Hillarysworld

Carter: 1970s saw a Tea Party-like wave
By Jimmy Carter

[snip]

Thirty-five years ago, the American people were eager for fundamental changes after the embarrassment and lies of Watergate and the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Kennedy brothers, and revelations that the CIA and top leaders had been involved in criminal acts, including murder. As a Georgia farmer, I was considered by many to have no association with these stains on our national character, while most of my opponents were stigmatized, although unjustly, because they were incumbent politicians.

My basic campaign themes were simple: to tell the truth and to guarantee that our government would be as good, honest and competent as the American people.

[SNIP]

[snip] A bare majority becomes a party's uniform position, and those who dare deviate from a bloc vote can lose both choice committee assignments and support for attractive projects in their state or district.

Frozen government

The Senate has become particularly dysfunctional. The previously rare use of filibusters has become routine, and now 60 votes are required even to bring a controversial proposal to the floor for debate. With just 41 members out of 100, a cohesive minority party can block almost any legislation; meanwhile, the majority party needs virtual unanimity to pass a bill. This gives enormous power to those who cast or control swing votes, and powerful lobbyists are quick to exploit this opportunity for influence.

Another polarizing factor is the increasing tendency by state legislatures to gerrymander congressional districts to create safe seats for members who parrot and support the most extreme partisan positions.

The genius of our democratic system is that it is self-correcting, which is why extreme and ill-advised political trends have never prevailed. We face enormous budgetary and social challenges, and I believe it is all but inevitable that constructive governance will ultimately emerge. Surely our government will, once again, be as good, honest and competent as the American people.

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Well, jee wiz!  I agree with Mr.President Carter on these concluding paragraphs!

He draws some interesting parallels...  .

The most interesting parallel that he draws is the aversion of Americans to Watergate and Vietnam, and the resulting shift to a "simpleton"  - a shift away from the complicated Nixon.  We may have had a real shift away from Bush and "experienced" politicians in the election of Obama. I agree with this analogy.

Yes, Carter makes important observation on the amount of clout that big donors carry.

The part about not deviating from voter bloc of your party... that clearly shows what may have happened to many of the politicos this year.

Good article.