re: #145 Desert Dog

suffer no fools on either side….that is always a good idea

Yes, and I love the sentiment behind Avlon’s idea. As I’ve said before here (perhaps too many times for some of you), I think there used to be a social norm in American politics, a kind of “politically correct” pressure, if you will, to at least act like one’s political views were sober, rational, balanced, and therefore center-leaning. Now that norm has been replaced by the opposite norm: it’s a virtue to be as virulently partisan as possible. I think that can be seen as the inevitable outcome of the two major political parties’ quest for cost-effectiveness in maintaining power. You don’t build brand loyalty and motivate people to volunteer their time and hard-earned money for your party by offering sober, rational candidates. You do it by polarizing voters and getting them as worked-up as possible.

I like the idea, but as I said last night, I think this new feature will last approximately one episode. Because the “polarize and inflame” strategy works for TV networks as well as it does for political parties. People now tune in largely to get their preexisting polarized views reinforced and amplified. People are going to get offended and turned off really quickly.