It’s good to have you back,Joe! I look forward to hearing what suggestions you have to restore centrist politics in America. This is a better use of your vast experience and valuable perspective than ranting about Orange Jesus…
Pursuit of sensible centrism and moderation is a virtue. More so now. But a political system increasingly overrun by dark money won’t allow it. No Labels is/was not a vehicle for “sanity”. It is just another inside the beltway interest backed by those who would rollback progress made in the last century for those who work hard and play by the rules. Follow the money.
This column did it. I’ve subscribed. Anomie v ennui indeed. And Ry Cooder! I think I’d enjoy having a beer with you. I can’t predict whether the feeling would be mutual of course.
With one exception, I believe there is home for sanity-minded people and it is, in fact, the Democratic Party. The progressive left makes more noise, to be sure, making especially good use of the amplifiers hooked up to the Times and MSNBC and all the rest, but most policy is being driven by the likes of Gina Raimondo, Janet Yellin and Jake Sullivan, people with whom you may not entirely agree with but who can be defined as patriotic public servants with whom a rational debate can be held.
That exception, alas, is education, which the Democrats have screwed up royally, both passively, by allowing the unions to run rampant, and actively, by imposing all kinds of half-baked theories, most of them coming out of Harvard and Columbia. Slowly, I have seen the debate on some of the most egregious excesses of the left - the trans issue, dismissivenes of law enforcement, reparation - turn to the direction of, well, sanity, but it requires that moderates not get discouraged and stay and fight.
In the worthwhile fiction dept., do check out James McBride’s latest THE HEAVEN &EARTH GROCERY STORE. A real novelist’s skill brimming with humanity. Balm for these dark times
Please Joe, no more reforms! We have reformed our way to the point where the activist extremists in each party get to pick the candidates. The moderate "silent majority" can no longer depend on seasoned professionals in smoke filled rooms to serve up reasonably appetizing choices. If they want something other than ennui or anomie they are going to have to get off their duffs and get more involved in politics at the ground level. Ordinary people in each party are going to have to stand up and tell their prospective candidates that what they are saying is just plain nuts. If you have a politician who's being "primaried" because he or she is too middle of the road, attend their speeches, cough up a buck for their campaign, and, of course, turn out on election day. Just don't depend on the media to do your heavy lifting. Too many of them are now the vanguard of the activist extremists.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, and my mind does too! I am a little surprised with your quote that only about 2000 people share your belief that we need a new centrist party. The good news is that a recent Gallup Poll noted that 49% of Americans see themselves as ‘politically independent’. Not quite the same as saying I want to vote for a third party I know, but that is probably because there isn’t a credible one.
On that note, I also share your sentiments on RFK Jnr, yet as an advocate for Schumpeter’s model of ‘Creative Destruction’, suggest that the current political system is so toxic and broken that it’s worth voting for him if for no other reason than to try something new.
If the definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result’, then it has to be worth throwing the proverbial spanner in the works. How much worse could a Kennedy Administration be than the two mainstream regimes we are being offered?
As always, thanks for your insightful and always engaging commentary.
It’s good to have you back,Joe! I look forward to hearing what suggestions you have to restore centrist politics in America. This is a better use of your vast experience and valuable perspective than ranting about Orange Jesus…
Pursuit of sensible centrism and moderation is a virtue. More so now. But a political system increasingly overrun by dark money won’t allow it. No Labels is/was not a vehicle for “sanity”. It is just another inside the beltway interest backed by those who would rollback progress made in the last century for those who work hard and play by the rules. Follow the money.
This column did it. I’ve subscribed. Anomie v ennui indeed. And Ry Cooder! I think I’d enjoy having a beer with you. I can’t predict whether the feeling would be mutual of course.
With one exception, I believe there is home for sanity-minded people and it is, in fact, the Democratic Party. The progressive left makes more noise, to be sure, making especially good use of the amplifiers hooked up to the Times and MSNBC and all the rest, but most policy is being driven by the likes of Gina Raimondo, Janet Yellin and Jake Sullivan, people with whom you may not entirely agree with but who can be defined as patriotic public servants with whom a rational debate can be held.
That exception, alas, is education, which the Democrats have screwed up royally, both passively, by allowing the unions to run rampant, and actively, by imposing all kinds of half-baked theories, most of them coming out of Harvard and Columbia. Slowly, I have seen the debate on some of the most egregious excesses of the left - the trans issue, dismissivenes of law enforcement, reparation - turn to the direction of, well, sanity, but it requires that moderates not get discouraged and stay and fight.
In the worthwhile fiction dept., do check out James McBride’s latest THE HEAVEN &EARTH GROCERY STORE. A real novelist’s skill brimming with humanity. Balm for these dark times
Please Joe, no more reforms! We have reformed our way to the point where the activist extremists in each party get to pick the candidates. The moderate "silent majority" can no longer depend on seasoned professionals in smoke filled rooms to serve up reasonably appetizing choices. If they want something other than ennui or anomie they are going to have to get off their duffs and get more involved in politics at the ground level. Ordinary people in each party are going to have to stand up and tell their prospective candidates that what they are saying is just plain nuts. If you have a politician who's being "primaried" because he or she is too middle of the road, attend their speeches, cough up a buck for their campaign, and, of course, turn out on election day. Just don't depend on the media to do your heavy lifting. Too many of them are now the vanguard of the activist extremists.
Politics for Donald and Joe are pretty much on a hiatus this month. Next month things may turn interesting.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, and my mind does too! I am a little surprised with your quote that only about 2000 people share your belief that we need a new centrist party. The good news is that a recent Gallup Poll noted that 49% of Americans see themselves as ‘politically independent’. Not quite the same as saying I want to vote for a third party I know, but that is probably because there isn’t a credible one.
On that note, I also share your sentiments on RFK Jnr, yet as an advocate for Schumpeter’s model of ‘Creative Destruction’, suggest that the current political system is so toxic and broken that it’s worth voting for him if for no other reason than to try something new.
If the definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result’, then it has to be worth throwing the proverbial spanner in the works. How much worse could a Kennedy Administration be than the two mainstream regimes we are being offered?
As always, thanks for your insightful and always engaging commentary.