Socialist Action /March 2001
Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal:
The Bipartisan Betrayal
"Party-spirit ... which at best is but the madness of many for
the gain of a few."
-Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
It is utterly impossible to view, listen to, or read any segment of the
corporate news machine without hearing every newscaster, and every possible
pundit, giving up some rap about, yes, "bipartisanship."
Every major political figure in the U.S. is also carefully schooled on
how to include the word in every possible 10-second sound bite. It resounds
like a bronze gong in a Buddhist temple, vibrating and burrowing into consciousness,
overwhelming all other sounds, until we, the people, find it laced neatly
into our conversations with friends, comrades, and loved ones.
The ubiquitous American media echo chamber effect has millions thinking
that "bipartisanship" is as natural as, say, sunshine in an African
summer, or rain in spring. In essence, it is an idea that is rarely questioned.
Why not?
The very idea of bipartisanship stems from the position that two parties
must find a way to work together. You hear no one discussing tripartisanship,
or quadpartisanship, do you? Isn't that odd? Aren't there more than two
political parties in the U.S.?
Bipartisanship is, then, a political strategy designed to channel all
political activity through both parties. This strategy is, therefore, a
strategy of exclusion, for by limiting the range of acceptable debate to
those advanced by the two quite similar political parties (which are both
mere instrumentalities of corporate power and wealth), the full chorus of
political opinion, from the left and right, are left out of the realm. Nor
is this a negligible slice of political life.
Consider the recent elections, where barely 50 percent of eligible voters
participated in the presidential poll. As the race was razor thin, and the
so-called "victor" claimed between 200-to-950 votes to win, then
that "victor" can only truly claim to directly represent the will
of about 25 percent of the electorate!
Let's look at it from the opposite perspective: the "victor"
was either rejected or ignored (by not voting) by about 75 percent of the
American electorate!
This is a democracy of the absurd. One need look no further than the
Ashcroft confirmation for the lofty post of U.S. Attorney General. Despite
unprecedented opposition from literally millions of constituents, senators
voted their party interest first and foremost. Indeed, senators from both
parties voted for the nominee, with some saying they did so "in the
spirit of bipartisanship."
Both parties are parties, not of the people, but of the rulers. It's
time to organize to break this political monopoly.
At the very core of this idea of bipartisanship is a raging contradiction,
for isn't politics really all about divisions? Don't people really have
starkly different political visions and objectives? Don't wealthy folks
see the world differently from the poor? Don't urbanites have different
concerns than rural folks? Don't blacks have distinctly different historical
experiences than whites? Don't Latinos have particular social and political
interests (for example, immigration, etc.) that differ from many Anglos?
We can act as if no such differences exist, but they do, and history
has taught us that they only need the barest opportunity to express such
divergences.
Bipartisanship is only the latest illusion to prop up the status quo,
for the two big parties stay in power, and the majority of Americans lose.
It is an illusion that no longer need delude us.
© 2001 by Mumia Abu-Jamal. All rights reserved. Reprinted by
permission of the author.
To communicate directly with Mumia, please write to him at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal, AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370.
Socialist Action /March 2001 |