(Disclaimer: I am not counting my chickens before they are even a glint in mama hen's eye)
For starters, I am a Political Science major at the University of Oregon, and this past year I learned a bit about the theory known to political scientists as electoral realignment. My professor of Public Policy as well as The US Presidency, Dan Tichenor (a really freaking smart guy), took the time to explore and explain the concept in detail for a week in both classes. Ever since he did so, the idea has been stuck in my head. It's been gnawing away at me as I read the news every day. When is the next electoral realignment? Who will be the leader that sets the events into motion? What will this supposed realignment look like? And, perhaps most importantly, where exactly will this realignment take us?
But perhaps I am moving too quickly, and I should assume that very few people truly understand what an electoral realignment is (though the wording kinda gives it away). This theory was crafted in 1955, by the political scientist V. O. Key. The idea, basically, is that every so often an election occurs that dramatically and thoroughly alters the landscape of American politics. This 'every so often' is different for many different political scientists, for instance the professor emeritus of political science at the University of Texas at Austin, Walter Dean Burnham, asserts that these elections occur every 30-36 years. Which, again depending on who you ask, suggests that we are either overdue or right on time for a new electoral realignment.
There is a litmus test for political scientists to determine whether or not a certain election is, in fact, a realignment. The criteria is as follows:
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