The State-by-State Revival of the Right
But even if they win, Democrats will not have the power to reverse conservative legislation. Wherever possible, Republicans in these 23 statesredrew legislative district lines after the 2010 census with the express purpose of preventing any Democratic bid to dislodge conservative majorities for the rest of this decade.
.. The current Republican strategy has all the characteristics of a holding action – a finger-in-the-dike approach to the demographic growth of pro-Democratic minorities and the relative decline of pro-Republican whites. The Republican tactics may prove successful in the short term, serving their interests as quickly as they can before the new demographics take hold and perhaps giving the party time to adjust before whites lose their majority status.
.. Jacobson’s conclusion:
We are in for divided government for the rest of the decade if not beyond, and it will not be a pretty sight, given how polarized the elites are these days.
Public discontent with the current state of affairs is high. According toGallup, the percentage of Americans describing themselves as “very” or “somewhat” dissatisfied “with our system of government and how well it works” has nearly tripled from 23 percent in 2002 to 65 percent in 2014.
.. Polarization has made both the Democratic and Republican parties hostile to candidates challenging respective partisan orthodoxies. The paradox is that if dissatisfaction with government continues to deepen, the status quo will become increasingly unsustainable.
.. Democrats today convey only minimal awareness of what they are up against: an adversary that views politics as a struggle to the death. The Republican Party has demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice principle, including its historical commitments to civil rights and conservation; to bend campaign finance law to the breaking point; to abandon the interests of workers on the factory floor; and to undermine progressive tax policy – in a scorched-earth strategy to postpone the day of demographic reckoning.