No Way Out

At RealClearPolitics Nancy Jacobson of No Labels wonders how we can dig our way out of the pit of partisan politics we have dug for ourselves:

There is one clear way to signal this change, establishing a beacon for the clear majority of Americans aghast at the current state of our politics. We need a unity ticket. We need a major party’s presidential nominee to select as his or her running mate a person from the other party. We need the two of them — two leaders who may not agree on every issue, but agree that America is worth the compromise our democracy demands — to stand in stark contrast to those who would keep pushing the country further along its disastrous current trajectory. As people working through the group No Labels have begun to argue, nothing would signal that enough is enough as powerfully as a Democrat and Republic running on the same party ticket.

I think she’s dreaming. Many explanations for our present situation have been proposed:

1. Russian meddling
2. Chinese meddling
3. It’s all the Republicans’ fault.
4. It’s all the Democrats’ fault.
5. It’s the outcome of a bipartisan consensus among elected officials to pursue goals not favored by most Americans using means not favored by most Americans.

I lean towards #5 and there’s no clear remedy for it short of a broad reaction against incumbents, something not yet in evidence. Does it make any difference which candidate you vote for when either will inevitably support endless war? Or crony capitalism?