Election 2012: No Surprise Here

The swing vote in this year’s presidential race may be as small as ever, as polarized partisans dig in behind their respective nominees.

So, says Alexander Burns of Politico.

That, of course, is too bad and continues to characterize what I think is the most toxic aspect of American politics-- the extremes by and large control both political parties. A moderate Republican Senator, Olympia Snowe, will not seek re-election, because of the dysfunctional partisanship in the Senate, and a group of blue dog Democrats are attempting to salvage the candidacy of one of the last remaining moderate Democrats in the House, Rep. Tim Holden of Pennsylvania, who is a rare breed because of the partisans in his own party.

In short, those members of the House and the Senate, the moderates (actually, if you ask me, they are the clear thinkers), who have been historically the one's able to pass legislation and broker deals between the two parties are almost extinct on Capitol Hill, because the partisans in both parties are forcing their politicians to toe the line of their extremist political fundamentalism; and they will openly declare war on their own who dissent. By the way, I have no objection to having partisans from the Democratic and Republican Parties on Capitol Hill. I just wish there were fewer of them, and certainly not enough to drive the agenda.

So, the moderates in Congress are all but extinct and the average swing voter is disillusioned with both parties. Unfortunately, that is no surprise at all.