“Ominous Parallels: What Antebellum America Can Teach Us About Our Modern Political Regime”, 2013-02-26 (; similar):
Many people point to the hyper-partisanship of national Democratic and Republican parties as the greatest challenge facing 21st century America. When seen through the lens of another vapidly partisan political system—that of Jacksonian America—we see that the real danger is not noisy partisanship, but the iniquity it hides: for them it was slavery; for us, plutarchy.
…As in the antebellum, today’s hyperpartisanship has its uses. The issues are real enough, and the cultural divide between each party’s demographic “base” is wide. Politicians take advantage of this with over-the-top rhetoric, turning all issues into a cultural crusade against the radicalism of the progressive left or the bigotry of entrenched conservatism. The accuracy of these attacks is unimportant. The antebellum party system allowed Southerners to define themselves as ‘Whigs’ or ‘Democrats’ instead of ‘slavers’. The current system serves its purpose just as well, allowing plutocrats to define themselves not in terms of power or privilege, but as part of a culturally cohesive group that represents ‘real’ America. With partisan issues taking the fore, politicians, lobbyists, and corporate big wigs can plunder the American economy and strip American citizens of their liberties in a decidedly bipartisan fashion.9 And thus the greatest structural fault-line in America’s body-politic and the most dangerous challenge to the integrity of her republican institutions and the liberties of her citizenry continues onward without public comment. And all of this without a gag rule.
If the comparison of the antebellum Republic’s political regime with its ailing modern descendent seems a bit chilling—well, it is. The last time America’s sins broke through the partisan politics designed to hide them the result was the most destructive war of her history. It is an ominous precedent.