American criticism of government goes back to the Revolutionary War. Leading concepts.are individual freedom, self-sufficiency, independence. Criticism of government makes one a good patriot. A true American is anti-government. Republicans appropriated critique of government as their defining feature..
When Democrats hold the majority and people are dissatisfied, they vote for change and Republicans win.
When Republicans hold the majority and solve nothing, they evade responsibility and blame the 'elite'. By introducing the concept "Deep State" Republicans never lose credibility,. When their reign is not successful, they blame the Deep State
Not solving problems enhances their popularity. Trump’s presidency is the ultimate example. He did not solve anything and gets away with blaming others. The more obnoxious, the more popular he is.
White men, losing their prerogatives, identify with Trump's belligerent, anti-establishment attitude. Especially those who feel left behind like the slogan "Make America great again". The settlers mentality, "man alone against the world", persists. Republicans exploit antagonism. Antagonism makes them feel competent, responsible, independent. 'Real men, real Americans'. Voting for Trump is a demonstration of independence. Respectful dialogue is weakness. A vote for Trump is psychological, not ideological. Trump 's opinions are irrelevant. When he changes opinion it is seen as flexibility.
Democracy is per definition populism. The party that stirs up self-congratulatory emotions has an advantage. Republicans do not hesitate to select and twist the facts to create a story that supports their perspective.Trump is a master in self-congratulatory hyperbole. Buried in debt he gets away with presenting himself as a smart multimillionaire.
When there is an issue, there are two sides to it. But voters want clarity and simplicity. Acknowledging two sides to an issue is perceived as weak and elitist. If pros and cons are in balance, the best sound bite wins.
10 % subscribe to a newspaper. 90% get the news from TV. FOX news is popular because it is simple and one-sided
Although Democrats have the reputation to be pro-labor, the working class still feels neglected and at least 50% votes Republican. They do not want to see their hard-earned dollars being taxed away and passed on to slackers. Voting Democratic would imply that they are needy and in favor of government support. They prefer to retain their dignity and vote Republican .
Our form of democracy has become a civil war; so far mostly non-violent. The other party is seen as the enemy and the goal is to win; by election if possible, by deceit and violence if that fails. Trump is a master in presenting democracy as a contest between the good guys and government; between true patriots and the 'deep state'. It seems that in the mid-term election a majority will go along with that perspective. A period of Republican government will not solve anything and Democrats have a better chance to get 51 % of the votes. Problems will persist anyway and Democrats will lose again.
Notwithstanding the political dysfunction, America remains the premier power.
Wealth builds wealth. That goes for individuals as well as for countries. America’s source of wealth (size, abundant natural resources, immigrants, slavery , genocide of native Americans) is irrelevant
The pound plummeted when the British deficit rose, but the dollar loses no value when the US deficit rises because the dollar is the premier international currency.
Dysfunctional government does not prevent business initiatives. Dominant new businesses initiatives (Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Google, Ueber) all originated in the USA. Wealth builds wealth.
The American defense budget is bigger than that of the next fifteen countries combined.
Although the USA scores worse than other developed countries on inequality, poverty, longevity, child mortality, education, murders and prisoners per capita, American dominance leads to a sense of superiority which explains the lack of motivation to make fundamental changes. Other forms of democracy are feasible. For instance, we can separate voting on issues from electing representatives. October 2022, two weeks before the mid term election of Congress