From The American Conservative (of all places):
| it is necessary to distinguish between a sudden proliferation of fascist tendencies and an imminent danger. There may be, among some neocons and some more populist right-wingers, unmistakable antidemocratic tendencies. But America hasn’t yet experienced organized street violence against dissenters or a state that is willing—in an unambiguous fashion—to jail its critics. The administration certainly has its far Right ideologues—the Washington Post’s recent profile of Alberto Gonzales, whose memos are literally written for him by Cheney aide David Addington, provides striking evidence. But the Bush administration still seems more embarrassed than proud of its most authoritarian aspects. Gonzales takes some pains to present himself as an opponent of torture; hypocrisy in this realm is perhaps preferable to open contempt for international law and the Bill of Rights.
And yet the very fact that the f-word can be seriously raised in an American context is evidence enough that we have moved into a new period. The invasion of Iraq has put the possibility of the end to American democracy on the table and has empowered groups on the Right that would acquiesce to and in some cases welcome the suppression of core American freedoms. That would be the titanic irony of course, the mother of them all—that a war initiated under the pretense of spreading democracy would lead to its destruction in one of its very birthplaces. But as historians know, history is full of ironies. |
It's late, and I'm exhausted, but a quick thought and then more tomorrow, or perhaps this weekend...
There is a theory in political science called the theory of "critical realignments." It comes in a wide variety of forms, but in rough form it goes something like this. Every 30-40 years or so (the timing is not the critical point), the United States enters an electoral period in which old electoral coalitions fracture and new ones form. These periods are eras of profound transformation and political upheaval - 1932 and FDR's New Deal are a perfect example. 1896 is quite often cited as another. And although there is some debate over this, either 1972 or 1980 are often cited as the most recent occurrence of a realignment.
Again, I'll try to come back to this in much more detail, hopefully with an explanation of Stephen Skowronek's perhaps unintentional addition to the theory, but the short version for tonight is this:
We're due for a realignment. And a splintering of the right along civil liberties issues is exactly the type of issue which might help bring one along.
Food for thought.
Night kids...
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