The pattern that the Republicans followed, however, was only the pattern followed by Democrats before them, when Democrats had been ensconced in an uncontestable majority for too long.
Every human being is morally responsible for our own actions. We can also make it easier for others to act ethically, or make it easier for them to act unethically. There are some people who act with equal honor whether anyone is watching or not. The majority will be more likely to act honorably when temptations are minimal and they are under constant scrutiny; when temptations are constant and scrutiny is infrequent, people are far more likely to act unethically.
The founders of our American system of government did their damndest to insure that everyone would be under oversight from someone, would have some competition waiting to pounce on every mistake, would have to share power with others that they had to negotiate with. In the late 18th century in which they operated, public literacy and the profusion of newspapers and pamphletting created an atmosphere of lively public scrutiny that they hoped to preserve with the Constitutional protections on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.
The American public media, however, became less and less "public" with the growth of media empires. Public literacy declined, anti-intellectualism rose, it became a matter of pride to say that one was "not interested in politics." This may have been due to the rise of television and movies and the fall-off in reading, as argued in Amusing Ourselves to Death; it may have been because we didn't take our educational system seriously and let it become weak; it may have been because the larger a media empire, or any corporation, gets, the less attention it gives to the interests of actual consumers. ("You'll take what we give you, and like it!") All of these were factors, and more; and each factor affected the others, in a feedback cycle.
What happened to public debate when the media came under increasing corporate control was increasing sensationalism, increasing corruption, and decreasing relevancy to the realities of life for most Americans. This is the same thing that happened to political debate when the Democratic Party was in uncontested control of Washington DC. They became arrogant, corrupt, and out of touch with Americans, leading to the Republican Revolt of 1994.
After 1994, the power of the Republic Party grew until they, in turn, had uncontesed control of Washington DC -- the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, the Judicial Branch, and K Street. And, in their turn, they became arrogant, corrupt, and out of touch with Americans -- leading to the Democratic Revolt of 2006.
Are we going to Throw the Rascals Out and then sit back and wait for the next cycle of the same thing? Or are we going to revive the spirit of "government by the people" and tell both parties that they can no longer take us for granted? That we will be on their backs, watching their every step, holding their feet to the fire -- whether they are of "our party" or "the other one"? Are we going to start having a real public conversation about issues, instead of a shouting match of sound bites? Are we going to start doing problem-solving instead of ideology-slinging? Are we going to put the interests of American citizens above the interests of America's political parties?
Nobody else can do that for us. It will only happen if we do it.
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