election demographics

[Brad DeLong]

>The Dems, or something like them, will always be marginally better 
>than the Repugs, or something like them. If a progressive or left 
>party gets rolling and wins more substantial support than the Greens 
>have this time, it will cut into Dem support. The nore successful 
>the left party is, the more deeply it will cut into Dem support. And 
>such a party cannot hope to win for a long time. That means that for 
>a long time, the role such a party could play in national elections 
>will necessarily be that of a spoiler. If we are not willing to do 
>that, we have indeed no business supporting a left party. But if we 
>have no business supporting a left party, we might as well pack it 
>in, give up on left politics, and become unhappily dissident Dems, 
>because that is what there is.

Yep. That's the way it is.

But it's better to recognize that you live in an Iron Cage than to 
pretend you don't.

The first way you are sane (if unhappy) and the keepers let you vent 
occasionally, and even allow you to work on raising the minimum wage 
and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit once in a while. Trust me: 
it's bad, but it's not *that* bad.

The second way you are simply mad, but happy.

Brad DeLong