Independent Volatility

It's the same of old tune, fiddle and guitar
Where do we take it from here?
Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars
It's been the same way for years
We need to change
-- Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way

Having won or lost, you can never tell when a politician has a clue to what happened. But last night, Scott Brown hit it on the head saying, "tonight the Independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken." That's the real story ripping at the heart of the false narrative perpetuated by the corporate media and the political class, the illusion we have a two party system, a choice between the party of tweedledee or tweedledum. Yet in the last fifty years, there's been only one consistent trend in party politics, the decline of both Democrats and Republicans, and the rise of Independents.

Massachusetts, despite all the malarkey of it being the "bluest of states," is really one of the most independent states. Registration in MA is 50% Independent, Dems in the mid-thirties, and the Reps far behind at just above ten. Massachusetts, which only a year before gave the Democratic nominee a 26% margin of victory, last night comfortably elected a Republican to the Senate. One thing unites Independents, they don't like either party. They'll vote for a Dem in one election and a Rep in the next, and it's creating increasing volatility.

There are no political parties in America, and for someone like me, who believes they are both necessary and useful, I don't consider that a good thing. The television was a technological tsunami across America's cultural, economic, and political landscape. It tore through politics, hollowing out the parties, creating mere hollowed-out shells. As the former/future Governor of California said some years back, the parties are just, "a postage stamp and a bank account." There is really only one party in America today, the party of the status quo, with a Democratic and Republican flavor. Every year our government more dysfunctional, the party benefits flowing to fewer and fewer people, they have our political system in a stranglehold.

The size of the Independent vote may have reached the point of creating extreme volatility in the election process, meaning swings from year to year become more and more violent. Despite the story being told by the media, that Independents are not some mythical "centrists," it's a very diverse group, whose uniting character, besides dislike for both parties, is they have even less political identity than the remaining party adherents, only adding to the volatility.

The idea that in November, the lot which calls itself Republican, through little fault of their own will gain back power in DC, just as the Democrats did in the past two cycles, through little fault of their own, is depressing, truly. As Kang, or was it Kodos, said, "Go ahead throw away your vote on a third party." But, the true wasted vote is perpetuating the charade, and that was the distressing message out of Massachusetts last night...."always twirling, twirling, twirling toward freedom" as Kodos said, or was it Kang?