The tragedy of a 50-50 America
The era of Western stability relied on dominant parties, and the US has none.
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If 50-50 elections keep happening, there is something deeper at work: something at the level of culture rather than politics, says the writer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Janan Ganesh
Here are two conflicting thoughts as the US election nears. First, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is an imperfect candidate who should never have been crowned without challenge. Second, it doesn’t matter. Even if the Democrats had nominated a living saint, a Periclean orator, the election in November would still be a toss-up, as it was in 2000, 2004, 2016 and 2020. The other two elections in this century – the victories of former president Barack Obama – weren’t blowouts either. There seems to be nothing a party can do to go above 53 per cent of votes cast, or much below 46 per cent.
No other major democracy in the world is anything like as consistently deadlocked. Nor was the US itself in the last century. Its mutation into a 50-50 country (or really a 30-30-40 one, as four in 10 voters often abstain) has been a civic disaster.
