Beginning of the End?

            The numbers are in...Gallup, Wall Street Journal and other polls indicated historic low support for the government shutdown and debt ceiling brinksmanship. Currently, only 28% of Americans identify themselves as Republicans. Within the Republican ranks, only a handful of extremists support the current failed course of the Party. The next fight we're likely to see played out is the one between the survivalists and the suicide contingent within the Party.

            A large part of the disconnect of Republicans to the People is that Republican legislators return home to gerrymandered districts with over 80% Republican support. That's fine for keeping your job but lousy for connecting to the big picture. When the people you talk to agree with you, you're likely to think you're right and that many more people agree with you. When you insulate yourself in the current "us and them" framing and only talk to the "us", you're likely to create a lot more "thems".

            The Party extremists, who are there to obstruct rather than actually govern, fail to realize what their job is. Politics forges a way forward for beliefs and policies. The delusional element of the extremists is they never had a path forward, currently don't have a path forward, and really don't care about creating a path forward. Politics involves expressing the passion of your beliefs while exercising the prudence needed to shift of political realities.  

            The polls and public sentiment may mean a tipping point historically for the Republican Party's survival. While the current entrenched and irrational course is meant to impact the functioning of Democrats, it could well trigger the demise of extremism within the Republicans. Prominent Republican billionaires see their empires threatened have ordered a course change. When your billionaires turn against you, you lose guys. Big money runs this game. You can tick off the People, but you will lose if you tick off Big Money.

            One might think that the Democrats would really benefit from this business. They might if people vote against Republicans, but people are not likely to choose to vote for Democrats. With a vacuum of leadership across the board, people have lost their faith in Government and collective action over the last few generations. Government has intruded into every aspect of life without improving the quality of that life. We are more deferential towards institutions and less trusting in general as a society.  The American People are the real losers in this shutdown affair as Government loses its ability to empower upward mobility, promote social justice, and stimulate economic growth.

            In all the talk of ideological "truth", purity, hostages, enemies, and surrender is a lack of talk about progress and national competition. The media shaping political realities is fixated on failure and blame, rather than promoting successes and responsibility. And there are many successes forged by the concerted action of Government. For example, the US has hundreds of land grant colleges. The EPA has removed 95% of lead from the air. We're not likely to hear what has been done well, as that doesn't divide, anger, terrify, or justify, the drivers of political media. Whatever happened to a nation divided against itself?