Comments on: Delusional in Dixie? http://blog.locustfork.net/2009/10/delusional-in-dixie/ A Wide Open Weblog for Big News, the Big Picture Wed, 23 May 2012 19:13:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Paul Douglas http://blog.locustfork.net/2009/10/delusional-in-dixie/comment-page-1/#comment-3516 Paul Douglas Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:00:31 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5026#comment-3516 The future of Democratic leadership in Alabama looks pretty pittiful if Sparks only remedy for the economy is a lottery, and the Black leadership won't back one of its own. The future of Democratic leadership in Alabama looks pretty pittiful if Sparks only remedy for the economy is a lottery, and the Black leadership won’t back one of its own.

]]> By: Yana Davis http://blog.locustfork.net/2009/10/delusional-in-dixie/comment-page-1/#comment-3515 Yana Davis Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:26:06 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5026#comment-3515 The South has been regionalist before, to its own detriment. Southern Democrats from roughly 1880 to 1970 or so were very unlike their counterparts in the rest of the country on many issues. From 1948 on the alliance began to break down when the Southerners discovered the national party was actually serious about civil rights. Partisan politics is a bad idea, as Washington opined just over 200 years ago, for many reasons. We have justified it based on supposed greater good coming from it, but in reality, even greater good would come from choosing political leaders based on something other than the competitive sports team model. That there are winners and losers -- and I am talking about entire segments of the population here, not politicians -- is in and of itself an indictment of a system which Jefferson and others envisioned producing the greatest possible happiness for the greatest possible number of people. The continuing political division into rival teams effectively precludes government doing anything that is truly for the good of all. Now, we use government to do good for whatever team happens to be in charge, and its putative supporters. One solution would be to fill elected public office in the same way we choose jurors, with the stipulation you get one term and you're done, forever. Random selection from the entire pool of registered voters is far preferable to what we have now. And if you like sports, please note they're still on television. We don't need our political process to be one. The South has been regionalist before, to its own detriment. Southern Democrats from roughly 1880 to 1970 or so were very unlike their counterparts in the rest of the country on many issues. From 1948 on the alliance began to break down when the Southerners discovered the national party was actually serious about civil rights.

Partisan politics is a bad idea, as Washington opined just over 200 years ago, for many reasons. We have justified it based on supposed greater good coming from it, but in reality, even greater good would come from choosing political leaders based on something other than the competitive sports team model.

That there are winners and losers — and I am talking about entire segments of the population here, not politicians — is in and of itself an indictment of a system which Jefferson and others envisioned producing the greatest possible happiness for the greatest possible number of people.

The continuing political division into rival teams effectively precludes government doing anything that is truly for the good of all. Now, we use government to do good for whatever team happens to be in charge, and its putative supporters.

One solution would be to fill elected public office in the same way we choose jurors, with the stipulation you get one term and you’re done, forever. Random selection from the entire pool of registered voters is far preferable to what we have now.

And if you like sports, please note they’re still on television. We don’t need our political process to be one.

]]> By: Glynn Wilson http://blog.locustfork.net/2009/10/delusional-in-dixie/comment-page-1/#comment-3514 Glynn Wilson Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:19:38 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5026#comment-3514 Also bad news for the South. If the media and education does not get better, and soon, the region will dig itself into a deep hole politically and become even more isolated from the benefits emanating from the new Washington -- and the rest of the country as a whole... Also bad news for the South. If the media and education does not get better, and soon, the region will dig itself into a deep hole politically and become even more isolated from the benefits emanating from the new Washington — and the rest of the country as a whole…

]]> By: Yana Davis http://blog.locustfork.net/2009/10/delusional-in-dixie/comment-page-1/#comment-3513 Yana Davis Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:03:26 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5026#comment-3513 Really bad news for the Republicans, especially for the few remaining who are rational and civil. Maybe it is time for the emergence of a new national party to contend with the Democrats. As I have opined before, it's probably not going to be the Libetarians, unless by some miracle they get someone like Drew Carey to run for president in 2012. But, whatever happens, the GOP is Greatly Out of Phase with the country right now and looks to be headed the same way as the Whigs did over a century and a half ago. Really bad news for the Republicans, especially for the few remaining who are rational and civil. Maybe it is time for the emergence of a new national party to contend with the Democrats.

As I have opined before, it’s probably not going to be the Libetarians, unless by some miracle they get someone like Drew Carey to run for president in 2012.

But, whatever happens, the GOP is Greatly Out of Phase with the country right now and looks to be headed the same way as the Whigs did over a century and a half ago.

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