Plan B Forum

in the breakdown of our political system...

It's a very long piece, written by John Rauch at The Atlantic. For anyone with an interest in understanding the process that has created the political dysfunction we now have, it's well worth reading in it's entirety. Here's just one small excerpt:

Trump, however, didn’t cause the chaos. The chaos caused Trump. What we are seeing is not a temporary spasm of chaos but a chaos syndrome.

Chaos syndrome is a chronic decline in the political system’s capacity for self-organization. It begins with the weakening of the institutions and brokers—political parties, career politicians, and congressional leaders and committees—that have historically held politicians accountable to one another and prevented everyone in the system from pursuing naked self-interest all the time. As these intermediaries’ influence fades, politicians, activists, and voters all become more individualistic and unaccountable. The system atomizes. Chaos becomes the new normal—both in campaigns and in the government itself.

A lot of history, solid research, and excellent analysis:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... ne/485570/

Thanks. Explains things pretty well -- law of unintended consequences at work.