Need some help.

[bu villain]

Again, I agree, but dont limit this to commentary. You can add the politicians and their staffs into the equation also. When was the last time we saw a politician who opposed a measure actually give an honest account of the policy and why he or she opposes it? I cant think of a single one over the last decade.

True and there is kind of a vicious cycle here where pundits and politicians divide the electorate into warring tribes which makes people less likely to vote for moderate candidates which in turn leads to more divisive rhetoric. One of the three groups has to take the moral high road to put an end to it and the politicians seem the least likely to do it.

[BanginJimmy]

True and there is kind of a vicious cycle here where pundits and politicians divide the electorate into warring tribes which makes people less likely to vote for moderate candidates which in turn leads to more divisive rhetoric. One of the three groups has to take the moral high road to put an end to it and the politicians seem the least likely to do it.

They divide the electorate in a way that helps them gain more power. Look at the way redistricting works. Whoever controls the Sate govt rigs districts to favor their own party. Look at the district map of any state. If it is run by GOP they will remove a red area from a majority blue area, then add that red area to a purple district in order to make it a solid red district. When dems control it, they do the same thing.

A moderate candidate cannot survive in this climate. Look at what has happened to the blue dog dems in the last 2 election cycles. In '08 they took a beating by far left liberals. As a result, many moved to the left. In '10, they got their whooping from conservatives because they moved too far left for many of the swing voters. Moderate GOP hasnt done much better in the last 2 years. Many were replaced by the Tea Party in '10 and many more are in a fight this year with 3 already losing in primaries.

[bu villain]

Right, so how do we begin to close the huge partisan gap? That's what I want to discuss. I think discussion is a good way, but for that to happen on a large scale, the media has to be on board and stop giving so much air time to the most extreme, most ideological, and most partisan people. The journalistic endeavor to inform people has taken a back seat to entertaining them.

[BanginJimmy]

Right, so how do we begin to close the huge partisan gap? That's what I want to discuss. I think discussion is a good way, but for that to happen on a large scale, the media has to be on board and stop giving so much air time to the most extreme, most ideological, and most partisan people. The journalistic endeavor to inform people has taken a back seat to entertaining them.

The only way to close it would be an educated electorate or a major disaster that concentrates our energies elsewhere. It would take an enemy that both left and right can agree to hate and destroy. To me, that sounds like a real war, not these minor skirmishes we have been involved in.