Politics without Politics

I have remarked before how the bipartisan front masks political artifice in the guise of technocratic administration. An article in the Philadelphia Enquirer on the Bucks County judicial election provides another illustrative example.

The race has been enlivened by charges of political chicanery . . . Democratic and Republican leaders struck an agreement to endorse the same slate of candidates - two Republicans and one Democrat - for three judgeships on the May 19 primary ballot. "The party bosses have rigged the game," said candidate Lawrence Otter, a Democrat who was not endorsed. "A backroom deal cut by the party bosses," declared First Assistant District Attorney David Zellis, a snubbed Republican candidate. Proponents say the endorsement removes politics with its bipartisan support of well-qualified candidates. (Emphasis added.)

Interestingly, in this instance, the bipartisan consensus has been met with bipartisan opposition, which is not surprising. It is the height of irony for Demoblican and Republicrat party leaders to eliminate competition before a vote by jointly deciding their endorsements, and then justify it by claiming it removes politics from the process.