tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post3585054219516395104..comments2024-01-06T17:38:53.551-05:00Comments on Poli-Tea: Bipartisanship and the Need for an Independent Oppositiond.erishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09186054212519025557noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post-66612940190378826602010-12-02T18:46:17.078-05:002010-12-02T18:46:17.078-05:00Alas, but most independents are not truly that ind...Alas, but most independents are not truly that independent.<br /><br />And we must focus on potentially feasible election reforms that don't require violence/revolutions, since that tends to favor the better healed.<br /><br />This is why I push for the use of 3-seated Hare LR elections for state representatives that let local third (LT) parties challenge the tacit areas of consensus without DLWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17709279441985086959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post-45802441288295905962010-12-02T18:26:20.044-05:002010-12-02T18:26:20.044-05:00If the next step beyond the rejection of the two-p...If the next step beyond the rejection of the two-party "idiot consensus" isn't clear, let me make it clear. There are two paths you can go by, and simultaneously. One of these is your own sense of how things could or should be, and the other is the understanding that independents have to look out for each other and it is in our "general" (not special) interest to advocate pete healeyhttp://www.prparty.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post-69898043988229047772010-12-02T14:57:06.269-05:002010-12-02T14:57:06.269-05:00Hi Sam, you write, "There's definitely a ...Hi Sam, you write, "There's definitely a discursive consensus between the two major parties, a shared language if not a philosophical agreement." I think this point is indisputable. The points of silent consensus are the most difficult to confront and potentially the most dangerous for our democratic republic. These points of consensus often go unnoticed simply because Democrats d.erisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post-44776910901503919382010-12-02T14:48:26.548-05:002010-12-02T14:48:26.548-05:00Hey Jack, you write, "Doing so would not be e...Hey Jack, you write, "Doing so would not be easy." No kidding. I think the first step toward political independence is calling oneself an independent, there is a speech-act dimension to politics in this way. Then, registering as an independent. But the step after that is the hardest, as you note, rejecting the bipolar order argumentatively. This may be the most difficult because d.erisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post-85263356788097371502010-12-01T16:25:09.298-05:002010-12-01T16:25:09.298-05:00Douthat apparently thinks that partisanship is the...Douthat apparently thinks that partisanship is the only alternative to dictatorship. He can imagine a one-party state all too easily but has more difficulty with the idea of a no-party state, which is the ideal toward which a multiplication of parties approaches, and what the Framers hoped for all along.<br /><br />There's definitely a discursive consensus between the two major parties, a Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5016245466912407364.post-11692982162707294882010-12-01T13:39:06.530-05:002010-12-01T13:39:06.530-05:00The cracks in duopoly are indeed apparent, even wi...The cracks in duopoly are indeed apparent, even with the pervasiveness of the partisan mindset. However, their foundation will remain intact as long as Americans allow themselves to be branded conservative or liberal, I have long argued such labels are bound inextricably to the current bipartisan structure. It is incumbent on independents as a group, not only to "decline to state" a AnarchyJackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11500477535693970944noreply@blogger.com