The New York Times has this collection of six essays on whether a trend is developing for successful independent candidates. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.
The New York Times has this collection of six essays on whether a trend is developing for successful independent candidates. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.
Although its political system is completely different from that of the US, Japan is also going through an intense period of voter dissatisfaction with its two main parties.
NHK Newsline’s “Japan 7 Days” program this weekend has a good segment about it. They don’t archive video on their website, but this is the post they have about it:
Public support for the cabinet and the Democratic Party has fallen to its lowest point since the change of government last autumn. The disillusionment, however, has not been of much comfort to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. It’s been hemorrhaging members of late, as defectors launch new political parties. One such party, “The New Renaissance Party”, is led by Yoichi Masuzoe, a former health, labor and welfare minister. “The Sunrise Party of Japan,” has Kaoru Yosano, a former finance minister, at the top.
Yet another new party is challenging the concentration of power in the national government. The “Nippon Soshinto” includes the mayor of Tokyo’s Suginami ward and the former mayor of Yokohama.
These parties are taking shape at a time when the number of voters supporting no particular party is growing.
Nothing too impressive there. Basically it’s a lot of people giving the same anti-third party memes that always get tossed around. I mean, of course some of it’s true, but they’re not really encouraging any thinking about it, just using the same reasons to write off third parties that are always used.
God save us from academics.
If I sat in a University or Think Tank Ivory Tower and got paid by the same people who are buying and selling our democracy like it was soap, I might espouse the same crap there guys do. But I live in the real world, where Democrats and Republicans are regularly stealing our money and our freedoms to advance their own agenda. I’ll take a non-corporate party any day of the week.
Would it have killed them to use an essay by ANY of the various non-corporate party leaders? Barr, Nader, McKinney…all of these people know how to write an engaging piece. But, corporate media is more corporate than media.