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- The Republican base has always existed, so the relevant question is why it exerts so much more influence today than it used to. I think the answer lies in the rise of professional hacks and pundits dedicated to pushing something that sounds policy-oriented but isn't actually. Why should conservative activists and Republican base voters listen to a policy wonk thread the needle between intellectualism and populism when they can watch the pros tell them what they want to hear on Fox News?
- Of course there are big consequences for a two-party political system when one of the parties decides to ignore established facts and refuses to acknowledge that problems like climate change even exist. You end up with people like Lindsey Graham, who in recent memory wanted to cut a deal for climate-change legislation, now talking about "the Obama takeover of most of society."
- Notice that Fareed Zakaria doesn't ask if the North Korean regime will collapses but rather what East Asia and the United States will do when it does -- i.e. when "all hell will break loose." This strikes me as a moment when China could assert its influence as the dominant regional power, and there isn't a whole lot of peaceful options the U.S. can take to deter them. This is why Zakaria is correct to suggest the relevant players need to have a plan when thousands of refugees start pouring over the border into the South.
- Weekend Remainders: Ambitious politicians are successful politicians; Frans de Waal’s thoughts on morality evolving out of pre-religious societal foundations is well worth your time; and the Tea Partiers will be on hand to prevent imaginary vote fraud on Election Day.
-- Mori Dinauer
