Switching Roles

Given how quickly the Republican Party was able to rally after its defeats in the U.S. national elections of 2008, and win again with backing from the hatemongering Tea Partyers in 2010, it’s premature to predict the RP’s failure after its trouncing this last week. However, James Fallows makes an interesting point when he writes, on The Atlantic’s Web site:

For the first time in my conscious life, the Democratic Party is now more organized and coherent, and less fractious and back-biting, than the Republicans. It is almost stupefying to imagine that.

But think about the facts: We’ve now had four of the past six presidential elections won by Democrats. In five of the past six, the Democrat has won the popular vote. The most effective advocate for the current Democratic incumbent was the previous Democratic president. The current president’s toughest rival in the primaries is now his Secretary of State, and another former rival is his vice president. Meanwhile, on the Republican side, the nominee dared not even mention the existence of the previous Republican president. His rivals in the primary were tepid at best in shows of support. Democrats now disagree about a lot, from their relationship with Wall Street to the ethics of drone wars. But they are a more coherent whole than through most of their recent history--and much more coherent than the Republicans.

So much for American humorist Will Rogers’ old joke that “I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.”

You can read all of Fallows’ post-election analysis here.

READ MORE: “The Secret to Barack Obama’s Survival,” by Greg Sargent (The Washington Post); “Christian Right Failed to Sway Voters on Issues,” by Laurie Goodstein (The New York Times); “A Remarkable, Historic Period of Change,” by Ezra Klein (The Washington Post).