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Reflecting on lessons learned

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Also by Zach Stern:

Conservative betrayal (April 14, 2005)
Freedom and responsibility (May 5, 2005)
For everything else, there's bankruptcy (March 17, 2005)
The revolution continues (March 3, 2005)
Voter apathy with reason (February 17, 2005)

by Zach Stern

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

As another semester at the University of Wisconsin ends, it seems time to reflect upon the events of the past months.

Much has changed. The uncertainty the future held in September has been replaced with knowledge, and the world has set upon its course for the next few years. Like it or not, the wheels of fate have turned, and the machine keeps on moving forward toward whatever end fate has in store for us.

But rather than merely reflecting on what is now history, this past semester has revealed what I believe to be a new truth to American politics and the final lesson of the 2004 election: both the majority and the minority parties are unstable, fractured coalitions. John Edwards was only partially right: there are multiple Americas, but not just two — there are three.

The first of these three groups are those you believe to be in power: conservatives. Placing an emphasis on traditional social values and character evaluation, this group came out in droves to re-elect President Bush. Issues like gay marriage no doubt played quite a role in the election, but they alone did not decide the contest. Not all Bush voters are conservatives, nor are all conservatives Bush voters, but it is clear whom the vast majority of this particular group supported.

With the first group in mind, the second should be an easy guess: liberals. Interestingly enough, social values are also of primary concern to them as well. With a strong belief in social justice, liberals view humans as perfectible beings, both morally and socio-economically, able to overcome innate flaws and injustices through the redistribution of wealth and resources.

Overwhelmingly pacifistic, liberals either believe that war is a state of nature to be conditioned against or simply an unacceptable solution to any problem. Obviously, liberals tend to vote democratic, although many would consider themselves independents, choosing to vote instead for a third party candidate like Nader. Some of you who claim to be liberal may take issue with this definition of a liberal, and this is OK. It is likely then that you simply fit into the third category.

But then there’s the third group: everyone else. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call them the moderates. Clinging to the metaphysical heritage of American thought, moderates are practical and pragmatic, looking to solve the issues of the day decisively while looking to protect all that we have accomplished over the past quarter-millennia.

This group can both see the great accomplishments of our history and simultaneously accept that some of the means used to achieve these goals were wrong. Generally, these people can, by most standards, be considered libertarian.

Libertarians believe in policies that are on the one hand socially liberal yet economically conservative. Issues of war and peace are not necessarily so clear and simple, and libertarians can accept the idea of a just war without being wanton slaughterers.

Consisting of both Bush and Kerry supporters, these people may have been separated only by a shift in emphasis of their concerns, not their ideology: those who voted Kerry likely care more for social concerns, and those who voted for Bush likely care more for economic concerns. And for many of this group, there is an intense fear of the extremists on both sides of the aisle, the only distinction between the two halves being who is considered more frightening.

And herein lies the truth that will guide the future of American politics: the parties must realize that a vast majority of the population feels dissatisfied by both the Democrats and Republicans, particularly with the extremists. Thus, the first party to oust the extremist minority (hard-line conservatives or liberals) will likely prove victorious in elections to come.

Republicans, coming off an incredible victory, are likely to prove ineffective at silencing this vocal coalition member. Democrats may fare better at silencing the Michael Moore-wing, but anger over the results may push more and more people toward the left. Third parties have proven woefully ineffective at providing viable alternatives toward those dissatisfied with either option, and thus elections truly have become little more than choosing between the lesser of two evils.

The solution, then, lies in building a new, more effective majority coalition consisting of these moderates. But until those moderates who lean left and those moderates who lean right can equally condemn the extremists on either side, no common goals can be reached, and progress will remain stifled.

Zach Stern (zstern@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in political science.

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Anonymous (December 15, 2004 @ 10:58am):

Do you mean real libertarians, or just people who are comfortable with both Dobson and Moore? Because "real" libertarians would be in favor of, say, abolishing social security, ripping the heart out of modern commerce clause doctrine, restablishing liberty of contract, etc. If there is a third group as you describe, they might be moderate, but they sure aren't "libertarian" except in the least useful sense of that term.

Anonymous (December 17, 2004 @ 2:41am):

Right on. Lumping moderates and libertarians is factually incorrect.

Anonymous (December 29, 2004 @ 7:55pm):

In the spirit of Christmas Eve, I offer the following verses, courtesy of Weird Al:

Down in the workshop all the elves were making toys
For the good Gentile girls and the good Gentile boys,
When the boss busted in, nearly scared 'em half to death,
Had a rifle in his hand and cheap whisky on his breath.
From his beard to his boots, he was covered with ammo,
Like a big, fat, drunk, disgruntled Yuletide Rambo.
And he smiled as he said, with a twinkle in his eye,
"Merry Christmas to all! Now you're all gonna die!"

The night Santa went crazy,
The night Saint Nick went insane,
Realized he'd been getting a raw deal,
Something finally must have snapped in his brain.

Well, the workshop is gone now.
He decided to bomb it.
Everywhere you'll find pieces of Cupid and Comet.
And he tied up his helpers, and he held the elves hostage,
And he ground up poor Rudolph into reindeer sausage.
He got Dasher and Dancer with an old German Luger,
And he slashed up Prancer just like Freddy Krueger.
And he picked up a flamethrower and he barbecued Blitzen,
And he took a big bite and said, "It tastes just like chicken!"

The night Santa went crazy,
The night Kris Kringle went nuts,
Now you can't hardly walk around the North Pole,
Without stepping in reindeer guts.

There's the National Guard and the FBI.
There's the van from the eyewitness news,
And helicopters circlin' 'round in the sky.
And the bullets are flyin', the body count's risin', and everyone's dyin' to know,
"Oh, Santa, why?"
My, my, my, my, my, my.
You used to be such a jolly guy...

Yes, Virginia, now Santa's doing time,
In a federal prison for his infamous crime.
Hey, little friend, now, don't you cry no more tears!
He'll be out with good behavior in 700 more years.
But now Vixen's in therapy,
And Donner's still nervous,
And the elves all got jobs working for the Postal Service,
And they say Mrs. Claus, she's on the phone every night,
With a lawyer negotiating the movie rights.
They're talkin' 'bout...

The night Santa went crazy,
The night Saint Nicholas flipped,
Broke his back for some milk and cookies,
Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped.
Whoa...
The night Santa went crazy,
The night Saint Nick went insane,
Realized he'd been gettin' a raw deal,
Something finally must've snapped in his brain.
Tell ya, something finally must've snapped in his brain.
Tell ya, something finally must have snapped...
In his brain.