The Curse of the Sanctimonious Class
By Steve McCann
AmericanThinker.com
Twenty-two years ago an event occurred that was the primary catalyst in the election of the Obama administration with its totalitarian mindset and statist convictions. The presidential election of 1992 marked the turning point when the American people set in motion the dynamic that has eventuated in the dominance of government by the radical element of the American left. These ideologues have skillfully exploited an overwhelmingly self-centered and ill-educated populace, while being greatly aided by a foolishly sanctimonious segment of the electorate. These factors, in combination with a political system that is limited to two political parties, have placed the United States in its present predicament.
The founders of this nation were determined to diffuse political authority as much as possible in order to avoid the prospect of anyone being able to seize the reins of power. Their point of reference was the English Parliament and the long global history of totalitarian monarchs. As the parliamentary system could be more easily manipulated by those with evil intent, the founders, beginning with the concept of unprecedented power vested in the individual states and consequently the people through congressional districts as well as a limited central government, split government power into three distinct and equal branches--thereby deliberately designing the system to be extraordinarily cumbersome.
As the country expanded from a small nation of 3.5 million located along the Atlantic Coast to one with 320 million encompassing a continent, and from 13 to 50 states, it became increasingly clear in the early years of the nation that, unlike a European parliamentary arrangement, the only way the still unique American structure could successfully function would be with just two political parties.
The founders were aware of this potential Achilles heel and its ramifications and pitfalls. They sought to be very circumspect as to who was eligible to vote in national elections as well as making certain the members of the Senate would be appointed by the various states' legislatures and not directly elected. But more importantly, men such as Ben Franklin, James Madison and John Adams understood that the only way the nation could survive would be if the country's leaders were of high moral character and the citizenry well-informed and patriotic.
The Democratic Party, beginning in the 1930's, gradually became the home for those infatuated with socialism and a dominant central government. However, the upheaval of the 1960's, in particular the anti-Vietnam War protests, allowed the militant left to come out of the shadows. With their newly found legitimacy they immediately began to infiltrate and inexorably radicalize the education establishment, the entertainment complex and the Democratic Party.
Concurrent with this incremental metamorphosis of some of the nation's core societal establishments and one of the two political parties was the coming of age of the post-war generation -- a plurality of whom were resolved to either pursue an unfettered lifestyle or adopt a Pollyannaish determination to change the nation but virtually all of whom maintained a conviction that they were superior to all previous generations.
In 1992 the United States was still an overwhelmingly right of center country. In the six presidential elections from 1968 to 1988 the Republican candidates averaged 417 electoral votes per cycle (the Democrats 113), the average margin of victory in the popular vote exceeded 10% or 8.5 million votes during this same period.
However, beginning in 1992 this trend was completely reversed. In the six presidential elections since 1992 to the present, the Republican candidates have averaged only 210 electoral votes (the Democrats 328) a precipitous drop of 50%. Moreover the average margin of victory favored the Democrats by 3.9% or 4.3 million votes, a reversal of nearly 14 percentage points and 12.8 million votes for the Republican candidates.
By 1992 the baby-boom generation was becoming the dominant influence in the nation as the World War II generation had begun to fade into history. Having been the beneficiaries of unprecedented peace and prosperity for nearly 45 years, many had become single issue true-believers. To these self-righteous narcissists nothing was more important than their cause -- whether that issue was environmentalism, abortion on demand, drug legalization, disarmament, gay rights, social justice or a laundry list of other lifestyle concerns.
As the Democratic Party increasingly fell under the thrall of the Left and their core strategy of the end justifying the means, the Party hierarchy came out in vocal support of all of these causes in the knowledge that these true-believers would not care about who they were voting for or the end game of permanently seizing all political power, as long as lip service was paid to their issues. Combining these myopic groups with those wholly dependent on government, as well as the monolithic African-American vote, gave the Democratic Party a significant and reliable voting base.
However, much more was needed in order for the new iteration of the Democratic Party to become the dominant force in a right of center America. That was provided in 1992 by Ross Perot and the emergence of the sanctimonious American.
Ross Perot proclaimed to the world the absurd assertion that there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties because the Republican Party had not accomplished all that he, Ross Perot, demanded. He then formed a third party which in 1992 garnered nearly 20 million votes and assured the election of Bill Clinton.
However, his gospel fell on fertile ground and took hold among far too many who had been Republican voters or were essentially conservative -- but also imbued with the Baby-Boomer sense of superiority. Failing to understand the essential nature of why there can only be a two party system in the United States and taking their cue from Ross Perot's ridiculous assertions, they too, over the past twenty-two years, have chosen to not vote, preferring instead to spend their time complaining and throwing rocks at the Republican Party and its candidates. Thereby abetting by default the Democratic Party and those intent on permanently and irretrievably damaging the nation.
It is inarguable that the Republican candidates for president since 1996 have been too moderate and the party hierarchy too integrated into the Washington D.C, power structure. However, the underlying reason for the rise of the Democrats in presidential elections is the failure of a large segment of conservative leaning Americans, for self-serving reasons, to participate in the all- important primaries.
In the American two party system, the time to advance one's issues or favored candidate, as well as influencing and changing either party hierarchy, is voting in the primaries; if the party is to succeed, then supporting the primary winner in the general election is essential. However, there has been a precipitous drop in participation in Republican primaries and a dramatic increase in registration of so-called Independents, sanctimoniously holding themselves above the corrupt political parties.
Knowing that there can only be two viable political parties in the United States, the ultimate goal of the far left and thus the Democratic Party is to permanently marginalize the opposition party -- allowing them free rein to run roughshod over the freedom and liberties of the American people. Thus the push for amnesty for illegal immigrants, legislation and policies to dramatically increase the number of those dependent on government, the ongoing and deliberate ill-education of the masses and the continued acceleration of pandering to single issue zealots all the while relying on the myopia of the sanctimonious Americans to persist until there is no longer a viable opposition.
All the surveys taken over the past fifteen years show that 40-42% of Americans self-describe themselves as conservative and 38-40% as moderate. Assuming that half of the moderates lean conservative, the universe of potential voters is at least 60% of the populace. There are no plausible reasons why the nation is in its present predicament except for apathy, arrogance and sanctimony. These factors, unless reversed starting in 2014, will guarantee the election of another Democrat president in 2016 and the ultimate downfall of the United States.