The New Political Discourse

The great healthcare debate has become the perfect example of what we might term the New American political discourse.
The nature of this new discourse is ugly and stupid, instead of debate we get insults and instead of cooperation we have verbal bullying. The old politics of the 20th Century consisted of deal making and concession, the new politics of the 21st Century Consists of mindless bickering and character assassination.
A perfect example of this was Congressman Joe WilsonJoe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican who got up in the House of Representatives and called President Obama a liar during a speech on healthcare. Wilson was attacked for being uncivil and childish but he is being rewarded with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations for his troubles. Many other politicians will surely follow suit when they see how profitable insulting a national leader during a speech is.
Wilson’s rudeness is an example of the new political theater in which President Obama excels. Instead of working behind the scenes to get a deal, Obama postures and pontificates in public hoping to use rhetoric as a club to force his policies on the nation. Wilson fires right back because he wants a little of Obama’s limelight.
The nature of politics has changed Congress is no longer a legislature but a political theater in which the Senators and Congressmen perform for the amusement of the mob. Wilson was simply playing to his audience like a good performer. The presidency is little more than a stage from which stump speeches are given. The President is now a sort of national spokesman whose job is to talk on television.
This of course leads to the politics of sound and fury in which little or nothing gets accomplished. Instead of discourse we get one act of political theater after another tea parties, Joe Wilson’s antics, Obama’s speeches, and god knows what else next. I’m waiting for beautiful bimbos in skimpy outfits and pro wrestling in the halls of Congress.
The Democrats profess to be horrified by this freak show when they helped invent it during the Bush years. The mock peace rallies and mindless attacks on Bush backed up by silly ads helped get Obama elected. The Republicans are simply stealing the show and done the Democrats one better by staging their own reality show about a dysfunctional family namely the obnoxious Sarah PalinSarah Palin and her irritating brood. Health care has become a bigger show with hysterical talk about death panels and illegal immigrants. I’m waiting for some Republican to say that Obamacare will give free drugs to drug addicts at taxpayer expense.
The whole thing will drive away most voters but it will endlessly please and entertain the politicians’ true constituency: the vocal minority that likes this kind of political theater and revels in it. Like the marks at a wrestling match this crowd will come again and again to see their favorite show and even participate in it. Those people will get what they want political theater catering to the worst impulses and the lowest common denominator. The rest of us will get disgusted and change the channel.