In this year of presidential election in the US, There's something that doesn't fail to surprise me when reading the American newspapers or the numerous blogs that American citizens devote to their domestic politics: the ferocity each side seems to have in store for the opposite camp.
Whaow! Looks like there's no lost love between the Dems and the Republicans.
One may think it's quite normal that on this particular field when points of view diverge there's some heat to be expected but really, to this point of antagonism...
Of course, as a Frenchman what do I know about American politics? But if I try to compare with the traditional opposition between right and left in Europe, only far leftists would be so vindictive against far rightist, and conversely.
But these two extremes amount to about 10% of the voters in France whereas Democrats and Republicans make about, say, 90% of the voters in the US.
Is this virulence a good and faithful image of the American national mentality when it comes to debating and exchanging ideas? Or more simply is the pattern of thoughts so different that no comparison can be made between the way Europeans and Americans deal with their respective domestic concerns?
Whaow! Looks like there's no lost love between the Dems and the Republicans.
One may think it's quite normal that on this particular field when points of view diverge there's some heat to be expected but really, to this point of antagonism...
Of course, as a Frenchman what do I know about American politics? But if I try to compare with the traditional opposition between right and left in Europe, only far leftists would be so vindictive against far rightist, and conversely.
But these two extremes amount to about 10% of the voters in France whereas Democrats and Republicans make about, say, 90% of the voters in the US.
Is this virulence a good and faithful image of the American national mentality when it comes to debating and exchanging ideas? Or more simply is the pattern of thoughts so different that no comparison can be made between the way Europeans and Americans deal with their respective domestic concerns?
10 commentaires:
Hi Flocon,
//Democrats and Republicans make about, say, 90% of the voters in the US.//
Many estimates put independent voters at around 35%. Of course, many will usually pick from the Dem and GOP candidates, but not all. Not altogether sure if the exact numbers but that leaves about 65% left that are registered Dems or Republicans.
LA has it right.
Beginning fifteen years before 1776, colonists formed essentially three evenly divided opinion groups: those who preferred to maintain ties with English royalty, radicals who advocated separation from England, and those who weren’t sure about either of the other two positions; we’ll call them moderates. As British military forces attempted to suppress radical activities, the moderate group began moving more to the left toward the radicals; it was the beginning of a rather consistent trend that remains in place today. American voters are mostly moderates; they will shift to the right, or left to support political candidates who are most appealing to them on relevant issues. One can see examples of this moderate swing throughout American history.
Important moderate shifts were involved in the election of Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George Bush.
For some reason, the American press treats political campaigns as if they were a sort of athletic game. Lexicon includes “race,” the “punt,” “scoring,” and so on. There is the usual rhetoric about candidates who change their positions (ostensibly pandering for votes), but even these “flip-flops” fall within the margin of moderate thinking. Every candidate knows that the only way to win any state wide or national election is to adopt and maintain a moderate position — psychologically, that’s where most Americans are.
It is easy to understand how such events can appear confusing to an outsider. Reference to blue states (favoring Democrats) vs. red states (favoring Republicans) is somewhat misleading. A blue state may lean heavily toward democratic candidates, but it is important to understand that each political party has a range of sentiments. There is little difference, however, between conservative democrats, and liberal republicans and this is why a moderate to conservative democrat might feel comfortable voting for Ronald Reagan; it is also why people like John Kerry (a radical-liberal) can be defeated by someone like George Bush (moderate conservative).
The true test for voters here is not what candidates say, it is what they do. Clinton can say she favors a moderate approach to problem solving, but her 35-year record tells another story. Giuliani, even as a moderate has a problem because most Americans think he lacks integrity: if he cannot remain committed to his family, can he remain committed to a political ideology? So we shall see . . .
Ouf! You're right Flocon. However, it should be noted that so-called moderates such as George Bush are more "conservative" and further to the right than Le Pen.. Whereas so called "leftists" here in the U.S. are not as far to the left as so-called "gauchistes" in France...
Jon Stewart did a report on the extreme language used by the tv media to talk about the most mundane incidents in the campaign.
It is not surprising that bloggers are rather harsh, but that is largely to do with the disappearance of traditional conservatives in the U.S.
The GOP is not the Party of Eisenhower anymore and the wingnut bloggers have almost all been nurtured on the far right Reagan/Bush myth. None of them knows who Eisenhower was. Nor do they know that GWB's grandfather, Prescott, was a founder and lawyer for Planned Parenthood. An indication of how far(right)things have gone.
Leftie bloggers react strongly against this spectrum shift.
One blog, Firedoglake, had this video up which they titled something like Republicans negotiating in good faith with the Democrats. "Your Brains".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjMiDZIY1bM
It pretty well describes what Republicans mean by compromise.
BTW, January 29th is Thomas Paine's birthday. A toast.
Yes, leftie bloggers react strongly against such things as "pro-life" positions, death penalty, and war after war after war, year after year after year, and we react strongly against the use of torture..
There is a huge divide between the left and the right in the U.S.
LA
"about 65% left that are registered Dems or Republicans."
The notion of being registered isn't clear cut in my mind.
Does that mean being a member of the 2 main parties?
Hi Joann,
As a matter of fact, what I read on the Internet is much closer to what you describe in terms of violence and sarcasm and personnal attacks...
Thanks for the video link ned.
I always wonder how you know these pieces exist???
I guess one has to be American to fully understand and appreciate this one for example.
Flocon,
//Does that mean being a member of the 2 main parties?//
Oui.
Flocon, I consult about half a dozen political websites regularly, in this case Firedoglake. There is also Onegoodmove. These are good because they deal with a variety of subjects.
And there are few more.
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