hope it's gonna be a great one! you deserve it! :D

In an interview with Truthout concerning his new book, The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted, this 16-year GOP senior analyst shows a knack for crisp hammering of nails on heads.

The primary purpose of the GOP these days is to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages (such as not regulating pollution and other socially costly externalities) to their wealthy donor base. All the rest of their platform, all the culture wars stuff, is simply rube bait.

"Rube bait"--useful expression.

A definitive answer to the age-old question--are they stupid or recklessly cynical?

They use a superficial populism tinged with craziness to further a rational, plutocratic agenda.

What happened to the unions and to understanding among workers of who represents their interests and who does not? In part,

...atomization of society and a personalization of our problems and failures. Solidarity at the union hall doesn't cut it when American Idol is on.

How much energy should sober citizens be putting into electing George W. Bush for a fourth term?

Mass distraction and mass mystification such as we have seen come virally and epidemically; a correction comes only slowly, and one person at a time. And there is so much money washing through the political system that political action through the traditional party system has been neutralized. To some extent, and nuances aside, Obama has pretty much presided over George W. Bush's third term. Look at the career path of Tim Geithner if you are skeptical of my claim.

No, it's not just you. Perverse incentives and perverse values ensure that the most powerful decision-makers among us have little interest in our long-term health or even viability as a civilization.

...what is definitely not in the long-term national interest certainly is in the short-term selfish interest of the people who got rich from scamming us in the first place.

Should we the people petition or government for redress of grievances? Remember how far that got us with King George. I always want to put those ubiquitous internet petitions on a scale opposite, say, a million dollar contribution from a single lobbyist..

Nothing will be solved in Congress until we get the money out of politics. And by that I mean all private money.

What to do? As custom dictates, he tries.

We can devise all the clever schemes imaginable to clean up politics and get money out of campaigns, but it won't work until the American people collectively give up on certain fond illusions....

Sounds like Andrew Bacevich.