--- Marta Russell <ap888 at lafn.org> wrote:
> In 1994 there wasn't touchscreen voting. Now you've
> got the Mark
> Crispin Miller's book "Fooled Again" factor - Miller
> is adamant that
> the Diebold and other electronic voting machines are
> corrupted.
Marta, in the great scheme of life this is a relatively minor factor that may help swaying a close call here or there, but does not alter the big picture. Gerrymandering mentioned by Micheal is a significantly bigger problem, because it institutionalizes such swaying of close calls, but again does not alter the pig picture.
And the supposed grip of the DP on the US left that Carrol mentions? What left? If you seriously think that there is such a thing as left in the US that would gain anyhing of significance without the DP, think again. Anything that Left has gained in this country since FDR was possible mainly because of "elitist" politics of the DP that managed to rout the much larger forces of domestic reaction. Now the tables have turned and the DP is being routed.
The big picture here has two elements: 1. The US is society is much more conservative than those in other developed countries - in terms of the share of population that feels "at home" with conservative ideology. 2. The majoritarian electoral system does not allow anything else that dhe Democrat-repug dupoly, and the conservative bent of the population heavilu favors the Repugs.
Wojtek
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