The Democratic faction of America's lone political party has published a draft of its platform and, yes, it is official: America is now a one-party nation. It's right there on page three of the preamble to the platform:
"There can be no Republican or Democratic ideas, only policies that are smart and right and fair and good for America-and those that aren't."
For lack of a better name, let's call our lone party the Corporatist Party of America (CPA). Like all one-party oligarchies, the CPA represents a political spectrum. At one end of the spectrum sits the hard right of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), and at the other end sits the rabid Neocon right. The DLC is more inclined to mouth populist platitudes than the Neocons, but they're both cut from the same cloth, even if the Neocons are the more sociopathic of the two.
This explains why presidential campaigns are so boring. How can there be a clash of principles if everyone agrees on the basics?
The platform itself is a study of the excruciating tension that exists between platitudes and reality.
The platitudes are:
· Renewing the American Dream
· Affordable Health Care
· Good Jobs with Good Pay
· Opportunity for Women
· A World Class Education for Every Child
· Investing in Manufacturing and Our Manufacturing Communities
· Restoring Fairness to our Tax Code
· Reforming Financial Regulation and Corporate Governance
· Smart, Strong, and Fair Trade Policies
· Fiscal Responsibility
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