bulk of the population, 60-70% are still very much in the center. What has happened is that the political apathy of the center has allowed the small percentage of extremists in each "wing" to take over the only two viable political parties. As a result there is no true center candidate to vote for so the center ends up split in it's voting, but not in it's views.
Immigrants are the problem. Lying, cheating, stealing immigrants like the 100,000 Indian H1B's every year taking our jobs.
Nobody on the Left is politically polarized. Nope. They're just reasonable people. Only the people who disagree with them are extremists. Puhleeze!
Biased much?
If you can't vote (Corporations, foreigh governments, such as Israel) you should not be able to lobby.
Funny how he only mentioned the Tea Party and the right extremists but neglected to go after the left. All of this political toxicity is not directly due to the Tea Party. If you put the blame on them it gives Dems more reason to fight them instead of trying to understand why they were created in the first place. Feels like a vicious cycle to me.
Fareed, thanks for this very informative article. Another thing that I've thought about is the two party system. The paliamentary model has always been blessed to have multiple political parties. If only a centrist party could emerge here in the US, that could break the backs of the two party system. As things stand, what America needs is a coalition government.
I'd like to point out that an article about political polarization only gives examples of people polarized on the political right. There isn't even any pretending that those on the political left go too far. Maybe the media plays into this polarization? Jus' sayin'.
"Polarization" has come because every compromise is one that increases gov't involvement in our lives. Every compromise is between "I want X increase in gov't" and "I want Y increase in gov't" where X > Y. Over the years that fact has meant that gov't involvement has exploded, and some people have finally realized that it isn't going to stop until the amount your toilet flushes is regulated (Oops! Already done!). Now it is "radical" to suggest that gov't shrink, even by a tiny percentage.
The only thing more frustrating than the political parties is the news media. What a joke:(
lol love this....we have americans wanting to get things done but yet they are commenting and debating and name calling each other because they belong or represent some political party..innnnteresting
i think its time to call ghostbusters hahahaha
The reason why things are polarized is that people are finally sick of the politicians in DC simply working for themselves, towards growing the government ever larger, making people more and more dependent on government so that the political elite have more and more power. In the past people, once they were elected, would simply slide into becoming part of the machine and consolidating their own power. People are finally fed up and are not going to stand for that anymore, and THANK GOODNESS!!
If we are federally required to pay tax why should we notbe required to vote? If you don't like any of the candidates, then vote: None of the above
It's not wild at all. The media's inability to explain absolutely anything, because they got this left vs right format, keeps us trending down and the worse it gets the more each side gets to blame the other.
At some point shear desperation, from either side, gets traction cause even the "centrist" position is designed to keep this trend going down (with either side not being able to conclusively prove the other is to blame), by favoring interests over the nation, and then the left vs right silly cycle simply spins faster with even the party that is more right than wrong on the surface issues having the potential to absorb more of the blame when a stupid cowardly puck is in charge of it.
After 9-11, there was virtually no goons looking for "anti" Americans but leave it to gutless vs stupid exploiting and trying to outflank each other and after being baked for ten years, and we are literally worse than a military dictatorship and only our government is to blame.
Don't thinks so. Tell me the worse thing you went through because of this "President" and the worst thing you suspect him of. Fine, don't make it public, just tell your best friend or family member. In an acknowledged dictatorship, your family would spit in the face of intelligence trash.
Logic dear Cameron cause Muller fails and the Polish PM is looking at a noose Daley.
If u dont have a degree in both Econ & Contemporary History u have no business in Congrss. We have elected a bunch of PTA mothers who couldn't pass the GED. I guarantee half the House freshmen dont know the difference between Suni & Shia'. Show me some ACT scores please. We have Presidential canidates that could not pass a middle school history test. It's sad.
Term limits would go a long way to fixing this. 1 term max as a Senator, 1 term max as a Representative, 1 term max as a President.
On their first and last days they could be WORKING as a representative government instead of continuously campaigning.
because black people have all the power in this country. white people are discriminated against, white people are denied scholarships based on their race and the dumbest black person, because of quotas can get into an ivy league school over a white man who has a four point zero average. that is just the start of why this country is polarized.
The media needs to take the responsibility for this. If they were unbiased as they're supposed to be, and stopped catering to all the cliches that these lawmakers are espousing. The truth would be known to the general public.
The Republicans are leaving the impression that they are acting like Robin Hood in reverse.Take from the needy and give to the greedy.
Just so you know, giveaways never belonged to the needy, tax revenues are not created by government, and you making stupid comments does not help. This is not about rich vs poor, the answer is for individual accoutablity and hard work. The government is too big, too inefficient, and far to generous with my money.
The media needs to take as much blame for what's gone wrong, and the lack of bi-partanship. Since they favor one side, keep up with the 5 second soundbites with nothing but cliches, and never present details. They're nothing but an instigator in all that's wrong with our government.
the m edia is every bit at fault in all this. Since they favor one side, run nothign but 5 sec sound b ites with nothing but cliches. Allow Obama to use them like a cheap t ool, and never post details of either sides proposals ( I know, Obama doesn't have one), then they're the ones that keep this debate at a standstill
B lame the Me dia, taking sides, and posting no details of any of the proposals. Only running 5 sec sounds b ites with nothing but c liches.
Fareed I have discovered yoru alined with the Bilderberg group. please tell me if this is true or not. I have been a huge advocate of yoru program and book. However if you are aligned with this group you have lost me. tell me the truth please. A huge fan
Norquist = Blackmailer. Bachman = Crazy. Palin = White trash. Boehner, McConnell, Can'tor = Blackmailed.
Tea Partiers/Norquist = Blackmailers. Boehner/MCConnell/Can'tor = Blackmailed.
Love how they only mention problems on the Right. The TEA Party, Rush Limbaugh. Yeah ACORN was real reasonable and not corrupt at all. And Ed Schultz and the MSNBC crowd is just so respectful and not at all vitriolic. People like Rush Limbaugh, who I totally agree is an extremist, are able to exist because 90% of the media is admittedly Left wing and actively pushes a Leftist agenda. Maybe the media, whether Right or Left, including CNN should go back to telling the story, instead of trying to shape opinion.
I think we are missing one other driver. After the 1968 Democratic Convention, the primaries were "opened-up" for both parties. Party leadership backed off of "annointed" candidates and let anyone on the primary ballot that could get through State rules. Thus, you created a virtual "arms" race in campaign funding. The fund raising has come with implicit expectations for benefits – be it pet spending projects (the standard government contractor approach) or tax loopholes, etc. There is no real idealogy or structure left for the parties – it is all driven by fundraising.
This problem has been building since the 60s and 70s and is due in large part to the liberally leaning news propaganda cartel (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and others). This article is a prime example, it's obvious that Farred Zakaria is a proud warrior of this cartel.
You are all fukwads
What really really need is to reassert local control. The sections of New York controlled by orthodox Jews has very little crime, good educational attainment, a great sense of community, tolerance for everyone, and good average income. This country needs to have states rights to further local control
It's all about money. I am of the belief that politics in this country is nothing more than unadulterated class warfare. We will never lift up the poor by bringing down the rich. But by the same token a society is not judged by how affluent it is but rather by how far it goes to include its weakest members, the sick and the poor. My wife is very sick most, of my friends are poor and I'm the million dollar baby in the middle and it is so sad to see what's happening to this county.
The term "polarization" implies that there are two poles that are stubbornly far apart. But the real situation is the Democrats offering to compromise while the Republicans have utterly polarized. Please don't report this as a balanced situation in which both parties are equally to blame. The right wing is so far off the map that they think the center is far left.
This column and all those like it are the primary reason for "polarization." The Republicans have mastered the art of the false equivalence so much so that now without prompting people like Zakaria refer to the state of politics in terms of polorization. The majority of elected GOP are wingnuts and in line with the most extreme elements of the party. By comparison, only a scant few elected Democrats are true liberals. How can you say the part that is willing to cut medicare, medicaid, and social security is on par with those on the right. As long as those in the media keep repeating the conventional stupidity of "both sides do it" without conveying any sense of proportion, they will continue to give cover for the most extreme elements to continue as they are...because really if both sides really are doing it then the logical response is apathy.
Small parties? One guy runs the whole Republican Congress. And they've all sold their souls to him. In writing.
As an outsider to all this but still somewhat of an interested viewer of the political comings and goings in other countries I would have to say that Obama appears to be quite the centrist to be honest. From my perspective it is really what most politicians have to be in democratic nations all over in order to gain enough support to get elected and then elected again. Of course there might be some distinguishing ideals or slight leanings to left or right but in the end these for the most part can appear to be relatively minimal.
America has gone too far in immorality and normal people feel repulsive about it. How about splitting the nation into two or three? See who will prosper. The Christian nation!
Dumb.
Go Tea Party! You got the progressive liberals whining.
The liberals are having a difficult time getting their ideology passed without the aid of activist judges.
The public has been led by the nose to believe that fully half of their fellow Americans, their neighbors and even family members, are an enemy out to destroy the nation.
That the politicals in Washington play this game is not surprising, but that We the People have bought into the concept hook, line and sinker, is really disturbing. There is no rational explanation for this that justifies allowing ourselves to so happily become the house divided unto itself.
Of course, it's the other guy's fault.
The Tea Party and Terrorism Link Gets Stronger by the Day. Read why here > http://wp.me/pNmlT-Ii
It's breathtaking that progressive economists totally lack common sense and wisdom, while they condemn the common sense and wisdom of removing debt and explosive bloating of government. It's among the most basic financial principles that exploding debtor economy CANNOT be justified.
Neoconservatives, who infected the Republican party since GHW Bush, are a lighter version of socialists. Just examine their history. They are NOT conservatives beyond abortion and other, minor issues compared to the rocketing debt and outrageous bloat in government.
Progressives are either: 1) completely devoid of the common sense of the danger of exploding debt and the benefits of balanced budgets 2) are maliciously trying to bring down the US with exploding debt, try to to forcibly reboot the economy into a dystopia irrelevant to human nature's true influence on the economy 3) are totally incompetent. 4) a mix of 1, 2, and 3.
Far right ideologues are also nutty, in also not listening to common sense, wisdom or constructive criticism, just like progressives.
Since when is the common sense of removing exploding size in government - also directly related to exploding size (or justification of it - EXTREMIST??
Any small banker or private borrower should be able to figure this out at and individual level.
I wish people would snap out of this ideological dementia of accepting exploding debt and explosive growth in the size of government, both of which neoconservatives and progressives embrace.
From this article I surmise that Democrats are alll about reason and compromise and that their strings aren't being pulled by radical outlets like MoveOn, Kos, and Huffington.
You nailed it. When the right stands up, their extremists. When the Left stands up, their do gooders.
Dems and Repubs are all alike. On paper they're virtually identical. It's not about Left-Right anymore. It's Us against the State. I'm going for the one I can trust, who isn't owned by special interests and lobbyists, socially tolerant and fiscally conservative. We've got to stop these wars, wean people off the welfare teat and get this country back to work. I'm voting for Ron Paul!
Fareed Zakaria's books are much better than his political analysis. There's a lot better analysis out there than this grocery store magazine drivel.
STOP IT!! You are scaring the "normal" folks! For those with moderate views there is not a place to identify. Common sense MUST be restored or else this nation is in deep trouble. I don't believe this country has ever been this divided before. Extremist viewpoints from either side will not allow this country to even begin to repair itself from this giant mess it's in. Let's take back the middle ground. Go to Facebook and "LIKE" PROJECT RESTORE MODERATION.
Judging from some of the wildly outrageous stuff here, I'm wondering why my own rather tame contribution hasn't been posted. Kind of offended, actually. If this one gets posted, guess I'll have to figure that I, somehow, screwed up the last one.
Aw, Jeez, guess it was JusMe. Wish I could remember the one I screwed up.
I would have to say that the Press is most responsible for the polarization. Few if any journalists do more than play the he said/she said game. They rarely if ever challenge a politician when they spew obvious lies and continue to give forum to the most radical of both sides. Christine Roman did call out Florida's insane governor this morning for his failure to answer or even understand simple questions. Like his partners in crime in DC, Scott merely falls back on the one or two-liners they're fed by the RNC and FOX each morning. Playing both ends against the middle as they have for years now was bound to have detrimental consequences for our country and that's exactly where we stand today. Of course, so long as they keep selling newspapers or racking up hits on the internet to impress their advertisers, they really couldn't care less.
Where's the pledge that says, "I won't take any money from lobbyists and corporations?" That's the root of ALL the problems in Washington-garten. Who's circulating that pledge? I'd like to know!
TEA party is the root cause of problems. Also republican party is owned by rich people. They have almost destroyed the middle class. They are still not happy. They should remember that we had surplus when President Clinton left office. We had bad deficit and loss of jobs when President Bush left office. All the tax cuts during Bush era did not help job creation. We have more new jobs in last two years than eight years of Bush administration.
Looks to me like the wealthy americans think that they are above the working class people as human beings.
The owner of the company won't get anywhere without workers. Both need each other. So, give the guy who actually generates the product, a break. Start paying your fair share of taxes, do you really need that 4th house and the 15th car????
One reason why democrats are weaker, is that among their ranks, they don't have as many vocal nuts and extremists as republicans. Their extreme views get all not-so-smart people going and the voice of reason won't get heard because the voice of reason doesn't shout loud enough!
And the voice of reason does not garner big ratings for the tea party media like CNN and FOX. Christine O'donnel's debate was covered because she was a nut and CNN knows that hate and crazy is selling. Then when they crack and shoot a United States Congresswoman, Oh no, what did THEY do! THEY did it, not the media, we are not in this, we are non biased.
People tend to be blinded by their financial situation. Not saying they are bad,...Just blind to a certain degree.
Cut social programs at a time like this and prepare to deal with a sharp increas in crime and begging...Yes begging.
Need to fix social programs? Yes. But have some common sense.
$ thrown into a social program is not fluushed down the toilet. It buys THINGS. Things that create and keep jobs.
There are not enough jobs and have never been enough to go around.
Jobs have been trimmed over the past quarter century to make more $ for the shareholders. Good for the economy? Yes and no.
If you are $ secure, God bless you and congrats. I don't begrudge that. If you commute less than 20 miles a day or have a company vehicle and or gas card...You are blinded my friend. Fuel cost is absolutely killing this nation.
The economy is in the toilet because of FUEL. Think about it. Many folks spend over $150 a week in gas to commute. Do the math. When it reaches a certain level, they must curb spending on goods,...Goods that creat JOBS. Then they must choose which gets cut this month, the mortgage or the car payment.
Whay am I making these points? Simply put, people like Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh and a whole swarm of others have lied and twisted things enough to make a large section of the working middle class (who pays way more than their fair share in taxes) believe that the Tea Party is on your side...Wake up folks! I am very much a moderate. But these exteme agendas and viewpoints are dividing us. That's a bad thing.
America is only politically polarized in any real sense insofar as there is a black US President in the White House, and many Confederate Flag bumper stickers that say, "Forget, Hell!, on the back bumpers of gas guzzlers. Many of which are being driven from gun shows to convenience stores, for cigarettes and booze, by extremists who swear there is no legit US president because the occupant of the Oval Office was born in Kenya, or Indonesia. Truly, the tea party is correct about one thing. The money spent on public education as been all but completely wasted.
Timmy is Exhibit A for the proof of the failure of public eduction.
The reason so many people watch FOX is that they want positive reinforcement for their bigoted world views.It's idiot safety in idiot numbers. It is much easier to get a bunch of stupid people on the same page than free thinkers who consider many news sources and question them all.
Well put, Dugee! Totally agree!
Rush LImbaugh said it, "IT WAS ABOUT RACE". The hatred for President Obama overrides love of coutry and what is in the best interest of country for some. When the Democratic leader concedes on tax revenues and offers cuts but debt limit increase and that's refused as well then we have to look beyond the issues. The media can partner in the big cover up but everyone sees it and is calling it for what it is. It's just good ole fashioned American as apple pie, RACISM. And if this is the legacy of Reagan's party, then so be it. The party of hate would prefer to destroy or hurt Americans than to give that "liar", j"d***head, n*****,President anything. Elections have consequences. When you have a tea party media like CNN (Erikson), FOX,, etc. you do get more than your 15 minutes. Enjoy it, it looks like it will be short lived. Next election please..
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/28/balkin.obama.options/index.html?hpt=hp_p1&iref=NS1
"You don't have to believe in your government to be a good American; you just have to believe in your country."
- [ George W. Bush _in_ Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay ]
(...OK so I fibbed a little when I tweeted that I was starting a Babylon 5 DVD marathon...)
I'd say that we're right on track as a nation. I'm not sure where those tracks are going, but I doubt that trying to derail the train is a viable option.
– (all me)
What you are seeing is a sharp correction of a government that has moved too far left. Prior to Obama, as I believe Peggy Noonan commented, most policies started in the middle and then tracked left. we are simply paying for that tilt now.
Obama's presidency has been wholly one sided. No compromise in him. Remember the "ditch" comment and the "Republicans should shut up" comment. Where was Mr. Zakaria's outrage then Perhaps he was too busy cheering.
I didn't see an comments on CNN about how Obama was unwilling to compromise. It's always the Republicans that are extremists and fail to compromise. CNN, it's time to get fair and balanced.
The truth is that Obama has done too much compromising , negotiator as he is by nature.
The other side is determined to drive him on his knees for
personal reasons, at the expense of the country.
100% correct... Sen Mitch McConnell noted that his top priority was to insure that Obama was a one term president, not to create jobs, or help the ecomomy. Like the rest of the GOP bought and paid for trash on the hill they are willing to destroy America and turn it into Mexico all for the benefit NOT of the American people as a whole, but for the super wealthy and special interests that lien their pockets. It's time for a masive display of unhappiness by the majority.
The Tea Party is descended directly from The John Birch Society – the father of the Koch Brothers (Tea Party founders) was a co-founder of the John Birch Society). The hysteria they manifest against Obama and the US Govt. has at its root an extreme resentment that a black man occupies the White House. It is good ol' American racism that is destroying this country. Unfortunately, America deserves every rotten thing in store for the evils it has committed. Unfortunately for most of us, we are stuck here and have no way out. No one needs to drop a bomb on the US – the U.S. is handily destroying itself from within. The damage has already been done by this debt-default business and it cannot be undone. The following reality is extremely unfortunate: the white race is the most spiteful race on the planet – it would rather flush the country down the toilet than to share. May the Force be with us...............
Language is a much bigger divide than politics, and that divide is becoming an angry chasm.
MAYBE its time we GROW UP and start Governing OURSELVES. We no longer need 'Representatives' who ONLY represent the Lobbyists who PAY them. The INTERNET has created a NATIONAL TOWN HALL where Citizens could VOTE on Issues instead of for People to Vote FOR US. DEMOCRACY – It is what we SAY we Believe in DO WE?
ROFL Why does CNN ask a question about Polarization then only talk about Conservatives....your news agency is really this hypocritical? But its pretty easy question to answer. The people who WORK are tired of paying for people who are LAZY. 52% of Americans do not pay taxes...over half our country..and people like Obama, liberals, democrats want the 48% to pay more. Well F U. Sorry you dont get hand outs when your chatting on a cellphone..or using foodstamps at McDonalds..or watching cable TV..or drivng around in a 20k$ car...and then say "I cant afford health care" or "I cant afford to feed my own kids".
Duh, the problems start to go away when you stop wasting our money.
Does anyone else note the irony that an article about why we're so politically polarized points all the blame on the right? However, it does serve as a perfect illustration about exactly what IS wrong in DC right now. Finger pointing. Nobody wants to work to make our country better, they just oppose the other side and do whatever it takes to get themselves re-elected. Our government has ceased being about "governing" our great country, and is nothing more than a bunch of power hungry people doing whatever they can to keep that power. It's no longer of the people, by the people and for the people. It's over the people, around the people, and behind the people.
Hey wow look, a bunch of comments from Republicans attacking Obama and a bunch of Democrats defending him. How utterly shocking...
We need to take legal action against any representatives and senators acting in bad faiths. Deplete them of all assets – harrass them, deliver trillions of pizzas to their house – insult them – make them miserable.
Propagana machine in action has turned Americans against themselfs. Hitler learned that propaganda will make good people do bad things. Rush, Foux News and the rest of the nut cases on the airwaves have turned brother against brother... People listening to half truths by people paid big dollars to deliver messages is causing the downfall of this country. Within one generation the US will look like Mexico... a small super rich class and massive poor... who is to blame... the propaganda machine and all of its followers.
I won't argue much of your point I will however add there are other players in this game pulling the strings like the Multinational corporations, the health care industry, the pharmacuetical industry, the oil industry all are part of what I call multinationals and they invest and advertise with this media thus controlling the message to a degree but certainly at the approval of Rupert Murdoch and Koch bros....
We arrive in rusty 1964 motorhomes.
We carry bibles and loaded assault weapons.
We wear ridiculous costumes and have teabags dangling from our earlobes.
We carry misspelled racist signs as we stomp all over the White House lawn.
We are Sarah Palin's real Americans.
We love the baby jesus the most, and we also love to boink our cousins.
We believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old, and that nascar is a real sport.
We are the birthers, we are the baggers.
We are republicans, we are morons and we are proud.
Never again vote on any Dem., Rep. or Tea Party. Oust them all and go independant
Politics aren't 2 dimensional. I think that's something everyone is forgetting.
Good luck with getting that notion pass around a populace that seems to vote based on 1 or 2 issues at best.
Gotta say, I used to be a democrat and would argue with republicans but The democrats have gone to liberal for me. I don't think we need to say no to raising the debt ceiling, but I do think we need to raise it and then cut spending. I'm 30 and quite frankly, I don't know that I count on getting ANY social security even though I've always had it taken from my checks. Wish all the people who want to spend like there is no tomorrow would realize that eventually their kids may have to pay the bill.
Being 30 makes your first electioin that you may or may not have voted in 1982. America has not seen a liberal democratic party since 1976. Since that time the dems have shifted further and further to the right. Our president now is so right leaning it is hard for me a liberal to vote for him but the alternative is a group of nut jobs h&ll bent on dividing this nation in to nation states rather than United States. I think it would help your perspective if you just looked at the platforms and issues from 1964 – 1980 to kind of round out your view of what is left and right. It could be said that Ron Paul is so far right he is left, as a liberal I agree with much of Ron Pauls ideas....so do us all a favor and look in to history of our politics and read just deep enough to get an idea of where we were and and where we are now.
Most posts on here that I have read seem to ignore his number one reason. Redistricting, my state MN is a perfect example, the right created a for lack of better description pair shaped district with a cresant on the narrow side. This district avoids higher populations and a mix of ethnic and economic groups. This district has elected Michele Bachman 3 times now. Close to the border of her district is a more diverse city district which elected Congressmen Kieth Ellison. Not to say this redistricting hasn't been done by both parties nation wide but in MN the GOP was the party that did it when they got in to power under Jesse Ventura. Now it will be decided by the courts because the GOP is in power but the governor is a Democrat. So once again we turn to the courts which are becoming more and more politically motivated rather than just vehicals of the law they now have partisan leanings if not all out partisan agendas like our Supreme Court. This is the main reason divide the districts to focus on less diverse economic and ethinic groups and you get the haves and the havenots this is the GOP agenda separate the Whites from everyone else separate the Rich from everyone else and give them the power and the money.
First, the Tea Party is way too moderate for me even though I think they are moving us in the right direction. If you read the Founders and follow the polices & practices of the U.S. for the first one hundred and thirty years or so of our history as they relied on the political philosophy of such thinkers as John Locke, then one will see that the Tea Party is just scratching the surface of needed reformation of our potlics and our expectations of government.
You are correct. Everyone should own their own black person... and have a barefoot woman to cook them dinner.
Very funny...who has advocated slavery?
A strong influence that undermined the former classically liberal/socially conservative consensus was mass immigration. The traditions of those who came to America early-on was diluted and, in some locales, displaced by large numbers of peoples who did not share in the American ethos. There is no way to separate, in practice, political and economic theory from established ways of life that ideas are embodied within in daily practice. If not for the immigrant population, FDR would not have had the successes that he enjoyed. If not for FDR, the left would not have gained a foothold in American politics. For more on this consider *Time* Magazine essayist Lance Morrow's article, "Cowboys and Immigrants." Smithsonian magazine, May 2009.
Another influence undermining the traditional fundamental consensus was the move of elites to the left.
This is the best article I've read by Fareed Zakaria. And one of the best I've read on the troubling problem of increasing polarization of american politics. Thank you, Fareed.
What is Fareed blathering on about? Is America the only country that has polarized politics? Well, I guess, Fareed! No other country experiences this. Come on, Fareed. Think about it, man. Think before you waste all your time writing a hack-piece for Ted. Be free! Live Free. You are not free when you write for Ted.
I agree with this article for the most part but the major flaw that Mr. Zakaria fails to really address is the fact that since Reagan the country has continued to move further and further to the right. Being left of center has continued to be seen as more and more unpatriotic. The perfect example can be seen with Obama. Politically he is very moderate, but he is constantly painted as a radical leftist by the right wing. Obama's healthcare plan is eerily similar to the one Bob Dole ran on. Bush Sr. originally came up with a plan for the environment that closely resembles cap n trade. These are now seen as leftist takeovers. CNN, John Stewart, and whoever else can pretend all they want that both sides are equally wrong but in reality things continue to move right.
How high would the national debt have to get as a % of GDP before you'd expect a movement like the Tea Party? It's not gerrymandering or Twitter that gave rise to the Tea Party, it's fear of a Greece-style meltdown. All the major political battles of the last 2 years, budget, debt ceiling, Obamacare, stimulus, collective bargaining have had at their heart the same issue. The size and scope of government.
It's the growth of government and the creation of a class of people dependent on government largess that has polarized politics in recent years.
American politics have been divided and polarized from the very start. This is nothing new and anybody with any real knowledge of American history knows this! It is actually a good thing! Efficient government isn't something the Founding Fathers had in mind. Too much compromise makes for too strong a centralized government, something no real American needs or wants. Generally lefties like Fareed Zakaria only start lamenting the ‘polarization' when their side is losing popular support. Well stuff it, Zakaria! It is what is! Your side wants to spend the country into communism followed by oblivion and now everyone knows it so the tide is turning against you! Too bad, so sad! Live with it!
Oh and for those total lunatics who are arguing that Obama is conservative or even a centrist: Go read some of his own writings you jerks! Just because he didn't succeed in turning this country into a communist collective the way you loonies wanted him to, doesn't change the fact the he dearly WANTED and still WANTS to do that! Luckily for the country he's such an incompetent fool that the electorate has caught on and stopped him in his tracks, but that doesn't make Obama a conservative or a centrist, not by a long shot!
You have no idea what you're talking about. Clinton was more liberal than Obama and yeah, he took crap from the right but nothing like this. Maybe because he was a white guy. Perhaps you should study the political spectrum friend. I hope someday we get a real liberal in office so I can watch all of you tea baggers cry.
the argument above about whether Obama is liberal enough or too liberal is proof of exactly what Fareed was talking about!
What about the effects of the culture of ME, Fareed? As in, it's all about ME, it's MY way or the highway, do what makes ME happy, etc. America is the most individualistic country in the world. This may have been true 100 years ago, too, but it's gotten so much worse. Not only can we not agree on anything anymore, in 9 out of 10 contexts we're sold the lie that this is a good thing because it means we're living out our "freedom," or celebrating our "diversity" or some sh!t. Please. Our problems go so much deeper than this article is willing to acknowledge, but since it's safe, easy, and fast to run with surface issues like gerrymandering or scary Fox newscasters, that's what we get, article after article, time after time.
Why is it we care about Federal Government so much? They are so freaking big! Why are they so big? They keep spending money and growing.How are they able to do this when our economy is week? Debt and more Debt. Polarization has always been from the beginning, there is no cure for people differing on opinions, that's what free speech is. Freedom allows people to have their own opinions not like blind nationalism. Our representatives are actually representing us in Washington (finally) and you are see a REVOLT!
Go back to India Gandhi!!!
America is a two party nation, Fareed. Polarization is to be expected and it's always been this way. There's no more or no less polarization today then there was 100 years ago. Whining about polarization is something Democrats do when they're losing in order to gain sympathy and cast Republicans as mean and cruel. I understand you've not been here long and don't have a mature perspective on America. You were brought up in a Godless nation with massive poverty and a caste system, where people believe you can die and come back as a cow. A nation of a billion people with no sense of autonomy or independence. Like one giant ant colony. Don't lecture us, Fareed, because you have nothing to offer America.
As an Obama voter, I take exception with Mr. Zakaria's statement that the Tea Party is un-American. Protest through the democratic process is very American. Standing on one's principles is very American. If those who do not agree with the strident Tea Paerty, (me), want to change things we should likewise use the democratic process.
David Bergen just wrote an article suggesting that we need a leader like Churchill. I don’t believe the leadership he is asking for can come from President Obama or any other politician. Unfortunately, our politicians are not leaders, they are followers of popular ideas. But there is an ARMY of people and organizations out there with great ideas and solutions. I can’t read their reports, articles and blogs fast enough the keep up. I can’t decide which one to donate to next. This is where leadership would really pay off. Imagine if someone could bring all this excellent effort together and focus it on a common vision, a common set of objective and a common strategy. I suggest that someone with connections and influence (like Arianna Huffington) organize a convention this fall of “Americans for the Center”. If Grover Norquist can control the entire Republican Party with a stupid pledge, imagine what someone could do with who actually had the common good in mind and could create an intelligent debate. I expect the Super Congress to be more of the same and a waste of 6 months, so I suggest we start now and show Washington what leadership from the middle looks like.
I suggest the organizer include Jim Wallis from Sojourners and someone from Coexist so there is rational religious representation. Remember that the reason we have the separation of church and state is because the Baptists put pressure on Jefferson.
Since the time a Greek pointed out the flaw of the politics of his time in that "we" vote for the most popular person {best,richest,handsomest schmoozer] instead of the most capable and intellectual -that seems to have remained the same. I think the main problem or where to put the blame for politics in washington is on the voters who vote for people who I consider are both stupid and lack common sense and wonder why things go to hell. Michelle Bachman for instance disagrees with 95% of scientists over a global warming gas saying it is not a problem yet she is the front runner currently for the republicans. In Oregon's last elections a man ran who wanted to put reactor waste into the infrastructure as a great idea-why do we even consider these people and allow them to run? This is a separate issue from if they are christian or not but on that subject church and state should be separated as we are not all of the same faith but may worship god as we please if it harms no other-that's American!{also allowing Agnostics and non believers].What about being stewards of the earth? It seems it's just too easy to say christ is coming and drill baby drill . Also if christ comes his reign on earth will be for some time-so I wonder why christian politics always seem not to want to keep the world nice until he gets here [and as Americans we don't all have to believe it matters not if we gut the earth as we will live forever in heaven].
I personally have to admit taking secret pleasure [there's a german but no english word for this] in the fact that for the first time a democrat is spending instead of saving and the republican's are doing a flip too-so after 50 years of democrats getting the budget under control and republican's spending when they get into office I am enjoying immensely seeing so many republicans crying out against the madness of spending and going into debt-circus maximus! I bring this up here as Obama is not being your typical democrat in many ways ,and if not leaning to the left in many areas of legislation he is nowhere typical or to the right.
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One of the biggest problems driving divisive polarization is bad economic times. It brings the extremists out of the woodwork every time. The truth is we need political parties because they make democracy work. Otherwise it would be sheer chaos trying to get everybody to agree on something.
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It's rabid newscasters like Rush Limbaugh that are the root of the problem. A person who can blackmail politicians into taking extreme positions are a threat to Democracy plain and simple.
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