The Justice

Media Credit: Jason Reed/Reuters Photo Archive

According to TIME Magazine, Karl Rove, George W. Bush's political adviser, "carries in his briefcase a laminated card to help remind him of the central dynamic of the 2004 election." This card has bar graphs denoting the voting trends of the last few presidential elections. There is a very clear pattern. The tiny sliver between the two major parties, the independent voters, grows smaller after each election.

Rove, and others like him, are largely responsible for what is essentially an increasing polarization of the political parties. While this may have defanged the "it doesn't matter who I vote for; they're all the same!" argument, it has also led to an increased sense of urgency among voters to remain loyal to their party. Voting against one's registered party is at the lowest levels in decades and continues to fall. Rather than taking the time to really listen to what the candidates might have to say, voters are feeling pressured to vote along party lines to ensure a favorable majority in Washington.

It's no wonder. With the White House and both houses of Congress (and, arguably, the judiciary) dominated by a single party, the other has been virtually silenced. It's enough to make a minority party fear for the future of the country.

So the strategy now, aside from the traditional courting of the swing voters, is to register as many new voters as possible-and indoctrinate them into a party. This get-out-the-vote drive by both parties is wonderful for boosting election participation and perhaps sparking an interest in politics in those who would otherwise be apathetic. But is it really increased involvement if all these extra votes are not from donkeys or elephants, but from sheep?

The Democrats are going to have their hands full with this issue. The Republican Party, by its nature (that is, run by businessmen), is much more efficient than the Democratic Party when it comes to operating its political machine. As Will Rogers famously said, "I am not a member of any organized party-I am Democrat."

Rove knows this all too well, and is prepared to exploit it as best he can. That is his job, after all, and he's pretty damn good at it. I mean, he got Bush into the Texas governor's mansion and then into the White House (or at least close enough for a little nudge from the Supreme Court to help him the rest of the way).

I myself am as much of a victim of this polarization as anyone else. I've been checking all the political news daily, seeing if anything new happened in the last 24 hours that could shape the fate of November. I even purchased one of those popular political commentary books to churn up still more self-righteous indignation about our fearless leader (Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America by Molly Ivins and Lou DuBose, in case you're interested).

Continued...

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