From: "Nathan Newman" <nathan at newman.org>
> The election of Bush has shifted power within the Dems to the most
rightwing
> parts of the party, since they can give Bush decisive wins or withhold it
> based on deals cut and the fear of total GOP control if those marginal
> districts are not held.
-But why don't Republicans behave the same way? In 1992, Clinton won the -White House. But Republicans didn't respond by shifting leftward or sliding -into disarray. They moved sharply to the right, toward more ideological -coherence, discipline and partisanship. The Contract With America, etc.
The Contract with America was a relatively minor late-election idea of Gingrinch's that became important really when the GOP swept into full majorities in 1994.
During Clinton's first term, the GOP did so quite a bit to obstruct Clinton, although it was the southern Democrats who played that role most since they had the swing votes then. But then the Dems in the last year have played quite a bit of disruption as well.
But that is separate from what has happened empirically.
>You make it seem like it's an axiom of politics that electing a president
>from one party will push the other party toward the center. But that only
>seems to happen with Democrats.
I never said that this is an axiom-- I said it was what happened this year, in defiance of Nader supporters predictions. In fact, the election of Reagan moved many Democrats into a more oppositional stance that was quite useful, with the leadership of Tip O'Neill in recapturing ideological control of the House that was lost with the GOP-Boll Weevil governing alliance of Reagan's first term.
But that took mass mobilization by many progressive groups in support of Democratic candidates in 1982, 1984 and 1986 to recapture control of the House ideologically and then the Senate by Dems in 1986.
Gingrich started integrating grassroots rightwing groups, from gun activists to the Christian Coalition types, into the GOP apparatus starting in the early 80s. That was what allowed the right to become fully ascendant by 1994.
I would love to see the same fervor by left activists in taking over the Democratic apparatus, but most seem far more entranced by the useful exercise of building marginal, spoiler Green parties that can wield no power but make them feel good with their righteous no-compromise no-success purity.
-- Nathan Newman