Why has the center dissapeared in US politics?

Question

Now you have to be a rabid liberal leftist or an intolerant right wing neocon... nowhere in between. Is it not a rather childish and outright dumb development? It is almost as if political discourse has been reduced to a pi$$ off contest in the style Crossfire: the guy on the left or right will absolutely refuse to admit anything good coming out of the other side, in a blind and transparent way that makes them look like morons.

Why have the parties become so extremist and why do people keep voting for them and not for a new and refreshing third party?

Answer 1

I think that extremist politics has taken over partly because of political tactics used by politicians running for office. Whenever there's an election, it seems like all the politicians are pulling out "wedge issues" like abortion or gay marriage to get more people to the polls. The problem with this is that if the only issues discussed are ones that people feel really strongly about one way or the other, and more complicated and nuanced issues are ignored, people will think that the only way to feel about politics is one way or the other:either you're a liberal or you're not, either you believe that abortion is a right or you believe it's the slaughter of children.

I guess the question to ask then is: are politicians using the divide between left and right to gain valuable points in the elections, or are politicians causing the divide by falling back on these wedge issues year after year? It's hard to say, isn't it?

I think that lots of people blame the Green Party still for wicking liberals away from the Democrats in 2000 and leading to Bush's first win. (Funny that they don't think to blame the Democrat who was running!) Whether this is true or not, people feel like going to a third party means letting "the other side" win, even if the party they're supporting doesn't actually represent their interests. I think that's pretty much crap, myself, but I'm not registered for any party, I'm an independent all the way.

Answer 2

Well, the centrists have discovered that they become the tools of the extremists. For the past decade, the right wing has ruled America. All three branches of government are dominated by the GOP or GOP appointees. Despite the beliefs of the Republicans, this is not becuase of any fundamental rightness (pardon the pun) but rather is because the conservatives managed to organize a cohesive voting movement while the left failed, and the centrists sat around with their thumbs up their bums.
The resulting damage done to this nation may well be irreparable. We have lost much of our middle class. We have garnered nearly universal hatred in the rest of the world. Our own economy is in a shambles (and yes, fuel costs DO matter). And we continue to implement ever more repressive regulations on our own populace in the name of "security."
People are beginning to rouse themselves from their fat and happy torpor, and like a 700-pound hog rising from its wallow, when the American public finally gets angry, you don't want to be in the same pen.
The short answer to your question is that the parties have polarized in order to attract some support from the apathetic "centrists" who cannot be bothered to vote until the cost of fueling their SUV hits $100+.
Cheers.

Answer 3

Because we live in an age where hype is valued over substance.

People don't pay attention to the center anymore and we need "drama" in politics so the less-volatile (and sometimes more important) issues aren't seen as important anymore. Nothing gets people more riled up than two extremists on both sides yelling at each other on TV. That's what we see and hear and that's what defines our view of politics in modern times.

As far as media is concerned, the center is boring (less ratings) so politics gets reduced down to issues that divide party lines. People want to watch an extreme Christian Conservative and an extreme Leftist Liberal go at it on live TV about an issue like flag burning but something like what to do about the rising cost of housing which affect everyone in general isn't really talked about because you're going to have mixed views on either side and people aren't going to watch or listen to that.

Nowadays, everything has to be polarized to the point where you either are a staunch liberal or staunch conservative. People don't ask what your view are anymore without first asking are you a liberal or conservative. You either have to pigeon-hole yourself into one camp or another and to think and vote independently is considered "unpopular" because you aren't being loyal to the goals of one party over the other and unfortunately people vote more along the lines of what their party TELLS THEM TO DO rather than use their own brains.

...So basically, it's come to the point where we've dumbed down everything along Rep. vs. Dem. issues and if you don't buy the whole package, then you are chastized for not supporting your party's interests which I think is bullshit. ;)

Answer 4

I don't believe the center has disappeared. Its just we have been focusing on a topic where there really is no center, the war. You are either for or against it and their really has not been any in between position. Once the fighting in Iraq subsides and people start focusing on the other issues you will see the center start to come back because you will be talking about issues were people can take a much broader of a stance than just for or against.

Answer 5

This is why there needs to be another political party. I am not talking about Libertarians either. I still consider them extreme. It needs to be in the center to give Americans a better third choice. I believe most of America is in the center and not in either extreme group.

Answer 6

The country still votes for a donkey or an elephant.

Unfortunately, both eat and sh** the same.

I doubt there will ever be enough independent candidates with enough money to make an impact in Congress. They get no respect.

I don't remember the state, but a dog's name was once on the ballot, and won.

Answer 7

The people on the right want it that way. It's the way they attract and keep their angry white evangelical base. They're even doing it in Yahoo, with incendiary terms, absurd questions. I also believe that many posts are from posers - right wingers who claim to be liberals so that they can define the left by taking absurd and fake positions.

Although there may more angry liberals than there once were, they are angry in response to slurs and policies; they are not generally the initiators. The pushing, divisive force is from the right.

Answer 8

Not so much disappeared as gone quiet.

They keep getting shouted down by both extreme ends of the spectrum, so they've stopped trying to talk rationally through the noise.

Answer 9

middle. A majority of usa human beings are middle proper yet some were given sucked into the certain we may be able to ,desire and adjust . yet those that were given sucked in only isn't fooled back. One and finished Obama .

Answer 10

When the center starts to vote in the primaries, you will here more talk in the center.