Will either George W. Bush or John Kerry be able to govern after this election is over?
The intense polarization of politics, aggravated under the Bush presidency, should require both Bush and Kerry to explain not only what they will do for the next four years, but also how in the current climate they propose to get it done.
EJ Dionne, July 2nd, 2004
I've been thinking about secession a lot lately. I've watched with interest the serious attempt by the San Fernando Valley to secede from Los Angeles and the one by Christian Exodus.
Even the New Yorker has a timely article about secession.
We are a somewhat polarized nation true - but along with the red and the blue there's a lot of purple as well. Our situation is nowhere near where the Israelis and Palestinians are.
Yet.
But are we heading inexorably in that direction? As has been noted in Grushka's diary , if Kerry wins, the reds won't accept him no matter what. Just as we steadfastly refuse to support Bush. In other words, from this point on, whoever is president at a given time will be incredibly hated by those of the opposition party.
Can this country be governed in its current state, or will things eventually begin deteriorating to the point where we are at each others' throats quite literally?
And if we do get to that point, will it be time to consider the unthinkable--breaking up the country Ma Bell style?
Now I know what you're thinking: Tried it before, didn't work. True. Lincoln didn't want a separate country right next to his own. So began The War Between The States. ("Civil War" is an oxymoron.)
But suppose this time, if we say we wanna walk, the Chimp Puppet says "Fine! Go ahead! Leave! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" (Let's face it, this makes it easier for him to set himself up as president-for-life)
And just like that, we're outta here. Free to have a country with ideals ranging from far left-loonies to left of center types. Free to elect whoever we want -- Kerry, Dean, Gore, Edwards, Hillary, Obama --- without the insufferable right-wing nutjobs getting in the way. Heck, with a new constitution all our own, we can re-elect the Big Dog over and over again!
Air America will be a cable news station. The number ONE cable news station. San Francisco can be the new capital. We'll spend the same kind of money per schoolchild per year for 15 years that we now spend yearly for 40 years to keep an inmate locked up. Minimum wage at $10/hr with annual reviews and COLAs. Government sponsored healthcare, with an emphasis on preventative medicine. Drugs? Legal. Gay Marriage? Legal. Taping and/or rebroadcasting football games without the express written permission of the National Football League? Not only legal, but encouraged!
No Bush, No Cheney, No Wolfowitz, No Rumsfeld, No DeLay, No Santorum, No Ashcroft, No Rush, No Coulter, No Hannity, No O'Reilly. (Yes, we'd still have freedom of speech, but we'd also have highly enforced laws against being a Lying Ass M******. No one working for Rupert Murdoch could pass that test. )
>>sigh<<
OK, I'm fantasizing outrageously. Even if we could secede there's a huge number of legal, logistical, and geographical issues to sort out.
Still, it can't be denied that the current situation, where the gulf between the two sides continues to widen ever further is growing ever more unworkable.
Someday we might look at the picture of the Kerry supporter being punched and think "Ah, we used to be so quaint."