OK. So Democrats are conservative on some issues and Republicans are liberals. What’s the big deal, especially if I don’t go in much for ideologies in the first place? In the overall scheme of things one party must be a better friend to the middle class. Why not endorse that party for now and just flip flop over time along with the evolving parties and ideologies? Much of the political commentary on The Middle Class Forum, and much of the political and cultural essays in Systems out of Balance, address that question in part. The short answer is that some of the party flip flops have been too serious to tolerate.
For example, the parties have flip flopped at least twice on their very foundational principles. The Federalists were for strong centralized government while the Democrat-Republicans were states rights advocates. The Federalists evolved to become Republicans, along the way wanting less federal government, while the Democrats turned to federal government as a counterbalance to robber barons. The Republicans still talk a good talk about less government, but actions speak louder than words. Big government always has been necessary for business corporations, as Hamilton and the Federalists knew, and Republicans generally have been setting the table for this from the decision of Buckley v. Valeo (1976) on. In relation to this shift, the mantle of manifest destiny that fit the Democrats better through much of the twentieth century now rests comfortably on Republican shoulders, but I don’t doubt the parties will flip flop again at some point.
The parties have flip flopped over what I consider the single most important event in the twentieth century relative to our country’s soul. In the forties and fifties if you were horrified by our use of the atomic bomb you were most likely to be a conservative Republican. Now conservatives criticize historians even questioning our use of the Bomb, as their pressure for canceling the Enola Gay exhibit by the Smithsonian revealed in the nineties (I won’t get started yet on the despicable corporate media and special interest groups involved). Naturally the Democrats have flip flopped as well in lock step, now that Truman no longer heads the party. In fairness, there always have been plenty of people in both parties, and from both ideologies, critical of our use of the Bomb. But official positions from official parties is what I react to when I decide never to join a party.
Finally, the parties have changed in regards to who has the biggest presence on K-Street and receives the most money from Big Oil. If you have been following this web log for a few months you know how I feel about this (thanks for sticking around). While this is not exactly a flip flop–either party will gladly accept as much wining and dining as lobbyists and corporations are willing to provide–blind allegiance to a party means legitimizing this behavior whenever your party becomes the main beneficiary. I’ll stick to my unaffiliate status, thank you, and I encourage everyone in the middle class to do the same.
Tags: Interest Groups, Middle Class Politics, Political Misinformation
