Bill Curry at Salon writes
Hillary’s in danger, Trump is sunk: The hard truths America is ignoring this election season:
Polls do worse things than get races wrong. Their most insidious effect is on the quality and direction of public debate. They blind us to glaring truths about issues as well as people. A key issue in this race is the integrity, accountability and efficiency of government. Republicans talk more and more about it, Democrats hardly at all. In case you didn’t notice, the fallen state of politics and government is what Trump talks about most; that he does so vividly and bluntly is a big part of what some must consider his charm [...]
There are of course other reasons for the general decline in public debate. Both parties sidle and stutter step their way into every debate because both say different things to different people and live in fear of getting caught. Democrats tell their donors one thing and their base another. Republicans tell their base one thing and the broader public another. You have to admire how well they run this scam, but shame on us for letting them get away with it for so long. [...]
It is progressives, or rather progressivism, that suffers most from how the game is played. A poll identifies an existing consensus. Progressive must build a new one. Media cuts “message” to the bone. New ideas require longer formed analysis and exposition. Moneyed interests pay to maintain the old order, not disrupt it, and support only such innovation as enables them to do so. Reform, the engine of the most vital innovations, is all about disruption. When Democrats put their faith in polls, media and high-dollar fundraising, they render real debate and real progress nearly impossible and help turn all of politics into mere entertainment, a cheap burlesque just waiting for a Donald Trump to steal its spotlight.
There is no progress without debate. This presidential race shows how campaigns displace rather than foster debate. As sea levels rise, aquifers shrink and wildfires rage, Republicans in one presidential forum and two debates entertained but a single question on climate change; of five hours, a single minute spent on a call for “energy independence.” In his first term, Obama soft-ped[al]ed the issue because polls showed the country divided on it. He’s better lately, but if the scientists Democrats love to cite are even close to being right, it isn’t nearly enough.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2010—John McCain loses his mind—but he didn't change it:
Comedy from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ):
Asked by Politics Daily about comments his close friend and colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made about his move away from edgy past positions because "John's got a primary. He's got to focus on getting reelected," McCain responded, "Lindsey knows that I don't change in my positions.
"I have not changed in my positions. I know how popular it is for the Eastern press to paint me as having changed positions," he said. "That's not true. I know they're going to continue to say it. It's fundamentally false. Not only am I sure that they'll say it, you'll say it. You'll write it. And I've just grown to accept that."
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Leaving aside the "Eastern press" phrasing that sounds straight out of 1912, who is he trying to kid?
Depending on the year and the constituency McCain is pandering to, he has flip-flopped on Social Security privatization, torture, immigration reform, repealing Roe v. Wade, climate change legislation, the Bush tax cuts, offshore drilling, the estate tax, nuclear waste storage ... cripes, this guy even flip-flopped on the Confederate flag.
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