Ghettos

My formative years happened to coincide with the birth of MTV. For those who have forgotten, the “M” in MTV used to stand for music and it’s playlist reflected the wonderfully eclectic nature of the time. The endless parade of music videos could have Duran Duran followed by Mötley Crüe or Madonna leading into Rush. They dared to break from the playlists of commercial radio and gave rise to bands who would have never had a chance before, including an inordinate amount of one hit wonders. It was a music lover’s paradise.

Fast forward a few years later and XM Radio became the latest and greatest in music delivery systems. Not only did they have a heavy metal station which would finally replace the dearly departed KNAC, they had multiple options. Like the other genres available on the network, metal had been broken down into every conceivable niche and each had been given it’s own station. However, I quickly found that listening to such narrow programming is like eating the same thing for dinner every night. I was switching stations constantly.

It was not long before the talk stations entered into my station rotations. Air America was first as this was the station that most closely reflected my political viewpoint. Existing in an echo chamber gets boring very quickly and I found myself drifting over to the Conservative stations. My ex-wife did not understand why I would listen to programming that irritated me to the point where I would yell at the radio, but I found it to be intellectually stimulating. It was also important to my political evolution as it gave me insight into other viewpoints and forced me to rethink my position. Often this would strengthen my position. In a few cases it made me change my opinion.

Unfortunately, like the overly specialized XM stations, our country has divided itself into political ghettos. Not only are there Red and Blue states where electoral outcomes are so assured that candidates only visit to fundraise, but the parties themselves have broken themselves down further. This was particularly evident in recent Republican Presidential primaries where the candidates fell over themselves to prove that they were the most Conservative of the field, even when their past actions showed that that they were not. The John McCain of the 2008 election is a perfect example.

I am socially Liberal and would find it hard to vote for any candidate that did not share these values, even if I was open to their economic proposals. Therefore, in most elections I end up voting against the Republican candidate as much as I am voting for the Democrat. However, with Gore the likely nominee in 2000, this scenario was turned upside down. Al Gore’s wife, Tipper, had helped found The Parents’ Music Resource Center, a pro-censorship group, and he had given her a platform for her agenda. I needed a candidate who could give me a reason to vote against the Democrat.

McCain is a Conservative, but his reputation as a maverick was enough for me to consider voting for him. I could cast my vote with at least a hope that he would not be beholden to the Conservative wing of the party. This hope was borne out by the Conservative fight against him in the primaries, particularly in South Carolina where a smear campaign sought to convince voters that his wife was a drug addict, his adopted, dark skinned daughter was the result of an affair and where his “patriotism, mental well-being and sexuality were also viciously called into question.” The Republican establishment’s choice became the nominee and I was forced to hold my nose and pull the lever for Gore. I did wait till the last possible second to see if was safe to vote for Nader, but the closeness of the vote was already evident before the polls closed.

At some point before the 2008 campaign, McCain decided that he was not going to make the same mistake twice and as a result became beholden to the establishment of his party. The straight talk express was shut down along with any chance of his receiving my vote.

It is always a mistake in politics to assume that the status quo will remain a permanent condition. Much like the Democrats did when they nominated Clinton, the Republicans are going to realize at some point that they key winning at the Presidential level is to eliminate ideological litmus tests and break down the walls between their ghettos. When they do, candidates like Chris Christie will have a chance.

To be honest, I am not sure that I could get past Christie’s stances on social issues to actually vote for him, but I do admire his chutzpah. It takes a special talent to infuriate both parties in tackling an issue. The Governor of New Jersey did just that in his decisions regarding the replacement of the recently deceased Senator Lautenberg. One could be cynical and argue that these moves were made solely to improve his own personal political fortunes. I, however,  am a glass is half full kind of guy and hold out hope that they were made for reasons above politics.

My need for musical variety is now satisfied by an iPod with enough room for 9,000 songs that is set is on shuffle mode. Sometimes you could get whiplash from the songs that are played next to each other.  A politician  like Christie is the shuffle mode we need to breakthrough political ghettos and end the logjam in our political system.