Pendulum Politics No Longer Works

Guest Post by Monty Pelerin

Recent polls suggest a possible landslide election for Republicans. That is not good news for Democrats who, until recently, were buoyed by the possibility of retaining the Senate.

The shift toward Republicans results from Obama fatigue and disgust. On virtually every metric the country is seen as worse off as a result of his policies and lack of leadership.

If these findings are real and hold, Republicans will be celebrating on election day. But, should they be? Four years from now, does anyone expect the public to be more satisfied with Republican party performance than they are with Democrats today?

That this question can be asked and suggests its answer. It says more about the state of American government and politics than it does about the Republican Party.

Pendulum Politics

Obama was elected because Democrats and some Republicans were mad as hell at Bush and his party. Now we are at the opposite end of the pendulum’s arc — Republicans and some Democrats are mad as hell at Obama and his party for their performance. Pollsters are picking this sentiment up in their canvassing and reflecting it in their forecasting.

Pendulum politics refers to the natural inclination to replace someone that disappoints. It reflects quintessential American meritocracy. If America is “apple pie,” surely meritocracy is the secret ingredient in the recipe that made it so special.

The two most recent presidents were perceived as flawed, at least toward the end of their terms. Both had in-the-gutter approval ratings at the end of their terms.

The pendulum view of political replacement is consistent with what is happening today, although it is more likely that other factors are drive matters.

An Alternative View

Political and government aggrandizement has reached the point where the expectations of the public can no longer be satisfied. Government, in the process of grasping power and wealth never intended for it, made claims and promises that exceeded its ability to deliver.  As a result, it must disappoint.

John Kenneth Galbraith wisely observed:

You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.

No one ever looked at government as a paragon of efficiency. Until recently, government inefficiency was assumed and tolerable so long as government did not do much or waste too much of the country’s resources. As the State took on bigger and bigger tasks, government was increasingly seen as failing and incompetent. The costs of such failures became a bigger burden on the productivity of the nation.

The claims and promises made to enhance its power only raised the expectations of the public and the impossibility for government to be successful. As a result, government has guaranteed its perceived failure and characterization as incompetent. It has become so big, unwieldy and misapplied that no one is capable of running it well.

Anyone elected is doomed to failure and the ire of the American public. The problem is the system no longer work because it is tasked with things it cannot possibly do well, if at all. Government  is broken, at least from the standpoint of those who it pretends to serve. It works quite well for the political class and their cronies, enriching them in bigger and better ways with each election. Government has become little more than a plunder machine, draining the energy and creativity from the productive, while pretending to solve the problems it creates.

The failure is still reacted to by the public by “changing horses” via elections. But pendulum politics cannot solve the problem of metastasizing government. The majority of the public does not yet realize how fruitless elections have become, but they are beginning to understand. As Rasmussen concluded from his polling:

Fewer voters than ever think either major political party has a plan for the nation’s future, with most still convinced that neither represents the American people.

The End of Democracy

Voting out one party and in the other does little anymore. Government is too big and involved in too many things it is incapable of doing. Yet it continues to grow in size and power.

Both parties are incompetent, corrupt and self-serving, but both benefit from the scam. Every legislative day represents this trade-off:  how much more can be taken before the fools figure out they are being plundered.

Unless power is taken away from Washington, the next election will be a replay of this one. The country will turn on those currently in power and replace them with their opponents in the hopes that things will change. Continuing to repeat this process over and over will change nothing. Continuing to do this and believing that the results will change is merely another example of Einstein’s definition of insanity.

Democracy as we know it is about to end. It should! However, there are only two ways that it can end:

1. Government loses.

2. Government wins.

Government Loses

There is only one way that government can lose or be rolled back. We are past the point where the ballot box can effect such change. Virtually every election, at least at the national level, affords two choices — Statistism Heavy  or Statism Medium. Neither choice changes the continued increase in government growth. One party grows it slower than the other, but that is all.

It is not an accident that the Republican Party did not want Goldwater, Reagan or the Tea Party. They are the party of Statism Medium and any outsider threatens them as much as it does the Democrats. The two parties beat each other up in the attempt to lead, but they come together whenever their great scam is threatened.

The only way that government can lose is by voters rebelling demanding massive rollbacks in the size and power of government. That solution is fraught with danger, including a faster route to dictatorship.

Government Wins

If the current voting  system continues, the government wins. Each year it moves the country closer to totalitarianism, regardless of who is elected. That is ensured because of the candidates put up for office.

Those who hated George Bush six years ago gave us Barack Obama. Those who now hate Barack Obama will give us someone else who will be appropriately despised after a brief honeymoon period.

The horrors of democracy and the abandonment of the Constitution are responsible for the current condition. Democracy is going to end under either solution above.  Unfortunately something much worse could be in store.

As a citizen, I would rather risk everything to save the country. Not taking that option ensures a slow and certain death to what freedoms and prosperity remain.