Sage Hou '23
Democracy Journal
The issue of Social Security was like the issue of Gun Control in modern-day Washington — the “third rail” of policy — burning anyone who dares to touch it. When the Social Security Trust fund was poised to begin running a deficit in 1983, President Reagan’s commission to study for solutions on the problem recommended reform to the Social Security system. Any reform to this system would have an impact on millions of Americans and both sides of the aisle knew they had an opportunity to tilt the political future in their favor.
Despite the partisan chaos, Democrat Leader, Senator Moynihan, reminded his colleagues: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Democrats accepted an increase in retirement age, Republicans accepted a tax increase on the self-employed and the bill passed with bipartisan support. It was signed into law a month and a half after it was introduced to the house.
In 2013, strong partisan disagreements over the delay and reduction of funding for Obamacare caused a 16-day government shutdown, leading around 800,000 federal employees to be furloughed and around 1.3 million federal employees to work without the knowledge of when their next paycheck would come. Neither side budged for more than two weeks and with only hours to go before the country would breach the debt limit, Speaker of the House Boehner publicly admitted defeat and supported a bill to reopen the government. He said, “We fought the good fight, we just didn't win.”
Within the span of 30 years, America’s political landscape has changed from one of cooperation and the interests of the American people to one of bipartisan disunity and the interests of their respective parties. Can Washington work in a bipartisan way? Can members of the Senate and the House of Representatives cross the aisle for the common good of the American people? Can America and its ideals of democracy be restored?
The Internet has had a massive and undeniable impact on corporations, businesses, and education; Televised debates, online fundraising, attack ads, sound-bites, email scandals, tend to be the first things that pop into mind when people think of how the internet has had an effect on not only American politics but around the world. However, it has done more than bring the elevation or the demise of a political campaign. The Internet’s ability to unite people with common interests is one of the reasons why American politics is so divided.
Before the Internet existed, mega-conservatives and ultra-liberals were scattered across the country, with no candidate to root for. Each constituency or state only had a handful of these extreme voters. With America’s politics adopting a “take it or leave it” representative structure, political candidates commonly ignored the small number of extreme voters and instead focused upon the voters at the center of the political spectrum, where most of the votes were. These “political extremists” have been cast aside since the dawn of American democracy.
However, the Internet united and gave power to these groups. Ultra right and left-wing groups discussed their opinions online, rallied behind political candidates, and displayed so much passion that they were willing to donate to a candidate running for a constituency on the other side of the nation.
As these discussions became more prominent, these groups grew in size, more and more extreme candidates began to raise funds, they were able to rally the more left and right-leaning voters, gain more votes, and make a mark on Washington. This was first evident when radical left Senator Sanders was elected to the United States senate in 2007. In contrast, another aged centrist President Biden was elected to the United States Senate 34 years before his fellow Democrat. Both men worked in politics their entire lives, and it's clear that when the Internet began to grow, Sanders was able to gain traction amongst voters and get himself elected on a statewide level and twice came close to securing the Democratic party nomination for president.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, a far-left political caucus, has gained around 30 seats in the House of Representatives over the past 8 years, rising to their total of 96 in 2020. While on the other hand, conservative voters have pushed forward President Trump, a figure many thought extremely unpresidential, however, was still able to win the votes for the office of President. The two opposing ends of the political spectrum are steadily growing in numbers ever since the internet became commonplace. If the pattern continues, socialists who believe capitalism is the root of all evil, and ultraconservatives who still believe that everyone in America has the same opportunity to succeed, will dominate American politics. The number of centrists in Washington will dwindle, and the bridge between the two aisles that was so prominent post WW2 will begin to dismantle itself. Will a third party spring up? Will the new generation become more centrist? Or will America’s democracy collapse? Only time will tell.
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